[FIXED] 1997 Honda Accord No Start

Noah wrote: I put VERY little faith in anything posted in online enthusiast forums. Obviously the same doesn't apply on THIS forum, but some of the advice people are giving and taking as gospel out there is scary.

Truth!

I like to think we know what we're talking about, anyway

Tyler, couple questions: 1. About the bypass test: Those are different vehicles; won't my connections/wire colors be different? And if so, what do I connect to what? 2. Since the noid lights showed injector pulse, I'm wondering why do the backproble test?

Here's where I'm at with this/to clarify my own thoughts, lol!

-Car tries to start but won't catch. Starter is spinning the engine over just fine.
-pulled trouble code: P1361
-Got lotsa fuel flowing at the loosened nut on the fuel rail.
-Car starts & keeps running when a steady supply of carb cleaner is injected in intake vac line.
-Combo cam/crank sensor tested at .52 ohms. way out of spec.
-Got injection pulse - verified by a noid. Pulse seems erratic & strength/brightness of light varies. Couldn't find injector pulse using a test light.
-For a few months, car had random occasions where it would bog down, but then start & run fine later - but now it won't start (without carb cleaner). Both probably ruling out the likelihood of jumped timing belt.
-today, after installing new main relay, it tried much harder to run, firing significantly more (which seems odd), and I was thinking that it just might stay running when I let go of the key. It didn't. (yeah, just thought of this and I'm going to try starting it one more time tonight, but this time, only letting the key turn back enough to disengage the starter and see what haps...)
That's about it:
I'm thinking that I have A. I have a short somewhere or b. that the crank/cam sensor is bad.

I'm burned out, and I am going to try to find someone with a scope to check this.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
P.S. Tyler, I was wondering how such a myth got started. And hey, how do I "give thanks" on the forum?

One other thought. If this does turn out to be the sensor.... How hard would it be to convert this to an earlier year, when the cam/crank sensor was inside the distributor? I'd rather have it there anyway.

Hey sir! Last question first: The oil pressure switch myth comes from a misunderstanding of the circuit design on these older GM models. Here's an example I found from a '90 Corsica:



The oil pressure switch is wired in parallel to the fuel pump relay, which means that it acts as a backup power source for the pump in case the relay fails. Contrary to the myth, this fuel pump will absolutely still get power from the relay with zero engine oil pressure.

About the bypass test. Sure, the Odyssey is a different vehicle, but I believe the CKP/TDC/CMP sensor design is the same. The wire color you're looking for is still the same, though, the orange/blue on the four-pin CKP sensor connector. I'm still thinking about the bypass test because, while you have injection pulse, it's weak/erratic. Wondering if this is adding up to our lack of fuel issue.

Very interesting that it runs better with a new main relay! That makes me question the whole TDC sensor thing, though it still sounds like we're chasing a fuel delivery problem. Not sure if I'll catch you in time, but if you do end up trying to start it again this evening, try holding the throttle open during cranking. Let me know if it makes any difference!

Oh yeah, you can give thanks to anyone by clicking the button at the bottom left corner of their post. It's a new feature with this version of the forums, loving it.

I took a break from thinking about this. Considering taking it to someone with a scope, but I loathe to let anyone else work on my cars. I'm ready to move on from this, and end it (even if I have to shoot this car -JK'ing), but I still have a couple questions on my mind.

1) a: Is there a cheap scope or other tool that I can buy/rent that will definitively tell me if it's the crank/cam sensor or not? b. Or perhaps some type of tool that I could connect to my laptop?

2) a) What would I have to replace to convert to the 94-95 ignition system (because the sensors are in the distributor)? Or b: is this a bad idea? LOL!
Thanks!

Absolutely, there's actually a huge range of very affordable scopes out there these days. The first one that comes to my mind is the uScope from AESWave . Paul actually featured it in one of his videos, doing a misfire diagnosis. Check it out:



I know from talking to Andy MacFadyen, another member here, that there's even more affordable options out there. Apparently there's even Bluetooth scopes that connect to your smartphone! Starting a thread in the Diagnostic tools and techniques section would probably be the best place to start for recommendations. If you were to get a scope, it'd be very easy for us to coach you on hooking it up.

As for converting this to the older design, I'm not sure what that'd involve, exactly. You'd have to get the signals from the older distributor wired into the harness, obviously. The distributor connectors won't be the same, either, so you'd have to make that work somehow. I'm also not sure if the older distributor would mount up correctly, as the distributor shaft is keyed to the end of the camshaft.

IMO, I think you'd be happier with this repaired correctly (if it does come down to a TDC sensor, of course), as opposed to making something else work. I see 'cobbled' fixes at work all the time, and they usually cause more problems than they solve.

Did this get fixed?

Yes, it did. I finally bit-the-bullet and jumped in to change the TDC sensor and I saw the the wires to the sensor were pinched between the timing cover - they were both "bare" and contacting each other. So I taped them off, put it all back together, and fired it up. Been running great ever since!

thanks everyone for all your help!

Thanks for the update, OldSchool! Great to hear this one ended up getting fixed.