98 Acrd. HELP! Won't start. Supposed 2 be in FLA 2day! .

'98 Accord V6. 60 miles/day...until now. Won't start. Put on ramps to
change oil & rad fan motor to drive to Fla today. NO ISSUES PRIOR.
Changed oil last night (24hrs) and removed fan motor after, also
sprayed leaves out of windshield grille. Installed motor couple hours
ago. Ready to drive to Destin today, right? Won't start to back off
the ramps. fuel reads about 1/6th full. Under hood fuses all checked
and "appear" OK. no signs of water, condensation, dirt, dust, or
anything. Spotless. Timing belt intact...I removed the cover,
checked, and cranked it and checked for tension. A-OK. When cranking
it tries fine, seems to fire, but won't start. OH, OH, OH...then
hooked up OBDII scanner to check for codes. Scanner never lit/
activated. This came from nowhere! Please give me a clue. It does
remind me of the PGM-FI Main Relay failure (replaced); when trying to
start on a failed relay AND you pump the acclerator it will prolong
the attempt to start. But the end result is the same: no start. I'm
lost.

Kevin

 

Often, it's something you disturbed while performing a previous task in
the scenario that you have set.

My first move would be to review exactly all the moves you made while
changing that fan motor. There's a zillion wires in modern cars and it
only takes compromising one to put you out of business.

Just my 2¢ worth...

JT

 

I've pulled all fuses, relays. Retraced steps. Wiggled and jiggled
things. Most disturbing is the fact that the scan tool won't light up
to read codes.

 

Quote:"...also sprayed leaves out of windshield grille."

Please tell me you didn't spray a garden hose directly into the leaf-grate?

Also please describe the EXACT behavior of the Check Engine light as you
turn the key **SLOWLY** from "0" to "III". Include any clicks heard, and
any on/offs of any dashboard lamps.

 

On bended knee, repentant...Tegger, the answer is "yes". Scan tool
working now. No idea why. Ready to accept my beating/your help.
Thx. Kevin.

 

Some wire got disturbed that probably is responsible for all your problems.

A couple of years ago when I changed my first Honda engine in one of my
ancient Civics, it just wouldn't start. No fuel.

All the sages at the shop cried, "fuel pumpt," but Honda fuel pump
failures on carbureted cars are very rare. Besides it was working fine
before the engine installation.

I finally found the culprit... A wire that enabled the electric pump
(driven by the distributor) was not connected. Ran fine after that.

These things can drive you nutz and the newer the car, the worse it is..

JT

 

1) DASH LAMPS and MIL notes: Did this very s l o w l y Position I,
nothing. Position II, Main relay clicks once, MIL lit, MAINT lit,
BATT lit, OIL lit, SRS lit, ABS lit, BRAKE lit, P lit, D4 lit, Doors/
trunk/"brake lamp" all lit. Relay clicks again, MIL-MAINT-ABS-D4 all
go out, SRS goes out few seconds later. When cranking, OIL-ABS-BRAKE-P
are the only ones lit.

2) Have fuel. Have air. Have spark. Main relay tested fine. All
appears dry. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH I can turn the key and as it turns
over and attempts to start I can give it gas and as long as I'm
throttling it I can rev it up and down and it's normal and smooth.
Dies the instant your release the gas pedal.

 

Ahhhh, Tegger is your only hope!

It's posts like this that I thank gawd that I have old stuff that
doesn't have most of the above...

<gasp>

JT

 

TEGGEnator, looks like you're up to bat! Thanks guys!

 

Sounds like the ECM is OK...

You have fuel. How do you know this?

You have air. Possibly not.

You have spark. How do you know this?

You have made /certain/ that you have not accidentally left anything
unplugged, such as the IACV?

Try this: Unplug a vacuum hose to the intake plenum. Any one will do, even
the brake booster hose. Do not close off the resulting hole. Now start the
car. Does the engine idle now, even if badly?

 

BTW, work's been really really busy, which is why I've been kinda absent
for a while.

 

TEGGER wrote

I can make it rev up to 3k.

I can make it rev up to 3k.

I can make it rev up to 3k+ AND we popped the front plug wires,
inserted a NEW plug into each wire (in turn), cranked the car and it
sparked to ground.

Away at/in Sandestin, Florida til Saturday late. Will answer your
other questions/tests post-haste upon my return. Likely to update
yous guys In the early AM this SUN or MON. Thx, all. Tiggger, get
back to work! 8^)

 

You can, when using the gas pedal, which opens the throttle plate. The
throttle plate only supplies engine air at off-idle.

That the car will run only with the throttle plate open suggests something
wrong with the auxiliary air supply, which is the IACV.

Idle air (closed throttle condition) is provided (mostly) by the IACV. When
I instruct you to pull a vacuum line, I am checking IACV operation. If the
car will idle with your foot OFF the gas when a line is unplugged, then the
IACV is not operating correctly.

If the engine will still not idle even with a vacuum line unplugged (even
the brake booster line), then there is something else wrong.

 

Can a failed IAT sensor cause my problem? Discovered (via my brother)
in the meanwhile, but before the "pull a vacuum hose"
instructions...the IAT had oil in the male/female electrical connector
with no other oil/leaks/build-up in the vicinity.

 

I think it's very unlikely a failed IAT sensor would cause a no-start. But
if you want to eliminate that possibility anyway, just unplug the connector
from the IAT sensor.

The ECM will then see the open on that circuit, set a DTC, and use its own
internal values for IAT.

 

Sill in Florida, but, TAH-DAH!!! Brother back home pulled a vacuum
line from intake/plenum
and car started and idled, though roughly. Replaced IACV and
apparently everything is A-OK. Thanks fellers. Whether by
coincidence in timing, or water contamination, or both we (er, you)
have apparently fixed me up. Many thanks once again, TEGGER, JIM
BEAM, et al. I certainly appreciate your time. Oh, TEGGER: Still
wondering your fears about blasting out the leaf grate. I removed it
and looked around...nothing but wipers/motor, one run of wiring
harness and fresh air intake. What were you imagining might have
happened early on in this discussion? Curious. Thanks again. Kevin.

 

Glad the car appears fixed, anyway.

If you look inside the cowl, against the surface that faces the passenger
compartment, you'll see a number of open holes of various sizes. Blasting
water into the cowl can push some water though those holes, potentially
wetting interior electronics that do not normally encounter water when
normal rainwater enters the cowl molding (leaf grate). Look carefully,
right up underneath the part where the windshield overhangs the cowl.

Plus, if flow or splash is great enough, it is possible to push water into
the interior ventilation air intake. This won't likely short anything out,
but it can get water on the floor carpet.

The leaf grate is there in order to make sure that only tiny particles make
it though, particles so small that they are washed away with normal
rainfall. I have never, ever, seen leaf or debris buildup in any cowl, and
there is absolutely NO need to ever try to "rinse out" the cowl with a
garden hose or any other pressurized water source.

I HAVE seen debris buildup at the cowl drain points immediately behind the
front wheels, but you can't flush them with a garden hose aimed into the
cowl. Instead you need to remove the front mud flaps and the fender splash
shields, and blast water in there instead.