Omegaman58

Back to this no start issue.

Found the car was hunting for idle. I bled the coolant system to eliminate any air pockets around Idle Air Control Valve. This solved that problem at least.

HOWEVER, it still will not start if sitting for more than 20 minutes after warmed up. Seems you have to wait for a good hour for it to cool down before it will start again. It does have "Spark" I confirmed it, it just does not want to flash up.

I am about to change the thermostat thinking it may have something to do with the coolant sensor?

Wondering about possible MAP sensor or Crankcase sensor being the problem? and.... how easy is it to get to them? Do I Need to pull timing case cover?

Any advice greatly appreciated

ezone

No, a thermostat won't fix it.

Get a scanner/reader that can read live engine data from the computer.

What is the coolant temp value while it won't start?

Omegaman58

I agree, I don't think that swapping out the thermostat is the problem after reading more about this problem

NOTE: Soft code? Coolant temp came up when I took it in to a local shop.

The actual temp gauge shows normal operating temperature, yet it was low on coolant. (The rad leaks) so the low coolant level must have had the engine running hotter than normal, or overheating at times?

I wonder if this could have overheated or cooked the ICM in the distributor? They require a heat sink to keep cool, I will replace it and use some thermal grease on the heat sink. If that does not do it could be main relay.

If it is still "No start when hot", I will take it in to a Honda shop, it has been in twice for diagnosis elsewhere, but no seems to know what is causing this?

Any more thoughts would be appreciated!

Thank-you!

ezone

1) This is exactly why I said to read live engine data. This is easy to figure out when you have the necessary info (data) available, no guessing.

2) The computer and the gauge use separate temp sensors. One can be bad while the other is good.

3) You got a code for the ECT (This would have been handy info to have a few minutes ago!), replace it. That's the one for the computer, it has 2 wires..

You said you had spark while it was down, so leave it alone.

Omegaman58

Thank-you for your help!

I will replace the ECT and leave the ICM alone.

NOTE: Will a bad ECT affect a warm start-up?

Thanks for your advice!

Kind regards

ezone

The ECT is a major player in PCM fuel control calculation.

If the computer cannot tell exactly what the engine coolant temperature is, then it WILL inject the wrong amount of fuel.
Thus, hard start/no start/poor running, etc. Flood or starve the fuel.

If the ECT goes open or short circuit, the PCM will set the code for it and should substitute a value that will at least let the engine run.......But if the ECT value is within a real operating range, no matter how wrong it is, then the PCM obeys it without question.

If you have a way to read the computer data (a scanner), you could watch the ECT value in real time.

HTH