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[SOLVED] Car Crank but won't start and when it does...
So i have a 2004 Honda Civic 4 Doors Sedan (EX), the persistant issue that i have is that the car wouldn't be able to start after a few tries it cranks and after cranks i start to feel a pretty particular smell, like spray paint from a can from the inside of the car with windows closed, so i remove the back seat since there is the location of the fuel pump and disconnected the hose to see if there was gasoline runing thru it AND IT DOES! so it's not the fuel pump.
Now that's one thing the other is...
When i manage the car to start, sometimes it Revs Up & Down From 4k RPM to 2RPM when the shift lever is on (P) Then if i lower to (N) it Revs Down to 1K RPM but still i feel it too much of what i'm used to since normally on idle it revs from 500 to 800 RPM (Or less than 1K).
I already changed the Air Filter that goes under the hood and also reviewed the key to verify if it wasn't the Coded Key the issue.. I haven't checked if there's any signal of smoke coming from the exhaust system.. But it got me worried.
Can someone help me on this? Thanks in advance!
Last edited by ernest64xp; Apr 5, 2019 at 10:13 PM.
Reason: [SOLVED]
So i have an Honda Civic '04 EX that has fluctuating starting issues, One day has issues, the other runs fine and two days after issues to start again and so on, but today i noticed something about the temperature gauge. Weeks before starting to have the start-up issues the temperature gauge while-driving it turns off and on, (Car doesn't over heat, but sometimes the Temperature gauge didn't read the temperature of the car while car was running), now today i noticed that whenever the Temperature Gauge is not working car has Start-up issues and several attempts needs to be made for car to start-up properly and if i park the car with the gauge working i don't have issues starting up again, but if i park with the Gauge in C (Not working) it has the start up issue.
ODB Reader shows thermostat codes, but not quite sure if this has something to do.
So it has been over a week now with the same problem, and i encountered some interesting facts, but before let me tell you what i have done thus far... So i successfully cleaned the Air Intake Valve which caused the car to REV Up&Down Randomly, and also cleaned with a little bit of Contact cleaner all the things that i disconnected in order to get to the valve, and.... Woohoo IT WORKED!!!! Car was running fine the temperature gauge which was faulty worked as it should be and next day thou,**Ka-Boom** the same issue as the week before AAAAAAANNNNDDDD The temperature gauge returned to it's "Not Working properly" Condition... So i went ahead and disconnected all i could from under the hood, (sensors and stuff) and moved some wires and then the car started up with a couple of tries succesfully but car was REV'D Up at idle but then after a couple of blocks the car returned to Rev normally.
What i've noticed thus far is:
1. Car now Rev's up only in the mornings.
2. If temperature gauge doesn't mark current temperature when i park it, Car struggles to do a start-up after.
3. If that happens, i have to wait around 10-15 mins in order for the car to get cold in order to start less stressed.
4. If Car is too cold, it starts up right away but gets Rev'd UP to 3,000 while idling.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 32,017
Likes: 256
From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 518
Re: Car Crank but won't start and when it does...
ODB Reader shows thermostat codes, but not quite sure if this has something to do.
Was your car originally sold in the USA? 1.7L engine?
Please list all of the trouble code numbers you got from the scanner
How good is your scanner? Can it display live operating data for the engine? I'd want to see what the coolant temperature data shows when it won't start
Was your car originally sold in the USA? 1.7L engine?
Please list all of the trouble code numbers you got from the scanner
How good is your scanner? Can it display live operating data for the engine? I'd want to see what the coolant temperature data shows when it won't start
Sorry for the late post, at the moment i dont have an OBD Reader myself but i use one of my friend is, i haven't seen him so i might not have any response for the codes right now, althoug the Check Engine light is currently off. Car was originally sold in USA, and has the Stock 1.7L Engine that came from the fabric.
Just to cross it off the list, remove your ground wires and clean off any rust, then reinstall, and check.
That's something i'm actually thinking to do, any good advice of where all the ground wires should be? so i could disconnect them and clean. Thanks in advance to EZONE, and MAC25 for the response!
There is a large main ground that connects to the battery ground cable. It also connects to the chassis, the transmission and (I think) the under hood fuse box. There is also a ground that connects from the radiator mounting bar to the cylinder head.
There is a large main ground that connects to the battery ground cable. It also connects to the chassis, the transmission and (I think) the under hood fuse box. There is also a ground that connects from the radiator mounting bar to the cylinder head.
Already cleaned, and in the process also cleaned the two wired connector and itworked for half an hour then it happened again, im thinking to change the blue relay under the glove box and see what happens.
So, I would like to share some updates on this case... And I'm proud to let you'll know that my problem has been SOLVED. So today I'm gonna share what I found as the most reliable solution. Since I cleaned everything on the car, changed some parts, Thermostat had been change with little to no success at all I decided to stop looking for a solution and leave the car as it is... until I realized that the temperature gauges now did not responded at all on any state except when the cooling fan stopped working and engine went to overheat, that way I always had a reading on temperature and gauge never dropped like it was doing when i started to have the issue so i decided to check for a replacement ECT Sensor and when changed... OMG, all problems disappeared almost immediately... And that made me think that the main and only issue that I had was a Faulty ECT sensor that did not read the right amount of temperature making the car get non-durable gas mixture making it hard to start when engine was warm.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 32,017
Likes: 256
From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 518
Re: Car Crank but won't start and when it does...
Originally Posted by ernest64xp
so i decided to check for a replacement ECT Sensor and when changed... OMG, all problems disappeared almost immediately... And that made me think that the main and only issue that I had was a Faulty ECT sensor that did not read the right amount of temperature making the car get non-durable gas mixture making it hard to start when engine was warm.
That's what I suspected long ago, but I always try to get some reasonable proof instead of just throwing parts at it: Glad you got it solved though!
Originally Posted by ezone
I'd want to see what the coolant temperature data shows when it won't start
That's what I suspected long ago, but I always try to get some reasonable proof instead of just throwing parts at it: Glad you got it solved though!
I know, but i didn't had the tool in hand to let you know... it's been one day since symptoms had disappeared (And honestly I hope it last a long time) but if something happens I'll let you all know!!! Thanks for everything thou!
Temperature Gauge Question... 
Re: Car Crank but won't start and when it does... 
