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Hey guys,

My car has 200k kms on it and i am already working on scheduled maintenance.

I just noticed a new issue which is terrifying me.

Sometimes the car usually starts like a charm in a single self flawlessly.

Sometimes its taking longer. I have to hold the crank for 5-6 seconds and multiple tries as i don't wanna drain the battery. In the 3-4 try after 4-5 seconds the engine would ignite slowly then i pump the throttle a bit and it runs as if fuel wasn't reaching the engine. I even checked the distributor cables for looseness.

Is it the fuel pump, distributor, battery or starter ???

I need help in diagnosing this issue if any of you ever had a similar issue.

 
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What's a "self"?

 
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My bad bro. I meant the starter.

 
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If I thought it might be a fuel pump, I'd test power and ground to the pump, and maybe fuel pressure. (I could also current ramp the pump using a labscope and some other stuff, but that's not something everyone at home has access to.) Hondas fuel pumps are pretty robust though.

Possible PGMFI main relay not turning the pump on, common failure: Bad solder joints inside the relay, can be fixed easily if you can solder.
(There's a couple other real common stall/no start issues too.... the ignition switch, and the coil and igniter.)

Otherwise, you'd have to figure out what's missing or wrong when it doesn't fire up right away. Spark? Fuel? Compression?

Does this only happen when the gas tank is low? Keep the tank full LOL.

 
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I can solder so i will check the relay. i think i should clean the spark plugs too. this usually doesnt happen as i keep the car half tank. i am assuming this started happening after i got a full tank.
So if the starter still cranks we can rule out the battery and starter, right?

It has to be either the fuel pump or electricals?

 
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Easy enough, touch up (add to) all of the blobs on the circuit board, there's only like 20 or so.

Not a fuel quality problem? Bad gas mix? Too much alcohol content?(big problem here in my area sometimes) Water or something other than fuel in the tank?
If it cranks at normal fast speed, then probably. If it's cranking slow, then no.

There's a lot more to it than just that.

Example, just one of many possible:

Coolant temp sensor for the computer, if it goes flaky then the computer won't inject the correct amount of fuel for the actual engine temperature. It might suddenly believe the engine has been sitting overnight in Antarctica when in reality it's really 200+ degrees. Engine floods as a result of wrong input to the computer.

Again, just one possible cause.

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I had a CRV some time back that was sometimes damn hard to get started after the lady went in to the store for ...maybe 15 minutes.

First I found a pinhole in the top radiator hose was pissing a stream of antifreeze directly onto the distributor cap when it got hot.

That's a problem, BUT that was not the actual cause of the complaint......

Turned out to be a bad coolant temp sensor, it would report temperature about 150 degrees too low, but it would NOT do this every time I tried to recreate the situation she described.




Another example would be a Prelude that wouldn't start when hot..... Someone at another shop threw a fuel pump in it, then it ends up in my bay because that pump didn't fix it.
Another coolant temp sensor.

I have no idea why everyone wants to throw fuel pumps at Hondas...... They are not GMs.
I can count all the truly bad Honda pumps I've replaced in the last 11 years...on one hand....and have fingers left over.

 
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Thanks ezone for the amazing info. I am woking on it. Will update this thread soon.