I recently inherited a 2000 TL with 180K from my brother who owned it since new and took very good care of it. I had a couple minor issues that I have worked through but recently experienced warm crank/ no start condition. It seems to resolve it self after sitting/cooling for a few hours, my kid drives this car and getting detailed information can sometimes be tough but common thread seems to be the car had been driven recently AND weather is above 90 degrees when the problem occurs.
After some research I initially replaced the main relay(O'Reilly's after market due to availability) but it didn't solve the problem so I also replaced the CTS and made sure there was no air bubbles in the cooling system by using a coolant funnel.
It's only been a few days since the CTS replacement and NO issues yet but this has been an intermittent problem. Can anyone recommend any other area that I should pay close attention to for potential causes ? After looking at the fuse/relay box diagrams I don't see a separate relay for the fuel pump, just the main relay. Any chance an aging ignition switch might cause warm crank/no start ?
I have owned multiple Honda Odyssey's so I am very familiar with the 3.2/3.5 platform.
ANY advice would be appreciated.

 

other than main relay, next is fuel pump.

listen for operation of the fuel pump when the key is cycled to on, one click before start. it should run a couple seconds, then shut off.

if you don't hear it run, then its a dead giveaway. old pumps in hot weather can overheat, cool down and start working.

running with low fuel doesn't help as it also cools the pump. recommend keeping at least 1/4 tank, esp in hotter weather

 

My next test when it happens will be shoot some carb cleaner in the throttle body and also check voltage at fuel pump. Do you know if there is a convenient place for a fuel pressure test ? I don't see a schraesee valve near the fuel rail and I know there isn't one on a 3.5. it makes checking fuel pressure more complicated than it should be on these.

 

Anyone recommend a decent fuel pump ? I might order one and replace since it's 20 years old with 180K miles.

 

^
Go to rockauto.com. Depending on how much you want to spend make a choice from the selection.

 

Just ordered the Denso with screen, few bucks more but not worth huffing gas twice.

 

don't think there is a quick connect schrader or screw adaptor for fuel pump test. without checking my book, believe you would need a set with an adaptor that screws inline with the regulator.

i had another thought after my last post. just to rule out key/immobilizer: do you ever have a blinking green key symbol when the no start happens?

 

Not that I am aware. again, my kid drives this so I have only personally experienced the no start once which led me to replace the main relay and there was no blinking key(I am pretty familiar with the immobilizer issues with Honda's). All the times when experiencing the no start it has been warm crank/no start.
My gut tells me the new CTS most likely fixed this problem but at current age/mileage I don't mind replacing the fuel pump and filter screen since it's not a very difficult job. From some research a runaway voltage/resistance with a faulty CTS can prevent starting.

 

Change coil packs worked for me

 

I took a close look at all the coils and no obvious signs of cracks or shorting AND it has only thrown a misfire code once, just yesterday. For a car to not start/fire it would need a few bad coils so I'm pretty confident it's not a spark issue on the no start. I only have a simple scanner and bluetooth device with torque pro right now so still figuring out what live date i can see with it. I owuld like to see what the ecu is reading for CTS as well as all 3 cooling fan sensors in the system when the car is NOT starting.
Looks like a slight overheat situation yesterday so I replaced the thermostat late last night. Unfortunately now I have a slight drip at the housing. Pretty sure the crappy seal they sold me is the cause, it did not have the tabs on it like the OEM so I will reuse the old seal and check after replacement.