All,

Not a tranny thread but a generic engine issue. I've been gone a week in Vegas and now back. My car's been sitting outside (about 30F in the day, 15F at night). Now ... the engine will turn over but won't start. I hear the starter ... so I'm thinking my battery's almost gone or an ignition issue. There was a bit of a funny smell when I got out of my car to take a look at the engine to see if the OEM battery warning indicator was dark (as opposed to 'green' for good).

Any thoughts? I have to work at 3 today (thank goodness) so I have time to figure out how I'm gonna get to work. I'll try to turn her over again before I leave. No time to go to dealership or garage since I have a week's worth of stuff to do.

 

Is it cold enough right now for your gas to of frozen in your lines? Other then that its probably your battery. Try giving it a jump start if you can.

 

Yeah ... that's what I figured ... will find jumper cables and hook it up and keep my fingers crossed. Don't want to call CAA (Canadian AAA) for a jump if I don't have to. I have STP fuel treatment in the garage. Might dump it in since I'm due for an oil change soon (500km).

 

so it cranks but wont start? or it wont crank, just a click click click?

 

Clarification: it cranks, but won't start. I even had my dad try and start the car when I tried to jump it. Won't start properly. I did notice the lights on the dash flicker a bit ... worry if it's the starter or a short somewhere. Getting my car towed tomorrow morning to the Honda dealership and have them use a diagnostic (no Acura dealership in Canada for 200km where I live). Good thing most of the car is equivalent to an Accord V6. Won't get the car back until Monday, the earliest...

My car is in the garage and the light bulb is burned out so I can't really see if the OEM battery is still good. But after trying to jump it, it's not the battery that's the issue...

 

alternator maybe or loose battery connection. Try tightening your terminals and look for loose wires. Hopefully it is not an ignition problem, that can be a pain to locate.

 

I agree

 

I don't see how an alternator would cause starting problems. People also tend to jump to the more complicated solutions before ruling out the simple ones. While wires can fall off, and connections can loosen, it'd be a pretty big coincidence that it happened during the week you were away. Sometimes reviewing the facts helps diagnose a problem.

1. It started before the Vegas trip
2. It sat, in freezing weather, for 1 week without being started.
3. It doesn't start now.

Most likely, since the lights flicker, the battery probably needs replaced. You didn't indicate how old the battery is.

Second most likely, water in the fuel.

BTW, I've had cars with a bad battery where jumping it wouldn't start it, but a new battery fixed the problem.

 

The alternator has nothing to do with it. If it were dead and the battery were dead yea it would have played its role in why the battery is dead.

So if it cranks but wont start i would have to say something else is wrong , simply becase if it were the battery it wouldnt crank. It may be the fuel lines were frozen, but those temps seem a lil high for that to happen.

Oh and that little indicator box is usless half the time. Mine showed green and didnt even have enough power to turn on my dome light

 

dry gas might help, also may be clogged fuel injectors. did you try stepping on the gas while cranking it?

 

Stepping on gas when cranking it? Never thought of it (re: fuel injection). Oh well ... at Honda dealership now... they'll tell me how much they're gonna swindle from me tomorrow.

 

Like in the other thread, did you notice the green key light flashing or anything like that? That seems to be a rather simple problem that happens to these transponder keys sometimes if you drop them or leave them in extreme heat or cold weather.

 

Oh yea it could be the key..... I had fucked mine up tryin to straightin it out on the concrete, and lets say i did more damage then there really was. The key was so bent that it couldnt go back in the ignition. So i had to go to Home Depot, cuz it was the only thing open at the time. a copy controls the ACC but wont turn the car over. HAd to pay $45 for a new key.....

 

Got my car back ... bad battery -- MikePA -- good job! (BTW, the battery is the original one from the factory -- May 2001)

Too bad I got charged C$160 (US$140) to for the service. Battery was C$60. The rest was labor, diagnostic + lovely taxes we pay in Canada.

 

All that over a dead battery,
You big Dummie!

 

I knew it had to be either battery or iced up fuel. 140 is not a major loss. It could of been worse.

 

why didnt you take the battery out and get it tested somewhere??? it was obviously the battery - you could have spent much less or got a new Optima battery for that price

 

I needed the car back ASAP -- back from Vegas for a conference ... had to get to work the next day. Had to borrow my parents' car for a day until Honda got it fixed.

Hindsight is 20/20. Since my car is always garaged (but it was left outside unstarted for a week and it has been really cold and snowy here), I thought it could have been something electrical. The car was cranking, not starting. And I would have thought jumping it would have eliminated the possibility of a battery issue. But now and I know ... and knowing is half the battle.

(It's not too big a cost since my car is a business expense. )