1996 Accord Won't start when weather is cold and damp

I have a 1996 Accord that has the same problem every year at this time. When the weather gets cold and damp the car will not start. The battery and starter appear to be strong. It acts as if no gas is getting through, or if moisture is in the fuel. After several minutes and many attemps the car will finally start. This has been going on for the past 3 years. No one seems to have any ideas. Any help hear would be greatly appreciated. Again, this only occurs at this time of year.

Reply to
tvandy
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Cracked distributor cap or old wires would be my first suspicion.

When was the last time this car had a tuneup (new plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, timing check, air filter, fuel filter, maybe a bottle of Chevron Techron dumped in the fuel tank, all ignition parts OEM)?

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"tvandy" wrote

Reply to
Elle

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WHEN does it always happen? Only after sitting overnight, or in the middle of the day / evening after it's been driven recently ? ?

'Curly'

Reply to
motsco_

"tvandy" wrote in news:1164916714.279416.208810@

79g2000cws.googlegroups.com:

How old are the plug wires?

Reply to
Tegger

It's usually an ignition high voltage leak if it always does it when it's damp. This is real common on toyotas, and hondas may have the same problem. Lots of times it's the ignition coil "flashing" over to ground along tiny thin conductive dirt traces that form along the body of the coil plastic covering. Normally, the insulation from ground should be good with no flashing over. What I would do is remove and clean the coil housing, etc with alcohol or something like that. Try to get it as clean as you can. Check all the wires for flashing. But..it's not very common for all the wires to do this at once, so I really don't suspect the wires in this case. I suspect the coil, cap, rotor, etc, before it goes to the wires. I'd slap a new cap and rotor on it being they are cheap, unless yours are already fresh. Sometimes the coils will leak so bad you just have to replace them. Once they start forming traces, it's often hard to clean them away well enough to not have any more problems. They seem to be quite conductive many times. Also...It's possible to have carb icing in this weather, but your car should be FI, so scratch that...That would only occur after running a while anyway. Carb icing does not give starting problems when cold. It hasn't iced up yet at that point. At this point, if I had to bet $$$$$, I'd say it's probably your coil. But don't take that as gospel without checking it out a bit. MK

Reply to
nm5k

Reply to
tvandy

Reply to
tvandy

I am having the same problem with my 1996 accord. What was the recommendation?

I have changed my wires, distributor cap, spark plugs, main relay switch, computer, starter, fuel filter, and it still will not start when temperature drops below 60 degrees. It takes me about 10 mins. or more to get it started in the mornings. When it finally does start after cranking on it for a while, it runs rough for a minute then straightens itself out. What else do I need to check?

Please help. Thank you.

Susan W.

"tvandy" wrote: > I have a 1996 Accord that has the same problem every year at > this time. > When the weather gets cold and damp the car will not start. > The > battery and starter appear to be strong. It acts as if no gas > is > getting through, or if moisture is in the fuel. After several > minutes > and many attemps the car will finally start. This has been > going on > for the past 3 years. No one seems to have any ideas. Any > help hear > would be greatly appreciated. Again, this only occurs at this > time of > year.

Reply to
Susan_W

Bad Coolant temperature sensor will cause hard starting when cold.

The fuel enrichment mode uses coolant temp to raise the idle speed as well as the air/fuel ratio.

Reply to
afd

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