2006 Civic EX starting problem

Hi,

2006 Civic EX starting problem, 94k miles, all servicing up to date.

My daughter came to me saying her car was hard to start and that the
battery warning lamp stays on.

Tested the car today. Engine turns just fine but shows no sign of
starting until 4 or 5 attempts at turning the engine over. Then it
fires, stutters a bit and runs just fine. Battery warning light goes
off. Car drives as normal until you stop and turn the engine off. Then
the same procedure again, it requires 5 or 6 attempts to get it to
fire.

Hot or cold start makes no difference.

The battery seemed OK to me but I put it on the charger for 6 hours to
top it up. Charged battery made no difference. Battery connections are
good.

I will have the engine trouble codes read as soon I can get it to
Autozone, but apart from that, does anybody have any ideas,
suggestions.

Al Moodie.

 

It's either a fuel or ignition problem. I guess you could check for
spark when it does not want to start or use a little starting fluid to
see if it's willing to start with another source of fuel.

Honda has had some problems with the fuel pump relays in the past but
I think it was resolved before 2006.

Let us know what you do and what happens.

Good luck!

 

Took the car to Advance Auto and they checked for trouble codes, there
were none.

There is no check engine light and now no battery warning light,
however the difficult starting problem persists. In the past this car
would start first crank every time hot or cold. Now it requires 3 or
more cranking episodes to get it to fire, and when it does fire it
takes 10 -15 seconds to get running smoothly. The engine stumbles at
low revs when you hit the gas pedal, then once the revs get above 1000
RPM all is well. Car runs just fine otherwise.

Fuel pump relay theory makes sense. I had a 93 Ford Taurus with a
faulty fuel pump relay, it either started or not at random. The relay
intermittently failed to energize the fuel pump and the engine would
not fire. However Taurus trouble code identified the relay as faulty.

Can anybody confirm the faulty Civic fuel pump relay problem and the
relevant years affected. Will try a Google search.

The problem is so short lived that it's difficult to diagnose. Will
report back when I have more info.

Al Moodie.

 

This problem is NOT going to be the Main Relay.

I've seen bad alternators cause similar problems on vehicles around your
car's age. Have the DEALER check it out, not an aftermarket garage.

The dealer has equipment as his disposal that just about no aftermarket
garages have. Specifically, the dealer has the Honda Diagnostic System
(HDS), which reports all engine and sensor parameters on a computer screen,
so the technician can see in real-time what's happening. He can also turn
things on and off to see if he can force the problem into occurring.

 

UPDATE

Car failed to start with my daughter at a remote location. She
eventually got it going after many attempts but it ran roughly, lacked
power and the CEL light was on. She drove it home slowly to Advance
Auto who read the codes which showed:

P0300 random multiple misfire detected pending
P0302 cylinder 2 misfire
P0303 cylinder 3 misfire

I replaced 4 spark plugs. # 3 was burnt pretty badly, the others
looked OK. Used Autolite XP5224 (an OEM replacement) gapped at 44 thou

Car did not start until 4th or 5th attempt but runs just fine once it
fire and catches its breath. Sometimes it starts first time, other
times it rquires 3-4 attempts.

Am reluctant to take it to a Honda dealer at this stage on cost and
time required, would rather attempt to fix it myself.

Any help appreciated

Al Moodie.

 

Possibly
low compression,
burnt or misadjusted valves,
low fuel pressure,
and who knows what else.

A pro needs to look at this car. Sounds like it'a had a poor maintenance
regimen.