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dyess · Mar 21, 2008, 06:38 PM

98 Accord LX 4-cylinder 2.3L, parked outside... Cincinnati, Ohio

Intermittent issues starting the car. After reading the recos on this board (thanks txgreasemonkey for sharing your knowledge), I've replaced:

Igniter
Coil
Main Relay

I still have the problem. I replaced these before realizing that there seems to be a pattern related to moisture.

If the car is turned off for periods of 12 or more hours, and it rains during that period, starting the car is a crapshoot. If it starts on a rainy day in the morning, then I can start and stop it all day long without any issue of getting it restarted. Once it's parked overnight, if the moist environment continues, it may not start the following morning.

So, my theory is that if it gets started the 1st time on a rainy day, then it almost immediately dries out (whatever it is that's moist) enough that it's OK for any subsequent stop/starts that day. But, a longer period (12+ hours) of inactivity allows the moisture to again build up enough to cause the issue.

Additionally, if it's dry outside, the car can be turned off for days and it will start right up.

So, what's my next course of action? This problem has been going on for ~5 months, and it's driving me crazy. I'm most grateful for any help.

TxGreaseMonkey · Mar 22, 2008, 07:38 AM

Focus on replacing the distributor cap and O-ring. The link below should help:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-t...tml#post520809

dyess · Mar 22, 2008, 07:53 AM

Thanks, will do! Don't know how I missed that...

dyess · Mar 22, 2008, 11:14 PM

OK, an update... changed the distributor cap (and "rotor button" (I believe they called it) while I was in there.

It started right up after the change, so at least I didn't break anything. :D Now it's just wait and see until a couple of good rainstorms arrive. That's when I'll know if this was the issue. Keeping my fingers crossed...