JosephThomas Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 Anyone know of a forum for auto maintenance and troubleshooting? Preferably one with the same level of knowledgeable and helpful people as this one has Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ..Kev Posted May 9, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 That's why I build furniture for my mechanic JT 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 Gotta be more specific as to what your looking for. Each brand has cult following forums. ASE techs have our own forum which you have to be licensed to join. Chilton and Mitchell also have a board of sorts What are you looking for? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted May 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 @TIODS Yeah, not a bad idea. I would gladly pay a good one, but haven't had great luck. Also not willing to drive/tow the car thru 1 hour of city traffic, makes it tough. @Brendon_t It's a 2004 Honda Accord, no trouble codes showing up on the scanner, it turns over but won't start. Car has ignition coils instead of a distributor, so not sure how to troubleshoot those without better tools...could be a fuel filter/pump problem too. Just looking for somewhere with some content to read so I can at least learn something, even if I have to give up and take it to a dealership eventually... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialbyfire Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 It's turning over so your battery should be good but always worth a check. Check that all cables/wires are connected appropriately. Also If it's just turning over and not trying to start get the starter checked (auto zone, O'Reilly, etc usually do it for you for free, you just have to pull out off) YMMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Air, fuel, spark. Our all non starts stem back to one of those three. I'll guarantee you there are a dozen Honda tech forums but I haven't used any. I'd start with getting the Chilton book for it. Should be less Thabo $20 at auto zone. They have great troubleshooting flow charts and wiring diagrams. 7 minutes ago, trialbyfire said: . Also If it's just turning over and not trying to start get the starter checked If it's turning over, that shows specifically that the starter is engaging. If the strater wasn't engaging, it would either just click or spin up really quickly not turning the engine over. First thing I'd do is get it on a charger while you diagnose. Draining a battery is pretty hard on it. Second would be to check fuel pressure at the rail. There is a black plastic pipe under the engine cover with a valve on the left side to hook a fuel pressure gauge to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 All good advice.. Check the fuse to the electric fuel pump.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 2 minutes ago, TIODS said: All good advice.. Check the fuse to the electric fuel pump.. Although not likely, checking all fuses in the box for continuity across posts can lead to some interesting finds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 5 minutes ago, Brendon_t said: Although not likely, checking all fuses in the box for continuity across posts can lead to some interesting finds. Never said it was likely I have had it happen tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 5 minutes ago, TIODS said: Never said it was likely I have had it happen tho. Absolutely. Me too man. I chased an intermittent ac compressor failure for a whole summer in Phoenix. Finally found out the blade of the fuse was cracked off on one side. It was creating an intermittent short. I'm falling to mention the car belonged to my now wife who was 7 months pregnant.. in Phoenix.. in June..with no ac... oops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 4 minutes ago, Brendon_t said: Absolutely. Me too man. I chased an intermittent ac compressor failure for a whole summer in Phoenix. Finally found out the blade of the fuse was cracked off on one side. It was creating an intermittent short. I'm falling to mention the car belonged to my now wife who was 7 months pregnant.. in Phoenix.. in June..with no ac... oops If she still married you, it must have been love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncfowler Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 does Honda have a rubber timing belt? if the belt and the idler arm are worn out it will throw you timing off and your car will not start, the belts should be replaced every 60k. best bet is to bring it to a shop that can put it on computer, in the long run it will be cheaper than trying to define the problem. most times if you have a regular shop they may even do it as to keep your business, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 I belong to a forums that has been a great help on my truck. I've been driving it for 15 years, and intend to for a good while yet. Usually there are at least a string of pictures and detailed instructions for any particular repair, and also usually a good selection of youtube videos. I saved over $3700 by installing new injectors myself in two six hour days following step by step instructions off those forums. Next up is breaking the tractor in two for a new clutch, and to find some mysterious hydraulic internal leak. Shop manual for the tractor is 412 pages of pictures and step by step instructions off ebay. I had the dealer replace the clutch in 2007. It cost over a grand, and then had to go back for them to replace the gasket they screwed up for another 600. Clutch pack is less than 200. Don't know why forums won't allow enter button to work, so sorry for run-on paragraph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 2 minutes ago, ncfowler said: best bet is to bring it to a shop that can put it on computer, in the long run it will be cheaper than trying to define the problem. Best and cheaper are completely subjective. Out here, shop rate for diagnosis usually runs $160/hour. I would Argue that learning and being able to diagnose small things before turning it over has huge value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 you are correct nc, rubber or some composite material, replace every 60K or risk having the thing break when its running and bend all the valves and pay major $ to get it fixed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 We put off longer than I would have liked to changing the timing belt in my Wife's WRX. It had 163,000 on it when I changed it, and the old one looked to be in such remarkable shape that it's hanging on a nail in the shop (mechanic/metal working), and I've shown it to a number of people all to their amazement. Our method of running vehicles is to make one payment, and run them until they drop. My truck has been paid for 15 years, and my Wife's hotrod 12. I think auto part stores like Advance and Autozone will run a code reader for no charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Tom, what kind of hot rod does your wife have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Besides the obvious one ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Subaru WRX. Not a HotRod in the purest sense, but it's a fun little car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Subaru and HotRod should never be mentioned in the same sentence.. I may have to issue my first warning 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 28 minutes ago, TIODS said: Subaru and HotRod should never be mentioned in the same sentence.. I may have to issue my first warning You clearly haven't seen many Subaru rally cars. They have a very large motor sports division. @JosephThomas Try poking around Honda-tech might get an answer. I will warn you some of them guys are ummm interesting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 3 hours ago, Brendon_t said: Air, fuel, spark. Our all non starts stem back to one of those three. I'll guarantee you there are a dozen Honda tech forums but I haven't used any. I'd start with getting the Chilton book for it. Should be less Thabo $20 at auto zone. They have great troubleshooting flow charts and wiring diagrams. If it's turning over, that shows specifically that the starter is engaging. If the strater wasn't engaging, it would either just click or spin up really quickly not turning the engine over. First thing I'd do is get it on a charger while you diagnose. Draining a battery is pretty hard on it. Second would be to check fuel pressure at the rail. There is a black plastic pipe under the engine cover with a valve on the left side to hook a fuel pressure gauge to. Yep, starter was obviously fine, it was turning over...bad starter will usually just click. Abd yeah I have a chilton manual, couldn't survive without it. I did exactly what you're saying: plugged it up to my trickle charger a few hours ago...during the 2 or so hours in between I went nuts looking for other causes...pulled the ignition coils, timing belt cover, etc... fuel delivery seemed unlikely as I could hear the pump engaging and disengaging while turning the key to the electrical and adding carb/choke cleaner to the intake didn't have any effect. After all that drummed up nothing I started to feel a little better and just waited for the trickle charger. The car started, I took it in to the auto parts store and their tester in house kept saying it needed "more charging time" before it could determine if the battery was bad...waited a bit more, same result, which I took as a false positive, so I replaced the battery. The battery was there when I bought the car used a year and a half ago, and that car has been used solely for short drives to the store and such lately, so it was probably not getting charged enough either. Seems ok for now, although I know there is some upcoming 105k mile maintenance to take care of (i.e. timing belt) so I was overly worried about other problems. Thanks all for the responses. Hopefully next time I will relax and go for the simplest solution first next time. Could have been in the shop instead of removing all the accessories on the left side of the engine all afternoon ... The fact that the scanner didn't bring up any trouble codes should have been a hint too, but I am prone to panic, so...yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 2 minutes ago, Chestnut said: You clearly haven't seen many Subaru rally cars. They have a very large motor sports division. Big difference between rally and HotRod! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 You could have the old battery hooked up to a VAT tester just to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Just now, TIODS said: Big difference between rally and HotRod! They make street versions. Think new school hotrod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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