2000 Accord F23A4 won’t start

Joecontois

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Hello. This accord had intermittent starting problems since we got it a couple months ago. It seemed to be worse when it was hot outside and better when it was cold. The first time it didn’t start, I looked things up and found out about the main relay. I told my kid to bang under the dash, and it worked that time.

The next times it happened, his friends parents did things such as changing the fuel pump fuse, taking out the white housing around the main relay, presumably to make a better connection, and also tapping either on what I think is the starter relay, or the brass relay looking thing next to it.

Finally my kid narrowed it down to messing with the two little black boxes on the main relay when it wouldn’t start. After messing with them, he would hear the fuel pump prime, and the check engine light would be on, and it would work. When the CEL light didn’t come on and the fuel pump didn’t prime, it would not start.

Anyways, I went to move it the other day, but I didn’t know my kid’s process, and I couldn’t get it to start. So I took out the main relay, and noticed that the solder contacts were broken on one of the little black boxes, so I thought I found the issue, and proceeded to resolder it. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. I thought maybe I fried it with heat, so the next day I went and bought another relay for $70. Still didn’t work.

Now today I went and bought a fuel pump. The previous owner had been in there because the float wasn’t attached, so I attached that which made the gas gauge work for the first time, but the car still won’t start. So at this point I have thrown 2 parts at it because I’m a newb at working on cars, and so now I’m at the point of needing to ask for help, or possibly just selling it.

The other thing I thought may have been an issue from the start was that I didn’t see the Air Fuel sensor because there was a header installed. I inspected the car further this time since we can’t get it to start, and I found what I think is the A/F sensor at the other end of the header where it connects to the next piece in the exhaust. It wasn’t just that I didn’t see the sensor, but also that it threw a code for that sensor, I believe 0126 and or 127.

Sorry for such a lengthy post, but it would be great if I could fix this car because we’ve driven it far and it’s a 5 speed and is fun to drive. Thank you very much.

PS I just hooked up the scanner to check those codes, and the scanner wouldn’t power up which is odd. I think the codes were actually 1166 and 1167.
 

619rcr

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If you're any good with wiring and schematics, find the wiring diagram for the starter circuit. Check for power on the main power relay contacts, and the starter relay when the key is set to on, not start. the power relays are prone to cracking at the solder points. some re-solder, but replacements are relatively inexpensive. on my 01, i had an intermittent problem where the whole car would shut off, isolated it down to a single power wire that would blow a fuse in the underhood fuse box. i belive 20amps. ran a new wire from the battery to the main relay and added an inline fuse that i could reach near the battery side. good luck.
 
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