Here's a couple ideas, not sure if any of them will be the magic bullet...

Your "under-dash" fuses are actually in both ends of the dashboard. You open each door and the fusebox is near the door hinges.

If you don't trust your scanner, you can spend a bunch of money or you can go to an auto-parts-store for them to read any error codes.

Remind me - how did you test for the sparkplugs to see they aren't always firing?

Sparkplug cables can fail 2 ways - resistance is one of the ways but yours are OK. The other way is for the insulation to break down & short the spark out through the insulation. Check in complete darkness, best with a cold engine. Open the hood, turn off all the lights, start the engine, get out & look for arcing around the plug wires. Even a dull blue glow. Spray a little water from a windex bottle to see if that brightens up the arcing. (or if you happen to have a Megger at work & know how to use it...)

 

To test the sparkplugs I used a light that goes between the distributor and the spark plug. It lights up each time the voltage gets high enough for a spark. If you look at the first post I made I put up videos of me testing the sparkplugs and you can see that some of the time the spark wasn't going off.

Basically a slightly different version of this tool is what I'm using:
Problem is that my car is not starting, so I can't really take my car to an auto parts store to read the codes. If they loan out code scanners I could read my code with a borrowed one and return it, but I didn't see an obd2 scanner on the list of things autozone lends out. I'll try calling them and asking.

I'll try your cable test, but I think the cables are ok because the light on the spark plug tester is lighting up. I'm not sure how much voltage/current it needs to light up vs. how much the spark plug needs but I'm guessing they're pretty close.

The car was working and then after I parked it for a few hours it just wouldn't start. I'm thinking it's fixable because of that, but so far I haven't had any luck

I think I want to use some starting fluid and see if it starts so then I can rule out fuel injectors/fuel pump. I think I should also check the timing belt. Maybe the timing belt skipped a tooth and it was still close enough to continue running but off enough to cause it to not start? No clue.

 

Yes, try the starting fluid trick. I used it on my 97, when right after I bought it and got home with it, it wouldn't start again. It helped narrow down my problem. I was mainly using it for testing.

 

I actually got a socket wrench set and was trying to get to the timing belt because I figured it was a timing belt issue. Unfortunately it looks like I have to remove an engine mount to get to it. I wasn't sure if I could do that without propping up the engine with something? I was able to slip my hand under the timing belt cover and the belt felt ok. Pretty taught I would say, but I have no clue how taught it should be technically.

I also read that main relays go out a lot on honda accords so I took mine out and took a look at it. All the solder joints looked good to me, so I don't think that's the issue. Here is a picture:

https://i.imgur.com/7ew3gj7.jpg

I also looked under the engine cover when I opened it to get to the timing belt. There was oil and everything looked ok.

I also went through all the fuses in the driver/passenger side and they all had continuity across the fuse. I didn't test the voltage so I can't guarantee they are getting 12v, but a current should be able to run through them.

 

Yes, the mount has to come off. I use a jack to hold the engine up.

 

Ok, well for the short term I put everything back together since it wasn't super obvious that there was anything wrong with the timing belt based on the small portion of it I was able to uncover. It could absolutely have skipped some teeth but I'll take a look at that this weekend hopefully.

I originally thought I had run out of gas when the car didn't start. It had been sitting right by empty for a while, but without the empty fuel light coming on. I thought maybe it was inaccurate. First thing I did was add about .5 Gallons of gas to the car and try to start it. This didn't do anything so I ruled out lack of gas.

I just tried to start it wit starter fluid, and I have to say the engine fired on a couple cylinders in a row. It didn't start but it was the closest it has been.

I'm thinking about getting more fuel to add. It's an old car so I'm wondering if being low on gas means there's tons of particulates in the tank that are blocking the flow of the .5 gallon that's in there. I'll add a gallon and try starting it again with starting fluid and see what happens.

I also have a better OBD2 scanner coming tomorrow. Mine was dirt cheap and I don't think it even worked. Hopefully this new one gives better info.

Right now it could be timing, fuel system or compression. I think it might be the fuel system but I have no clue if starting fluid can cause cylinders to fire out of sync?

Are there easy tests I can do on the fuel system to figure out if it's working?

 

By using starting fluid, you may have already done the test. Since it fired up with the starting fluid, that means your spark & compression are OK. See if it runs a second or 2 longer when you continue spraying more starting fluid while a helper turns the key to start.

If that works, then put a generous amount of fuel in the tank. I'm thinking something like a couple more gallons.

Listen for the fuel pump. Turn off all noisemakers like radio, ventilation, anything like that. Turn the key only to RUN but not all the way to START. The fuel pump should run for 2 seconds at the same time as the check-engine light comes on for it's 2-second bulb check. Let us know if you hear the pump running for those 2 seconds.

 

Yup, I did that mainly for testing. If it ran as long as I sprayed it into the engine, that told me I had compression, the ignition circuit was good, the main relay was good, the fuel pump was running (could hear it), and the engine was in time. What it couldn't tell me was whether or not the injectors were working. A noid light can check that as well as a VOM meter. In my case, it was my injectors not firing, but, the up thru 97 Accords used a resistor block to drop the voltage to the injectors. In my case, I didn't have enough power to that block to power them. Once I had power to the injectors, the car ran. It took me almost 3 months to find that, as it's not a common problem on the earlier cars.

 

Hey guys.... I got my car running today. After I used starting fluid and had a few cylinders fire for a second I realized it was not getting fuel to the engine. I had originally thought my car had run out of gas when it first didn't start. I discounted this because I bought a gas can and added somewhere along the lines of half to a gallon of gas and it didn't seem to do anything.

After I had luck with starting fluid, I kept thinking about it and thought maybe the fuel tank has a lot of sediment or something because there are so many miles. Or maybe the pump doesn't reach to the bottom of the tank anymore for whatever reason. I added another gallon of gas. Still no luck. Then I watched a video online showing that you could turn the key to the start position a few times (not ignition, but start - when your radio and everything fires up) and build up fuel pressure. I did this and just kept trying to start it and after a few tries it started. It ran a little rough at first, maybe because it hasn't ran in a month or so. Then I let it idle for a while to recharge the battery.

Earlier in this post I showed some tests on youtube videos where I measured the power the distributor was giving the spark plugs. It showed that it was sometimes not sparking, and that the timing looked off. I originally thought this was the problem after I mistakenly ruled out not having enough gas..... I had a really rough idle and that is a symptom of bad spark plugs/distributor. The spark plugs seemed fine and I replaced them, but the distributor was still not putting out a regular spark so I replaced it.

Luckily replacing the distributor was not in vain since it now idles way way better. It used to idle incredibly rough to the point where it was very loud. It sounds completely normal now.

So yeah, it turned out I needed to add a lot more fuel to get it started, way more than I've needed to add to other cars. Maybe due to sediment... maybe due to the pump not reaching to the bottom of the tank. I think it is sediment, because I had to add a lot of gas to get it to work and I've ran this car on empty before without issue. It definitely seems like the pump reaches the bottom based on the fact that it didn't die previously from low fuel.

Overall from this experience I didn't really waste any money. I did need a distributor, I didn't really need spark plugs but the whole set was like $8. I probably spent 40-50 on sockets and wrenches. I also bought a cheap OBD2 scanner. Basically everything I bought is usable in the future and is a tool or was needed anyway. Probably spent $200 overall.

Such a massive headache off my shoulders.... I literally have a train that takes me directly to my work from like 3 blocks from my house but it took my commute from like 15 min to 1.5 hours.... Not having a car in the US is ****ing rough. I was about to give up and get it towed to a mechanic, but I'm really glad I didn't.

I'm sure this car has some other issues that need to be worked on. I'm going to try to continue to find them and fix them and keep this car going for a while.

Thanks a lot for all the help on this forum. As an engineer I knew I could figure out how to fix my car at some point, but it is a daunting task for someone with no experience. I now feel confident working on a lot of stuff I never would've touched before. So thanks!

 

The fuel pump has some kind of mesh bag that serves as an inlet screen, as well as a kind of nozzle that reaches down to the bottom of the tank. I've heard of that coming off so now the pump inlet isn't at the bottom of the tank any more.

Unfortunately, to get at that you might have to drop the fuel tank...