Ok, so my wife and I share a 2003 Honda Accord LX Coupe 2.4L Vtec 4cyl. Automatic, Mileage: 210,000. This is our only car and I hope to get it running ASAP, so I can get around! This car has been great over the years and has proven to be better than the almost identical 2005 Accord that I bought a year later.

Main problem: The car will turn over strong, but will not start.

Symptoms- and they are lengthy:
#1. Turns over strong, but does not catch and run.
#2. If it does start- it shuts off in a time span of 10sec. to 5min.
Except yesterday after a lengthy warm up it did not shut off at all. drove home from work with zero issues 3-4 miles. Then cranked up a few hours later for a long warm up and it shut off whilst warming up- the ignition was humming when I came back to check on it 10-15 minutes later. Restarted and it cleared the CEL and codes and ran with zero issues.
#3. No Check engine lights on now, but a few have come up over the years. Including- Low Oil Pressure- might be cured after a VTEC solenoid gasket changed done recently( a week ago) when replaced the C.E.L. went off for 2 days and then threw another code- P0420- which is a bank 1 issue in the catalytic converter, probably the O2 sensor.
#4. In recent years if it is storming and there is A LOT of water, and I drive through a big puddle- then the car stalls out and I shift it into neutral, start it again, put it in drive and keep going. - In retaliation to this I pulled the spark plugs out to check for any water issues in the plug areas- zero water/coolant in the plug tubes.

Work Done within the past year:
#1 Honda recall- Ignition switch replacement done at the dealer( 1yr. ago)
#2. Passenger side rear wheel control arm replacement done at the shop- I.D.K. when it was done.
#3. Starter replacement- done at home- a month ago
#4. VTEC solenoid gasket- done at home- a week ago

What I know so far:
#1. When the car is running- there is absolutely no hard running(erg. not idling bad or up and down and it seems to have decent pick up- if it seems lacking its not much and could be attributed to age and mileage.
#2. The cruise control seems to be tripping off sometimes when its on- one of the weirdest issues
#3. The car shuts off while idling and running- not necessarily from braking either, but has when braking and turning
#4. When the key is in the ON position(II) it calls for fuel- can hear the pump-
#5. When the car stalls and the key is in the ON position it hums until moved to the off position
#6. When the key is in the ON position the humming can be felt on the Brake master cylinder in the engine bay... weird

What I have checked so far:
#1. Checked the spark plugs for spark- not really sure- no spark but didnt have a good ground.My friend plugged the boot in and had the spark plug out touching the metal head casing while i turned the engine over by the key.
#2. The On position key calls for the fuel pump to send fuel
#3. Sprayed starter fluid into the air flow tube and it tried running and almost did but didnt
#4. No oil is coming out of the Vtec solenoid gasket that I changed
#5. Made sure that nothing was loose from the recent Starter change. My starter forced me to remove the air intake manifold off and a bunch of stuff needed to be removed. All was in its place.
#6. The fuel pump fuse is fine.

Sorry for the really long post, but I wanted to be thorough with what is going on. PLEASE, if anyone has gone through anything like this let me know! I am really needing to get this car going or it is just a huge waste of my money! thanks!

 

I guess no one is responding to this because I made my username HateThisHonda...

 

well, first you need to verify spark or not. second, just because the fuel pump is running doesn't mean you have enough volume/pressure to run the engine. i'd take a hard look at the recalled ignition switch repair (that's what i'm leaning towards right now) lastly, how long has this been going on? and if it starts running ok again and then dies, check for codes imeadiately, regardless of MIL being on or not.

 

Sorry, that this thread has not been updated in a while, I only have a computer at work, so here we go. Thank you for your reply! The car was taken up to a local shop and was found to have a problem with the Main Relay(s) or the ECU. The shop replaced the main relay(s) and said it didnt work, so it was the ECU and I needed to take it to the dealer. Ultimately my father-n-law and I found through a crude way, the car isn't getting spark, but is that because the ECU is bad and wont give the cngine spark because it is set up to demobilize the engine during a problem or vandalism??? I bought a second ECU from the junk yard for $144.50 and am sending it to Honda tomorrow to get the new ECU flashed over to my car and keys, for $49.50 according- no pun intended- to the dealer. Seems cheap considering the other nearest Honda dealer would do it for $115.00, anyone have any ideas? Any help is greatly appreciated!