I have a 96 "backup" Accord that only gets driven once every three or four weeks. I keep a "smart' trickle charger on the battery.

My procedure

1. Remove fuse 13 (ECU) from under the hood
2. Crank the engine for 10 seconds. Wait a couple of minutes (to make sure not to overheat the starter). Repeat this two more times to build up oil pressure.
3. Replace fuse 13 and start the car

Is there a better procedure to avoid a "dry start"?
or is it overkill to do this if I run the car every 3 weeks or so? If overkill, how many weeks or months of not running the car before a procedure to avoid a dry start is warranted?

Thank you

 

Personally, I wouldn't bother doing this unless it's been sitting longer than a month.

One improvement would be to pull the spark plugs. Then you don't have the stress of compression until after you have circulated some oil around. But not for just one month...

For a car that'll sit longer, like a year...
Change oil to get fresh oil without moisture or fuel dilution.
Fill the tank (avoid corrosion around the liquid level) & use fuel stabilizer.

 

On '92 Accord I use this procedure for a delayed restart - 3 days or 3 weeks ...
1. Turn key on for few seconds
2. Crank for a few seconds (usually doesn't fire on 1st crank)
3. Crank again and it fires to fast idle
4. Key turn off and immediately back 'on' (not to start position, just 'on') to pick it up while it's still spinning.
Goal is to get oil closer to the bearings, etc without the high idle 2200 rpm when cold and oil is down in the pan.
Yeah, I'm overthinking it!
Starter not needed here because ignition kicks back in while still spinning.

Then I let it warm up for a few minutes and drive off.

 

To start a car after a month; put the key in, turn it, start the engine, and drive away.

 

Assuming the above to be the case, after how many months would it be considered a "dry start", necessitating a different start procedure?

I understand that if storing a car a year, or several years, one procedure is to (short version):
remove the spark plugs and squirt some oil into the cylinders. Then when starting after the dormant period, hand crank the engine or crank the engine with the plugs out in order to build up oil pressure before putting a load on it. At what point is this overkill?

 

We just started the flathead V8 in old Ford truck stored in one of our barns; per the Grandpa of the farm the engine hadn't been started since the 1980s. Charged the 6V battery, poured gas in the tank, turned the key and let the starter grind away for maybe 20 seconds; gave it a couple of minutes to cool down and turned the key again. It started on the second try with no mucking around with spraying oil in the cylinders.

 

Yup, I do that even after it's been sitting for 3 months or more. After they sit for more than that, I might pull the power leg to the coil (depending on the vehicle), but most times just turning the engine over on the starter will build up oil pressure to be safe to start the engine.