QuestionWhile driving on interstate slowing down in traffic my Accord lost power and would not accelerate. After pulling over to side of road engine would not turn over again. Was told possible timing belt? Any suggestions?
AnswerThese directions are for a 16valve 4 cylinder engine only. these will apply to any 4 cyl. Honda Engine. v6 engines will not follow the same instructions.
pop your hood. you can see the engine right in center it will say something like 16valve or Vtec. on the right side of the writing is your timing belt cover. witha 10milimeter socket and/or wrench you can remove the cover to see your timing belt. after removing a few screws it will be obvious if your timing belt is snapped. if it is snapped you will need to have it towed to a certified Honda mechanic. after the cover is off it is not necessary to put it back on unless you really want to. it will by no means affect the engine at all.
if that is ok, check all your fuses underneath the hood on the very back passenger side there is a little black box. take off the cover and one by one check all the fuses, ESPECIALLY THE ECU fuse. if one is broken, replace it and see if your car will start again. the reason a fuse blows is because a wire is grounding out. if they are all ok then it is most likely your igniter.
if your belt is not obviously snapped, and your fuses are ok my bet is that it is your ingiter in your distributer. when looking under the hood on the left side of the engine is the distributer. the igniter is inside the distributer. it is simple to replace yourself and depending on how many miles you have on your car it probably needs replacing anyway. these can be purchased at any local auto parts store.
here are the tools you will need:
8mm socket and ratchet
10mm socket
12mm socket
phillips screwdriver
pen and paper
before you do any work at all use a pen and paper and do yourself a favor and write down the firing order. all you have to do is draw a diamond on a sheet of paper. the four corners of the diamond represent the four spark plug wires on the distributer.
the wherever the shortest spark plug wire plugs into on the "diamond" write a "1", this will be the far left one. the second one from left to right is "2". write a 2 on whichever corner corresponds to the distributer on the diamond. do the same with the third, and the 4th should be the longest wire on the far right side. if you get the firing order wrong it will not start back up.
NOTE* THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT IS NECESSARY TO REMOVE OR UNPLUG THE WIRES, THIS IS JUST INCASE ANY COME LOOSE WHILE WORKING WITH IT!
first unplug the negative terminal on your battery with a 10mm socket, then the positive with a 10mm socket.
after the battery is unplugged use an 8mm socket to remove the three bolts that hold the cover on your distributer. (there are pictures below)
after removing the cover, there will be a Phillips screw on the top of the spinning shaft. if the screw is not at the top, reconnect the battery, and have a friend turn the key so it cranks, only once though, until the screw is visible. he should do this by quickly turning the key and immediately shutting it back off. after the screw is on the top, disconnect the battery again and unscrew it and the dust cover will come off. this cover is not necessary either unless you want to put it back on.
after the cover is off you will see what looks like a really slim "Zippo" lighter with three wires connected to it. that is the igniter. unplug the three wires and it should come right out. there are detailed instructions in the box when you purchase a new igniter. they will tell you how to prepare the igniter if necessary before installation. after reading the instructions, it should just be the opposite to put it all back together. slide the igniter back in place. reconnect the 3 wires. put the screw back in. put the distributer cap back on. install the 3 screws to keep that on. replug any wires that came loose. reconnect the battery. then BEFORE STARTING IT, check all the fuses under the hood again to make sure one didnt short out or blow.
if you feel uncomfortable replacing the igniter, you can unplug the wires from the distributer and use a 12mm socket to unbolt the distributer from the motor and take it into a certified Honda shop. all that holds it on is three 12mm sockets. just make sure to definitely right down the firing order if you haven't already.
if you checked the timing belt, fuses, and igniter, it could be something internal like a rod which would cause the motor to blow completely.
i would recommend before doing any work on your vehicle, have it checked by a local mechanic or purchase a Haynes Repair Manual from any local parts store. they have a troubleshooting section and have step by step instructions with pictures for all Honda repairs.
here is a picture of your distributer:
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k36/silbracing/accordengine.jpg
here is a picture of the igniter:
http://z.about.com/d/autorepair/1/0/5/X/42132021.gif
http://www.radiator.com/parts/images/engineparts/u7975898458uli.jpg
hope this helps!
