Honda Repair: 1988 Honda Accord- non start condition, combustion chamber, blue spark

Question
I am helping my brother in law on his 1988 Accord, 4 cylinder, automatic trans. It is carburated.  It wouldn't start so I checked the spark and it looked a little yellow to me instead of a good blue spark. swaped out coils with known good coil. No difference in spark color.  Checked compression and it was good, so no noticable slip of timing belt detected. I then checked the fuel pump to see if it was putting our fuel to the carb.  It is putting out about 3 to 4 lbs/inch2 which is in spec.  When I pulled a plug out to check for flooded condition, there was no trace of gas or even fuel smell, which indicated no fuel reaching the combustion chamber.  I then tried spraying some starting ether down the carb throat with the choke plate open.  It started to fire a couple of times but then wouldn't.  I gave it some pretty healthy doses of ether trying to get a fire but again just an occasional sputter.  For some reason it seems to not be getting fuel, or ether to the combustion chamber. Any ideas?

thank
JimR  

Answer
Jim:
Inspect all the vacuum hoses to make sure they are in good condition, tighten the intake manifold bolts, and check the fuel filter to make sure it is good. If that all checks good you probably should look into getting a rebuilt carburetor.
Good luck.
Bill