Taking forever to start

[SuperSonic]

Im putting this up as a solution for other owners to use in the search feature. For 2 weeks my car would sometimes just crank and crank to start. I started a thread called rough idle. Before you go through that list of things to check, first check your battery. Everyone said starter, fuel pump pressure, main relay but in the end it was battery. Just cause it cranks doesnt mean rule out battery. Case and point i have been turning radio off when i turn car off so when i turn it back on the radio is already off, and havent had a long start since. Battery couldnt power radio (stock radio) and start car sometimes. So next time car wont start right up, dont rule out the battery.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Your problem will be back, and I suspect you need a main relay. There is no way you have a "battery" issue and the engine "cranks and cranks". There is not one item in the car that even comes close to stressing the battery like the starter motor. If it cranks and cranks the battery is/was fine.

Intermittent issues can easily mask the real problem.

My $.02
LarryB

 

[SuperSonic]

You are prob right. To be honest i had the battety tested and it was border good/bad but more so could it be a bad ground? The negative cable on the bat was as tight as i could get it but it still can be pulled off. Either way all i know is with the radio off it always starts fine so far. I will have to fix problems as they arise though. And larry, the pump is always pumping. Someone else i ran into just mentioned a bad ground??

 

[Larry Bastanza]

OK just so I am clear. When the car "cranks and cranks" is it normal speed?

The ground terminals stretch from being overtightened, a common issue. You can replace the ground strap, it is about $27. Make sure the ground connector is pushed all the way to the bottom of the battery terminal. The terminals on the battery are tapered, so if it is not bottomed out it will be loose.

Regards,
LarryB

 

[SuperSonic]

When it cranks, it starts normal but today i watched the volts. B4 start it read about 12ish, then dropped to 11 fast and the longer i held it the more the battery dropped till it started. Thats why i suspected the battery as i didnt think the battery being hooked up to a trickle all the time ( enough for previous owner to directly hard wire it ) could be good for the battery. But Also could the negative not being tight enough cause the power to the starter to be insufficient? Like i said, could the neg not being tightly snug cause a bad ground sometimes?

 

[GreyHoundSteve]

I used to get pissed when i tried to start my NSX in a crowded place and the starter spun and spun before it finally fired. My cure?

Turn the key to position one, you will hear the fuel pump make a noise, when the noise stops then turn it over. Using this method of starting i am better than 9.5/10 that it fires right up.

If this doesn't work for you then get a new main relay. Mine tested okay but after i replaced it i noticed allot more consistent good starting.:wink:

 

[SuperSonic]

Its not the main relay I am fairly sure. I feel better now though as i ran into another owner at the socal meet thrusday who also said his sometimes didnt start right up and when he started the car it was kinda rough. I guess its normal. I suppose im just not use to the engine behind me.

 

[nsx_2k]

NSXFTW,

I myself have the same issue. I do believe it is a problem and not a normal variant. Yesterday, I met up with a few other NSX owners and their cars started just like any of my other Hondas...quickly. Basically, their cars cranked for a very short duration (almost <1 sec) and started up.

I've spent a fair amount of time searching the NSX prime forums, however, have not found a satisfactory solution.

For me, I always start my cars by allowing time for the fuel pump to pressurize. Then I crank the motor. Always, the first time I start the '91 NSX (unmodified drivetrain) for the day, it has a lengthy crank time. Literally, almost five times as long as any of my other Hondas.

This was an issue for the prior owner and he took the car into the dealership to do a compression or leak down test (can't remember which one) and the results were quite good (all cylinders were nearly identical and well within normal limits). Again, can't recall the values nor do I have quick access to the results right now.

Here is what I've done and there has been no remedy:

-I, too, replaced the battery which is now about 3weeks old.
-I've removed the main relay and resoldered all the joints.
-Cleaned the throttle body which was quite dirty. The car idles even smoother now, but doesn't start any better.
-My ignition switch seems to be working fine and the car cranks well at a normal speed so I can't imagine this being the issue.
-Battery cables on tight, but have ordered new ground terminal in case there might be some anomaly that I simply can't visualize.

After all this, the car starts the same. Now here is one interesting behaviour that I haven't seen posted before and maybe one of the experts might offer some insight. If I shut the car down shortly after warmup and the car never goes above idle, the subsequent crank time is long. However, if I allow the revs to reach 3-4K RPM after warmup, shut the car down, and restart the car, the crank time is like any other Honda, quick (~under 1 second). Now this is not an occassional phenomenon, rather I can reproduce this anytime. Also, the car, otherwise, runs incredibly well.

So I wonder, could this behaviour be due to a bad fuel filter? Fuel delivery? I can't imagine the fuel pump being bad since it seems to run otherwise quite well.

 

[SuperSonic]

I thought it may be a bad ground because if i turn off the stereo it doesnt do it as much. Grant it its not every morning, but I talked to another owner that has an 02 and his sometimes does it randomly so I dont know. But I still turn off my radio everytime since it helps with the car always starting, dont know why but I do.