On many cars the IAC valve is pulsed open/close/open/close continuously
by the ECU, so buzzing is not a sign of a problem (although I would
describe the sound as more of a hum than a buzz). Don't know if that is
the way it works in your car.

When you say you leave the key turend for "minutes", is the starter
actually engaging? The Hondas that I have seen have one electrically
operated IAC valve that lets a controlled amount of air bypass the
throttle (under ECU control) and one thermal fast idle valve that lets
some air bypass the throttle when the engine is cold. Even if both of
these were plugged or both were stuck wide open you should still be able
to start the engine.

-jeff wrote:
>
> I have a 97 CR-V (125K miles) and it won't start. This happened once
> before fairly recently and it finally started by just keeping the key
> turned for a rediculous amount of time. Then it was fine for a while.
> Now it won't start again and doesn't even make an effort after many
> minutes of leaving the key turned.
>
> When I popped the hood, I could hear a buzzing sound and found that it
> was the Idle Air Control valve. When I pulled the plug to the valve,
> the buzzing stopped. I'm inclined to buy a new IAC valve, but am
> wondering if this is a typical failure mode or whether it could be a
> symptom of something else. Or does the IAC valve typically buzz and I
> just never heard it.
>
> Thanks.
>
> -jeff