Honda Car Forum

Hi, my 1996 Honda Accord EX has trouble starting in freezing
temperatures. I usually have to crank on it for 10-15 minutes before
it will start barely firing on one cylinder. Then it will fire on one
cylinder for about a minute before all four cylinders start firing.
In temps above freezing it has no problems starting and runs great.

Here's what I've tried so far..

Fuel Troubleshooting:

I've tried following the directions from the user manual to enable the
manual choke (push petal down all the way, crank, push petal down half
way, crank), with no luck. I can hear the fuel pump pressurize at the
ACC II position. I've tried using fuel additive to remove water from
the fuel, which I thought may have been affected by the freezing
temperature. I've also used fuel injector additive to clean the fuel
injectors. After I crank for a little bit, I can smell fuel near the
tailpipe. Don't think changing the fuel filter will fix the problem,
since it was changed less than 30k miles ago (18.2k) and there are no
symptoms of lack of fuel while driving.

Spark Troubleshooting:

I've changed the spark plugs. I showed the old spark plugs to the
auto parts employee, and he said it looks like my car is "running
rich". Not sure if this is a symptom of the cranking or something
else. I've checked the spark plug wires... no cracks or other damage
to the insulation.

Any idea what's wrong? What should I try next?