[mas3ud]

2005 2.4L L4 Automatic, 199K miles

A little over a month ago, after a brief stop on a road trip, I turned the key in my Accord and heard the engine rev four to five times before slowing to a stop. I was immediately panicked that my battery was dying, so I was relieved when she started completely normally on the second try. Ever since then, roughly half of my attempts to start the Accord require multiple tries, and the other half let me light off perfectly on the first try. I replaced the battery, and then the air filter without solving the problem. When I replaced the battery, the store clerk ran a battery/starter/charging system test, which all came back good (it started the first time when he was testing it). A link to a sound recording of the slow crank is below (headphones may be necessary for the low frequency of the engine).

At this point I can only think of replacing the starter as a possible solution. I would think that excessive sludge or a fuel system issue would not manifest itself so randomly. Any thoughts on troubleshooting before I pull the starter?

Recording of 5 successive start attempts: clyp.it/3cuvk21w

Advance Auto Parts tester report: imgur.com/xYGUG0c

 

[mtts60]

Your starter is telling you it's time - to be rebuilt, not replaced.

Do not replace the starter, you'll get junk unless you want to spend $bux at the dealer's parts counter. Rebuild it.

It is difficult to get to on our cars. V6'ers can have it removed in 20 minutes, it took me about 2 hours.

Starter Rebuild DIY

Edited 1/9/2023 To fix broken links. The link below has a step-by-step write-up on rebuilding the Mitsuba starter used on 2006-2007 4CYL Accords. https://accordrepairsdiy.wordpress.com/category/rebuilds/ A new OEM brush set is about $29 online and a new plunger set is about $6. You can also...

www.driveaccord.net

Starter Replacement DIY

Here is a step-by-step write-up on replacing the starter in a 2007 4CYL Accord. There were a few slightly non-obvious steps so this might benefit others going through the process for the first time. Step-by-step starter replacement DIY (PDF file)...

www.driveaccord.net

 

[mas3ud]

To close the loop on this:

Thanks mtts60, I had no decent space to do any work like that, so I went with replacement with a Denso rebuild and haven't had a problem since. After I had removed all of the parts necessary to replace the starter, I found that the main cable connection to the starter was looser than I expected. I wish I had checked this before I had done so much work and bought the starter, but at that point I just replaced the starter anyway. Lesson learned: with anything electrical check the connections before starting to replace anything.