I'm going with an unknown initial cause followed by flooding. All Honda engines flood pretty easily if they get an initial dose of excess gasoline. It is the shaking that makes me think it was burning off a flood - otherwise it is just guesswork.

But that rules out the prime suspect - a bad main relay. When main relays come back to life it is without a lot of drama - the start is relatively quick and clean. So I am going to give the ignition switch the hairy eyeball instead. The 1997 was one of those that may have been included in the Great Ignition Switch Recall - see the third from the bottom in the source. If your VIN was included and the recall has not been performed I would definitely move it to the top of the list. For stalling when driving the giveaway is that the warning lights do not come on, but for not starting we are just left wondering.

HI, Usually if a timing belt goes out the motor well ether not start or run very rough .. BUT it well never clear up and well miss badly all the time.. So I'm thinking with the other guy and say it got flooded.. that would cause all the shaking and such until it cleared out..

If it does it again Hold the Pedal all the way to the floor while you crank the motor, If its flooded it should start but be shaking and such, Now it well clear out quickly with your foot on the floor so be ready to back off on the pedal as it clears out..

good luck

tim

Well , when a timing belt goes the firing stops and is followed by a lot of banging and clanking as the pistons hit the open valves .

If you heard a lot of banging and clanking and your cams are still turning you may have thrown a rod .

Have you checked to see if it's running on all 6 ?

If that happened to me, I would not trust it until I had it looked at by a mechanic.

You the saying? A bulb burns brightest before it goes out.

Hope this helps

Hello all!

I am puzzled and can't decide on what to do. I have 1997 Honda Accord V6, and last night it would not start, and was showing symptoms of a broken timing belt. However, I was stubborn and tried starting it a couple different times over the course of 24 hours, and as I was getting ready to tow it, the tow truck arrived, and I tried starting it one more time, and voila the car started and the engine shook like crazy for a couple of seconds. After letting it run I decided to take it for a drive and it does not seem any different. So I am on here looking for advice:

1. What do you think happened?

2. Should I tow it?

*Sidenote, I know what a broken timing belt sounds like and the symptoms were the exact same thing.

Any advice is very appreciated.

Thank you!