Yeah I'm leaning towards your brothers suggestion. Check the spark plugs and check for spark.

 

Are you using the factory key? The immobilizer will do just what you're describing if it doesn't get the 'ok' from the chip in the key.

 

CEL? Bad coil should throw a misfire code.

 

does a base come in a 5 speed? maybe check your clutch?

 

I am using the factory key.

No clutch as it's automatic.

I'll check for spark tomorrow.

 

Shot in the dark: Maybe the gas is bad? Or there's been condensation in the tank? Or it's been vandalized? You could top it off with good stuff and keep trying.

 

Complete shot in the dark......will it start in neutral?

Edit:
Shot in the dark #2.......is there something in the intake? (You didn't specify how long its been sitting, if somethings crawled up in there.......)

 

Sorry for the delay. Today I tested the coils by putting a new spark plug in the coil and having my wife try to start. Using this method there was no spark. I tried with two coils. Now what?

 

Yo what up. So you might need to give us some more info for a more direct answer. How did you do your spark test? Did you put the spark plug in the coil, and then just have your wife try to start it, or did you try to make contact with the end of the spark plug and a piece of metal like a screw driver, while your wife tried to start it? The 2nd would be the proper way to test. If you're confident you tested right and still no spark then you can start with replacing the plugs. What happened to the other 2?

 

To test the coil I put a brand new spark plug in the end of the coil and made sure the threads were touching bare metal to ground it. I tried with two of the coils and no spark from either, so it seems like the isn't any electricity going to them.

Today I checked more fuses and noticed something interesting. When I insert the key into the ignition and turn it to the ON position I do not see the green key flash for two seconds on the dash. I have tried with both keys and the valet key and the green indicator light never shows, so now I'm thinking it may be an immobilizer issue. . .

I'm really trying to figure this out instead of towing it to a garage because I feel that it's going to be something stupid that is preventing the car from starting.

 

So from what I can deduce... it ran fine until being parked for a period of time. Battery was dead when you attempted to start after the inactive period of time. After jumping; things went bad.

So I'm thinking that the jumping/replacing battery process blew something (or a few things). If it were me; I'd give the electricals a damn good inspection. Check all fuses with a continuity tester (not just eyeball them) with the battery disconnected. And then check any other thing that you can think of; especially the battery cables and grounds.

 

I wouldn't throw out the starter as not being suspect even tho it was replaced 2yrs ago. When the starter solenoid starts acting wonky with intermittent start ups, it can exhibit the same symptoms you're experiencing. Happened to me about a month ago ('02 base rsx MT, k24a4)

my symptom was no start up; characteristics as if the battery doesn't have enough juice to spin the engine over yet the windows roll down fine and everything else electrical seems to work fine as well. Swapped another battery in, same issue, no turn over. Ordered a refurbed starter, installed it, fired right up.

try tapping on the starter and see if it comes back to life.

 

I'm really thinking something with the immobilizer is the culprit, so I may have to have the dealer fix as I just don't have the time. One odd thing I did notice is the light ring around the ignition is lit red, while on my CRV it's green. Does that mean anything or is the light on all RSX's red?

 

To my knowledge all RSXs are red

 

its all red

 

Any resolution?

 

If the starter is clicking or turning at all, it's not the immobilizer. Sounds more like a bad ckp/cmp sensor to me. If the sensor is bad, it won't let the ecu send power to the plugs, hence no spark.

Also definitely check all the fuses. Use a multimeter though, as testing with continuity can give you a false positive.

 

Finally got it resolved. I had pretty much tracked it to the immobilizer, but not wanting to just throw parts at a problem, plus the issue of having to recode such a part, I had it towed to a Honda specific mechanic. They diagnosed a bad immobilizer and replacing it fixed the problem. They did mention that they don't see immobilizers go bad very often.