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Strange noise from engine only in cold conditions on start up?????

C

Craigsy46

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Hi guys im a newbie this is my first thread on here so hope someone can help. Ive got an 2002 ctr ive had it for 2 years now and its been great never had any problems with it untill now. When i first start it up from cold all year round the engine displays no signs of anything being wrong it idles fine sounds fine and runs like a dream. That is untill winter comes as soon as the temp outside drops there is a really loud strange noise from the engine!! Ive had alot of experience with cars over the yrs so have a good understanding of problems but ive never heard anything like this before its not a knocking sound or a valve or injector noise it like a rattle with a kind of electricity crackle to it if you know wot i mean its hard to explain. After a couple of minutes it goes away then its fine. The strangest thing is if i leave the car untill the sun comes up in the day and the ambiant temp outside rises then start the car it wont do it????? and as soon as the winter goes and the spring/summer comes along its fine again untill the next winter weird?? Hope someone can help as the noise is very loud and i fear it might be doing some damage or something or though the car is running great and flying as normal. The cars done 90,000 miles if that helps.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum :D .

The sound you are describing sounds like the over-run on the starter motor.

It's a common fault on EP3 that when its cold the alternator makes one or two extra turns when its cold.

Don't worry about it, Honda did do a exchange on the motors for worried customers but the noise never went away.
 
Hi thanks for the reply mate yeah reading your thread defo sounds like it could be that although wouldnt it do that all the time?? i was just wondering why its only affected by the temp outside and not everytime i strike the car up wot do you think mate???? I have noticed a loose auxillary belt not sure which one though because it whines when its cold because of the damp!!! i wonder if this is linked to the problem?? the colder it is outside the longer it takes for the noise i described to go away. I forgot to mention the noise isnt when i turn the car over and start it it comes on about 5 seconds after its been struck up and its on idle it probably lasts a good 4 to 5 minutes depending on how cold it is outside.
 
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Right ok, maybe the sound isnt the starter motor if its a constant sound after about five minutes.

It may well be a loose item under the bonnet then that rattles at idle when cold (2'000rpm), common problems are the plastic intake/rocker cover, or the drive shaft heatshield.

Remove your plastic I-Vtec cover and see if that makes a difference.
 
ok mate thnx i will have a look for anything loose tommorow morning before work and will see if i can find anything. Will let you know how i get on tommorow nite p.s just another thought do you think the auxillary belt thats slipping when damp could not be turning the alternator properly which is the cause of the eletrical clicking sound i can hear?? that would tie in with the temp outside the car because the colder the weather the damper the air is which would cause the belt to slip a little? just a thought. Then after 5 mins ticking over the heat from the engine has drove the damp out of the belt so it starts gripping again which in turn then helps turn the alternator properly so the noise disappears????? does that sound logical to you or am i being abit daft mate lol.
 
Suits said:
Hello and welcome to the forum :D .

The sound you are describing sounds like the over-run on the starter motor.

It's a common fault on EP3 that when its cold the alternator makes one or two extra turns when its cold.

Don't worry about it, Honda did do a exchange on the motors for worried customers but the noise never went away.
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^^^^ this has been happening to me when i start the car up, but only when its been cold outside.
 
Ive finally had chance to look around abit under the bonnet and i cant see anything loose or rattling that would the cause the noise that im hearing. Started the car up this morning to warm it before taking a trip into town but the weather was a little warmer so it only made the noise very slightly and went away within a minute or two. Think im going to have to let a mechanic have a listen to it!! the problem being is they would have to hear it first thing on a cold morning so maybe going to have to drop it off and them have it over nite. P33pzy i will let you know what they say when i find out what it is it might be the same thing as yours.
 
Try taking the inlet manifold cover off. It is only two bolts and it comes straight off.

Failing that there are numerous heat shields on the EP3 that can be noisy when cold. Exhaust manifold and driveshaft being the most common. The higher rpm tickover of a cold engine may exaggerate the rattles on these heatshields.
 
Hi loxy thanks for the advice ive tried all them things and its not any of them!! my Exhaust manifold heatshield does rattle but only when im driving and only at 2500 rpm. The noise im getting is nothing like a heatsheild rattle or anything being loose rattle its like nothing ive ever heard before. Ive let a friend of mine who used to be a mechanic for jaguar rolls royce years ago have a listen and he didnt have a clue he had never heard anything like it before but then i suppose he wouldnt working on jaguar rolls royce would he haha. Like i keep saying its nothing to do with the engine running from cold but purely the temprature outside. The best way i can describe it is like the noise a welder gives off!!!! that kind of electric crackle mixed with a metalic rattle kind of thing. I know one thing its doing my head in haha. My friend did say he thought it sounded like it was coming more from the bottom of the engine but i think its coming from the top of the engine so who knows.
 
Craigsy46 said:
Ive finally had chance to look around abit under the bonnet and i cant see anything loose or rattling that would the cause the noise that im hearing. Started the car up this morning to warm it before taking a trip into town but the weather was a little warmer so it only made the noise very slightly and went away within a minute or two. Think im going to have to let a mechanic have a listen to it!! the problem being is they would have to hear it first thing on a cold morning so maybe going to have to drop it off and them have it over nite. P33pzy i will let you know what they say when i find out what it is it might be the same thing as yours.
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any bets that it does'nt make the noise when the mechanic takes a look, i'm hoping its the fault that suits pointed out earlier in the thread, does'nt seem that major,
 
I have the same problem with my EP3 although it does sound like the starter motor issue and it only happens when the car has been sat cold for a long time.
 
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