Seth_B

So, I'm posting here for my friend.

She owns a '92 (I believe) Honda Accord. That is all she told me right now.

These are the symptoms:

She told me the car died on her while she was driving. She was able to stop, put the car in park, and start it up again.

Today, the car would not even start. All dash lights came on and no cranking action at all.

My first thought was electrical. So I began searching and came across a lot of threads saying it was the main relay. What do you guys think?

I am very good with cars. I own a Saab, and fixed everything on it myself. The only downside is she is in California, and I am in PA xD

But she is calling me after work today so I will be able to talk to her about it in more detail. I will try to have her do the main relay test posted here

I also read it could be the "ignitor" which I found was ignition coil. It would crank at least would it not if the ignition coil was shot?

She took it to a shop and they quoted 700 to fix it.. If its the main relay, I am pretty sure she could fix it herself.

Thanks everyone for your time!



EDIT: Can a mod please move this to the proper forum? I'm an idiot xD

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

bad relay would still allow the car to crank. if it wont crank at all, or has an intermittent no start, id take a hard look at the ignition switch. the car will crank with a bad ignitor or coil as well. if it is cranking and not starting, there are a ton of possibilities.

Seth_B

Ahh. From what I understood, there was no crank at all with a bad relay. By ignition switch, you simply mean where the key gets put in? Or is there something else? But I am 100 percent positive there is no crank. Is there a fool proof method to diagnosing it and ruling it out?

Also, it didn't start at all for her today. Not even trying to start. All that happens is lights come on dash, and that is all.

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

there is an electrical connector on the back side of the key tumbler. does the car click when she tries to start it? can she hear the fuel pump prime?

Seth_B

I had asked her both those questions and she says there is no noise heard whatsoever.

She has a mechanic coming to look at it tomorrow, and I told her to have him check the ignition switch.

Other than the ignition switch, what else could these symptoms be linked to? Or is that pretty much it?

Thank you so much eghatch9295. I greatly appreciate your help and time!

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

bad ground (s), but since it died while running, id doubt it. if the main relay was the problem, it would at least click. When the Main Relay goes bad

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

what gets me is that the dash still has power key on. it wouldn't hurt to check the main relay as well. is this the first time she's had problems? usually the relays are symptomatic before they totally eat it.

Seth_B

So by click, you mean the sound the relay makes when switching from open to closed positions?

She isn't very good with cars so I can't ask specifics lol.
Well, it died on her a couple weeks ago. And I believe didn't start on her before but eventually did. So I would say yes, it was symptomatic before completely dying.

So from that diagram you showed me, from my understanding from that diagram, it would not crank with a bad relay right? Depending on where the relay is broken. Almost seems like there are a lot of failure points in the main relay.

And yes, the dash lights coming on makes me think electrical. IE bad ground, loose wire to starter motor, etc.

I will have her tell the mechanic what to look over today. I just don't want the mechanic telling her it needs a new alternator and brake fluid to fix the problem cause she doesn't really know cars. I hate mechanics like that.

angrysmileyface

Check the ecu is not blown. My 94 acted like it wouldn't crank over (starter was engaging but nothing was happening). Signs of a bad ecu is a fish smell upon opening the metal casing. And yes my ecu dying was a gradual process

Seth_B

I was fearing this as the symptoms expressed related 100% to what my Saab did. However, my Saab gave a check engine code, which is how I figured out it was the ECU. Will the fried ECU on the Honda show any DTS code?

How much is this to fix? Does the dealer need to do it to marry the ecu to the car via VIN number? Or since its old enough can any mechanic do it?

Thanks for the reply!

angrysmileyface

It's not a car specific ecu per say. Typically you look at the part number on the side and find a match at a junkyard or on b ebay or craigslidt. It's easy enough to open it but usually a bad ecu will announce it self with a solid cel when using the blue 2 pin diagnostic connector or if you open it and it has burn marks or a bad smell

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

click would be a singular loud click coming from under the hood, starter specifically.

Seth_B

So for a new one, there wouldn't be any need to flash proper engine mapping software to it?

Hmm. Okay. Maybe I can get her to try it with me on the phone. What makes this hard is I am not there lol. If I were there, with the help from you guys, it would be fixed already.