94 del sol starts immed stalls
 

I have a stalling issue with my 1994 del sol Si, manual transmission.

When I initially start it, especially first thing in the morning it starts right up and then stalls within a few seconds. It will then start again and again stall. If I rev the engine, I can keep it from stalling. If I drive the car, it will usually not stall. After doing this it will then not stall when at idle again.

I had a separate (my belief) problem a couple months ago where the car would cut out while driving. One minute I'm in gear running about 45 mph and the next minute the car was not running. It would always restart. I replaced the coil and the problem was eliminated. Then about one month later it started happening again, so I replaced the coil and the igniter. It was shortly after this that I started having starting issues when cold, but no more running issues. Now I am having both issues.

When I first insert the key and begin turning I do see the CEL come on and go off, but I do not hear any clicks. I also can not hear the fuel pump prime. I checked the fuel pressure today and after turning the key to position II, the pressure not surprisingly was zero. I then started the car, it ran for a few seconds and stalled. While running the pressure increased to 25 psi until right before it stalled whereby it dropped to zero. I then restarted it, revved it and the pressure increased to 45 psi. Then, I shut it off all the way down. The next time I turned the key I could hear it priming.

My questions:

1) Is this definitely just a fuel pump issue, the pump relay or both?
2) If the fuel pump is bad, why would it run at all, especially at higher RPM?
3) Is this problem related to my running-stall problem?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be most appreciated.

Re: 94 del sol starts immed stalls
 

Resolder the main relay and clean the IACV and FITV. Then go from there.

Re: 94 del sol starts immed stalls
 

Ron,

Thank you for your suggestions and especially the links. I replaced the main relay 3 years ago when I first purchased the car. As I recall, a bad main relay will prevent the car from starting. I am having no such issue, just stalling, but will check the solder in case.

In regards to the IACV and FIAV, I read through the threads and took a look at them on my del sol. Do I really need to remove the intake manifold? Am I missing something? It seems pretty straight forward to remove them with the manifold in place.

Re: 94 del sol starts immed stalls
 

I have taken off both without removing the manifold. I find it much easier to reach the FITV if you remove the throttle body so you can flip it around. Don't remove the whole thing, just the four nuts that hold the part where the FITV is attached to. You can even take it off without doing that if you have small hands. The IACV is very easy to remove too without messing with the manifold.

Re: 94 del sol starts immed stalls
 

The immediate stall after start was due to a problem with the main relay. The fuel pump now primes and I can hear the clicks. I also cleaned out both the IACV and the FITV (did not remove manifold for either). Both were fairly clean, as little grime washed out.

Time will tell whether the stall while driving persists or not.

Re: 94 del sol starts immed stalls
 

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but are you still experiencing problems after cleaning the connections? Or have you found the answer to your problem? I'm having a similar problem with my 99 Civic Si, and I'm completely stumped.