94ex915

New to the forum and need help with a problem that occurred today. I have a 1994 Honda Accord ex and today I went to the gas station to buy a drink. Went back to the car to start it and the car didn't want to stay on. It would start but die right away then would just crank. Put gas in the car because it was low so I figured that was the problem. Put gas and the car started up just fine.
Drove it to the store and when I came back out to start the car the same problem happened. Only this time I noticed when I turned the key the gas gauge dropped past E and the car didn't want to start. Tried it again about five minutes later but I just put the key in the On position but did not try to start it and the gas gauge slowly started to raise and the car started. This happened about 3 times today but it was taking longer each time for the gauge to want to go back up for the car to start.
Could this be a fuel pump problem or what is going on here?

92 civic ex 4dr

It is possible that your fuel level sending unit and the pump are going bad. But for it to be doing that it could be a faulty wiring issue or bad ground or relay.


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Chris_McCartney

Above post sounds good, my last car had fuel pump issues which sounded like the problems you are having.

94ex915

How can I check the wiring for all this before I decide to replace the pump? The car was starting fine last night and went to go try and start it today and the gauge once again dropped to E and does not want to start.

94ex915

Well I pulled the main relay for the fuel pump and not to sure how its supposed to look but kinda looks like the solder might be missing on a lot of where its supposed to be. Not to sure though...

Chris_McCartney

Could get a magnifying glass and you may be able to tell better if its broken solder or if its meant like that, only thing I can think of sorry. Or you could try this:

94ex915

I'm hoping its the relay but who knows. I'm not really sure what to look for. Here is what mine looks like.

Chris_McCartney

What I would do is grab either a pair of tweezers or fine pointed pliers and flip the circuit over so the soldered side is down, then try and wiggle or gently pull everything that is soldered to the board, the prongs etc. If some have extra movement then use your soldering iron to reheat the solder on the board and re-join the connections. Worth a try and wont really cost you anything!!

94ex915

Well I found page that shows if the joints are bad so I re soldered the joints that looked bad and no luck. Any way to test the fuel pump?

94ex915

Alright so I went in and removed all the carpet and everything from the back. Found a ground that looked disgusting and was a little loose. I'm assuming that this is the ground for the Fuel Sending Unit. So cleaned it up and sanded down the area. But the ground back on and I hear the fuel pump come on when I turn the key and the gas goes back up. So far everything seems to be working normally. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Chris_McCartney

Nice one!! The rust/corrosion was probably stopping the electricity running through the circuit and acting like a break in the circuit. Put electrical grease or silicon grease on the metal to prevent it corroding more. You probably sorted it for a long time! Electrolysis or something is what you call it when electricity causes rust/oxidisation...

94ex915

Thanks! I'm just hoping that this is the problem. Do you know if the fuel pump and sending unit share that ground?

Chris_McCartney

No mate sorry, this is my first Honda and only got it last weekend!! If they're both fitted on the top of the tank then they most likely do use the same ground. Not sure if yours is in the trunk under the floor or under the rear seat. Best pulling the boot floor up and looking to see if the round tank cover is under there, if not it will be under the rear seat.

94ex915

Ya im pretty sure its just the one in the trunk right behind the back seat. I also asked this on another forum and was told the pump and sending unit do share the same ground. Hopefully this problem doesn't come back lol.

Chris_McCartney

Lol well if its the first time it's came up and your car is 19 years old then I think you will be ok until 2032 lol. You can also use hair wax as grease on the sanded grounding points, does the job for a few months!!

94ex915

No I mean hopefully this was the problem lol. But thanks a lot for your help!!