What's up,

My brother owns a 1990 Prelude SI and he's been experiencing ignition problems lately. It's actually the sam exact problem I had with my 1989 2.0si. The car cranks strong but doesn't start when the weather is hot and sometimes when the car has been driven for awhile. Only thing he can do when this happens is wait...

Do you know what might be causing this?

 

When was the last time the cap, rotor, wires and plugs were changed? And were they replaced with quality parts or that 'double silicone' junk from auto zone? When this happens, put a noid light on a fuel injector pigtail and have someone crank it over. If it blinks you are getting signal from the computer for fuel and fire. Check then to see if you have fuel and fire. Hook up a spare sparkplug to one of your wires and ground the plug. No fire = ignition problems (possibly the obove mentioned items or the ignitor). Check for fuel at the fuel rail. If there is none you could have a bad pump or relay.

 

i had the same problem on my 93 vtec....you also could check the main relay....

i would love to know where i could buy that noid light....will it read through the wire shielding or is it just a regular test light?

 

got mine at auto zone. It's just a button light with two prongs sticking out the back that plug into fuel injector connectors.

 

OK basically to start off an easy way to see if its the main relay is that you turn the key to the on position (do this when the car isnt starting) the check engine light should turn on then turn off a second later if it doesnt turn on or it doesnt turn off then its probably your main relay. also It sounds dumb but if the light stays on kick the lower dash by your left foot if the light goes off its you main relay.
the relay is located down by the left kick panel up on the wall. they say its somewhat hard to get to. I hope this works. or helps

 

I just spoke to a honda certified tech and he told me it's most likely the main relay. He didn't do a full dianostic on it. His conclusion was based on the symptons I provided.

MGAGS7- Did you ever get the problem fixed? was it the main relay?