I am a new member to the Tech.com. My daughter has a 1994 Acura Integra which has been an excellent car. Recently every time she goes to drive it, it starts and runs well when starting cold (like after sitting overnight) but if she drives it for even 5 minutes and then stops, it will either restart briefly then die or not restart. She says it it cranks but just won't start. After the car cools down(2-3 hours) it will start right up. Of course she is in school about six hours away so I can't even see/touch the car, but I hope that someone may have experienced this same problem. I have been told it might be the main relay but checking in the Acura manual I don't see a "main relay". In looking at other tech forum entries it appears that it might also be a distributor/ignitor (?) but is there any way to test any of these? I would like to avoid letting the local Honda dealer (there is no Acura dealer near her) become any richer than they already are. Thank you in advance for any assistance you might have

 

When the car heats up, will it stall out while driving? or is it only when its shut off and attempted to start when at operating temp?

 

I had the same problem for a while last year. I want to say it was my dizzy (distributor) but I can't remember for sure. As far as Honda working on Acura, the one in my town refuses to work on mine unless the manager isn't there (I have a friend that is a mech. there) then he will squeeze me in. The one where your daughter lives might be different. I hope this helps. I will ask my brother what we replaced tomorrow when he gets out of work and tell you for sure what the problem was. I do know it wasn't the main relay.

 

is this only when she's first starting the car in the morning, or it happens no matter when or how long it's be left outside without driving? sounds like an alternator??? it might not be charging, and leaving the car off for a while might allow it to recharge just enough to start the car again. just my opinion

 

As you are no doubt aware when dealing with a female regarding vehicles when you are not there to see it for yourself, interpretation is an art form ("was it a ker-lump sound or more like a per-ching and no I don't know what a 1600 watt hair dry difuser sounds like when it has a hair caught in it") BUT in speaking to her it is my impression that the car will operate fine after starting it cold and does not stall out on her while driving BUT she lives close to both her school and her work so it may be that she does not have to drive for more than 5-10 minutes at any one time before shutting off the car.

 

Thank you for your time and help.

 

dont know how much this will help because it seems somebody already suggested it. but on my 91 integra i had a main relay problem and there were problems starting when hot. i believe it was located under the "driver kick panel" dont know if this is the exact name but basically the panel between your steering wheel and the pedals. any way after bringing it in to my honda dealer and changing that out i had no further problems with tough starts. i have sold my DA since and picked up at 95 ls however im not sure if the relay is in the same location. if i had my helms manual i would gladly look for you but im away at school.
any way i hope this helps. like somebody said above he had a similar problem and he knows it wasnt the main relay. just sharing my experience with a similar problem.
good luck with the fix.

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond. In speaking with a shop down in the area they suggested it MIGHT BE the main relay OR the distributor OR the ignitor OR some other distributor related ignition part. This whole "replace parts until the problem goes away" really bugs me. It is not only expensive but it suggests to me that there are not any real mechanics any more but just "parts replacers". In the absence of any "check engine" lights/trouble codes I am afraid she is going to be the victim of unnecessary expense in fixing the car if she just takes it into the shop and says "fix it". That is why forums such as this are such a great resource. OK I'll get off my soap box now. Thanks again for your input.