to make a long story short. lately, ive been having problems starting my car. i think my main relay has been damaged and is causing the problems.

my question is how can i narrow it down for sure that it IS the main relay. and can anyone give me an idea where i could get one for a 98 civic dx. if i have to go through the dealer, maybe a part number?

thanks.

 

Listen for three clicks when starting your car, try starting your car slowly and listen for 3 clicks. Go to Honda dealership and get a new main relay its right by the glove compartment

 

Let us hear the long story, the short story is not helping me help you.

 

when you turn you ignition on you should hear the fule pump prime. ( a little buzzing noise) if it dosnt do it all the time but it does it most of the time its most likely your M.R. you can also ceck by taking it out its under your dash by the fuse box, its a little gray box. take it off and open it up if any of the soldering joints are loose or have a faint whits right around it, thats the problem. you can buy a new one or fix it yourself by resoldering it! glad to be of help...

 

thanks for the replies...

Long story:
symptoms: i go to start the car, it WILL start. it gets up to about 1,300 rpm. and then just drops. I step on the gas to save it, and it doesnt affect it. i try starting it again after this, and it wont turn over. After a very long time of trying, it will start eventually.

possibilities:
-for a while i thought it was my fuel pump because i need a fuel pump that puts out more for my current setup (d16y7 with y8 intake mani, greddy turbo kit (with intercooler), and a p72 chipped and tuned ecu)
-main relay
-recently ive noticed my headlights dim in lower rpms. i figured this would be an alternator problem. but so far my battery hasnt died.

conclusion: the only thing that makes sense to me is the main relay unless someone has a better conclusion.

thanks again


Modified by alacard at 8:38 PM 10/4/2006

 

I suggest you try swapping with a friend as a test first before you buy one.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SkoundrelUSA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I suggest you try swapping with a friend as a test first before you buy one.</TD></TR></TABLE>
unfortunately i dont have a friend with a civic

 

I had a similar problem to this and it was my ignition switch that was acting up, and I took it to Honda and they replaced it for free b/c it was part of a recall. check this link out.

http://techauto.te.funpic.org/ignitionswitch.php

Hope this helps

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by alacard &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Long story:
symptoms: i go to start the car, it WILL start. it gets up to about 1,300 rpm. and then just drops. I step on the gas to save it, and it doesnt affect it. i try starting it again after this, and it wont turn over. After a very long time of trying, it will start eventually.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

When you say "it wont turn over", do you meant he engine wont turn over? Or it cranks, but doesnt start?

If it is cranking but not starting, you need to listen for the fuel pump to prime.
When the relay starts to go bad, it will work intermitently.

 

im still a noob. so im not sure if it cranks or not. it makes the standard noise that it usually makes before it starts...but it doesnt start...and just repeats the noise...is that cranking? the fact that when the relay starts to go bad it works intermittently seems to fit my symptoms.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by alacard &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Long story:
symptoms: i go to start the car, it WILL start. it gets up to about 1,300 rpm. and then just drops.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is what happened to my Integra. Every saturday afternoon for like 4 weeks straight, it was about 80 out, and when I went out to my car afterwork it would fire up, but before the RPMs hit the normal peak while starting, it would just die even if I knew it was going to happen and gave it gas as soon as it fired up. My main relay was toast. So I bought a new one and two months later that one went bad
I even tested it out, switching the old one in and it ran, then put the new one in and nothing. I dont understand what is so difficult about engineering a relay that actually works well