I have a '94 EX automatic. First thing in the morning, it will start up and run fine.

However sometimes (not all the time), and it's been happening more frequently lately, if I drive somewhere, shut it off, go into the store, and come back out, it will just crankcrankcrank, but won't start. Sometimes, it WILL start, I put it into reverse, start backing out of my parking spot it'll die, and won't start.

So, I will try a few times to start it, and eventually it will start again. It is random, so it's hard to diagnose.

I had one person tell me "oh that's easy, it's your coolant temp sensor". Well, it might or might not be, but I don't want to just start throwing parts at it.

Any ideas? Didn't know if this was a common issue/fix.

Thanks.

 

Sounds like the problem I had with my old '93, turns out it was the main relay.

 

Main relay for which component? Do you mean the whole car? Everything else seems to work when it's not starting.

 

main fuel relay is what he is talking about.

does it have this problem when the temperature inside the car if fairly warm/hot?

main fuel relay is located under the left hand side of the dash, right by the fuse box, has a large brown connector and its a grey box.

its the main cause of random wont start conditions.


mine is doing the same thing, unfortunately.

i can get you a main fuel relay, pm me if interested

also, you can try resoldering the solder joints inside the relay, those are notorious for being bad.

 

main relay, had the exact same thing happen to my eg. just swapped the one out of my EK parts car and never had another problem.

 

Good, glad this is a known/common issue. Maybe I don't need to sell it afterall.

I don't know what EG/EK is...I'm a Mustang guy, I just have a Civic daily driver...50 miles/day in a Mustang gets expensive. :D Shhh, don't tell anyone.

I didn't notice if it was when the interior is warm/hot, but, it is only after the car has been driven. I didn't notice it happening over the winter though.

How much doe these relays normally go for? Either way it sounds like I need to get it done.

Thanks a lot for the help.

 

There are three main things that happen to a honda that cause problems.

1. Main relay. Usually under the dash on the drivers side, about a 3"x1"x1" gery/black box with a rust colored plug into it. It is a relay for several circuits, so one, or more, or all circuits can start having problems. It can die all at once or have intermitent problems.

2. Distributor, worn out cap and rotor, bad sensors, or bad bearings(lots of miles).

3. The ground connection where the engine harness grounds to the thermostat housing. My 93 lx corroded up into the harness about an inch from the bolt eye, drove me nuts with the exact same problem and I noticed when I wiggled the end of this harness it would run again.

A spare main relay is always a good thing, they are the same for most integra's accords civics preludes, although the older EF's and DA's ludes etc. share their own different one. I visit the closest front clip importer or junk yard and make sure my glovebox always has a spare.

 

i have a 99 prelude base and something similar was happening to me. it wouldnt stay on after sitting in a parking lot for a long time. and today even though it was cold, i was driving home and it shut off (im gessing cuz i had been doing errands for 2 and a half hours). a couple days ago i resoldered most of the connections in my main relay which is why i was surprised that it shut off today. should i just buy a new one and put it in or could it be another problem?

 

bump