Hey there, I bought a 1991 CRX Si yesterday. As I was looking at the car, one of the times we tried starting it up nothing happened. It didn't seem to want to turn over or make any effort or noise at all. We jumped it and it started right up. I drove it home three hours and everything went fine. I also drove it to work today. As I went out after work today it began to only start after a few turns of the key. This time every time it wouldn't start it was trying to turn over, with a little response. Later I was driving on the highway and it just died. I stopped and it wouldn't start. It still tried to turn over but each attempt I made, it sounded more weak until it had no response at all. The towing guy got there and we tried jumoing it with a battery jumper pack and there was little response once again.

I had thought that it was just that the battery was completely dead, therefore forcing the alternator to eventually die and kill the car while driving. Although, after it not starting with the jumper pack i'm not sure. Maybe the battery is just so dead that it couldn't even give the alternator any power from the jumper pack?

Any suggestions or advice is welcomed!

Thanks!

 

get a new battery,swap main relays and make sure the rotor button screw didn't fall off inside the dizzy...!!!

 

ignition switch. The plug might be burned out.

 

^ first test the old battery if you get a new one.

 

did you give it CPR!

check the basics, dizzy,battery, alternator & main relay

 

get a battery for sure. did the battery light come on while it was still running?
i would do a tune up too

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

And yeah, the battery light came on. I knew I needed a battery from the beginning though, I just wasn't sure what else may be wrong along with it since it died while running as well as not starting.

 

that was a pointless question kinda haha!

 

new batt, test the alt. if your altenator is not working it will drain your battery

so take out your altenator, get it tested free at advance auto, and if it tests out ok then do the battery

 

New alt.and new batt.

 

x2

 

x3 same **** happend to me 100 dolla fix

 

Bought a new battery beacause the old one was too old/dead to recharge and use and got the alternator checked at Auto zone. It passed one test and failed the next. My dumbass thought that I could roll around for a little while with it like that since I had just bought a brand new battery. I did, in fact roll around for a while, but about twenty miles later it dies the same way as the last times.

I'm assuming that it's just the alternator for sure now.

Thanks for all the advice! I'll keep you posted on how it goes after the new alternator goes in.

 

Bought and put in a new alternator yesterday. It started up and ran fine last night after I put it in. I only drove a few miles last night and then another five or so to work today. On the way home from work it did the exact same thing once again! It just shut off as I was driving.

What exactly does the main relay do? Would the dizzy have any connection to this problem?

 

definitely an electrical problem. you can try to reflow the solder on your main relay, taking it out might be a biatch though. i had the same problem a few months back, my Si died unexpectedly while i was driving 65mph on a freeway, it just shut off. it wouldn't turn over no matter what i tried. after a few visits to the junkyard, and testing, it turned out to be the ignitor inside the distributor. but seeing how crappy it looked inside, i end up replacing the entire distributor ($110). starts fine & strong.

 

Yeah, I'm probably just going to end up replacing the whole distributor just to be sure and it because it wouldn't hurt on a 19 year old car.

Isn't the main relay in the dash and real hard to get to?

 

....its a rather tight squeez!

 

check your coal

 

What's a coal?

 

the light coming on while driving means the alternator for sure...if you replaced it and still happens, you have a wiring issue in that circuit. all the fuses good??

 

it's in the dizzy

 

I think he means coil not coal.

 

yeah lol , i was typing fast lol :p

 

haha Alright, I gotcha. I might just go ahead and throw in another distributor. Is there a way to test if a dizzy is good?

 

lmfao