please help me diagnose.


so my car will crank and start. but as soon as i let off the key it dies. if i hold it in the start position it will stay until i let the key go.

was thinking that maybe its a bad ignition switch or alternator.

i just changed the main relay ( which autozone calls accessory relay) today and that did not help. i changed the ignition coil, dizzy cap and rotor yesterday and that did nothing either.

im pretty new to working on cars and i am pretty stumped here.

dont know if i gave all the relevant info. car is a 91 accord LX 5 speed

i have fuel at the rail but idk if the pressure is there. i rented(well $160 deposit) this kit from autozone and its crap. it does not even fit the threaded thing on the banjo bolt.

yesterday it started and drove about 200 feet then died. my friend fiddled with the ignition switch(where you put the key in) and then it started. then i didnt do anything to it. it started fine when i moved it out of garage. then i went to go somewhere and it died at the end of my street.

please help asap. any suggestion appreciated




wow again sorry for posting 3 times but i keep forgetting things



also i read in my haynes that the basic ECU check is that when you put the key into the on position(car not running) that there should be lights like oil light or check engine light or something like that.



but i have nothing showing. idk what to do about it. the haynes says next to nothing about the ECU.


oh and its a 91 LX 5 speed

 

sorry i did not know i could edit until it was too late.

 

http://techauto.awardspace.com/ignitionswitch.html

 

i think you got it right on your first guess there. you're ignition switch is the likely culprit.

curious why you through those other parts at it before trying the switch? you're not stumped until you've tried everything you've thought of. get the new switch and see what you get.

 

thanks for your posts guys. appreciate the quick response

the reason why i did those things is because some of the parts were old and needed replacement. also i am new to working on cars(and to using a multimeter too) and it can be a very steep learning curve when you know little to nothing about so many potential problems

i replaced the main relay because i live in vegas and its summer. and from what i read they typically go out when it gets hot. you should have seen the motherboard on it. was corroded all to hell and 1 cracked solder joint too. so i figured why reuse that who knows how long it will last and how far i will be from a parts store when it does go out.

well the reason why i replaced the ignition coil ($80) was because my roommate who is an electrician said the resistance from teh coil was not in the right values. so when i got the new one i checked it and they were the same values. but the old coil did look like crap and you have to really fiddle with it to get the secondary resistance reading to read correctly. sometimes it read 0 sometimes it read infinite and sometimes it read the correct reading.

turns out it was the switch. it was a hella easy 5 minute job too. she fired up 3 times and i just took her for a spin and everything was looking good

 

I love to hear those posts of novices replacing part after part expecting it to get fixed. You need to educate yourself about diagnosing cars and the symptom tree. Thats why us techs went to school. Buy a book.

 

thanks a lot mr high and mighty for your "techtotally worthless post. no one cares you are a "tech". seems more like you are just some jackass who thinks he is better than me because you know more about cars. well whooptie fing doo good for you. maybe you cant read. i already have the haynes manual.


so anyway the car just died on me today. i was driving home from the bank and the tach and speedometer started going crazy and then the car died. now it cranks but will not start. something under the hood in the fuse box was making some weird buzzing sound when i opened the hood.

any ideas?

 

it was the igniter. replaced it and it runs fine now.

the speedometer was doing some crazy stuff though. went from the actual speed i was going down to 0 and back up. did that a few times and one time it just stayed at 0 and when i hit teh dash with the palm of my hand it jumped right back up.

all the electrical in the car was working fine just the speedometer doing weird things. i think maybe a loose wire. any ideas?

 

might want to check your vss and speedo out

 

i am unfamiliar with the vss. could you explain that more? and speedo out is just the speedometer cable?

 

good job genius. burn a honda tech. and then expect more help. by the way the VSS is the Vehicle Speed Sensor. and have fun replacing it. don't fudge up the dowel in it. and make sure not to drop it. but odds are its fine. i've never heard of a VSS causing a car not to run. just no speedometer reading. start by checking your ignition. i.e. coil and ignitor. and go from there. (and please mind your p's and q's, this is called honda-tech. not tuner world of useless knowledge)