my wife's civic daily driver.
she overheated it probably about 4-5 times already while driving with no oil/coolant.

car had oil and coolant leak so it overheated few times before i got to replace the oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket.
and fixed the radiator
stopped the leaks

by that time the water pump seal blew out and it started leaking coolant so it overheated again.

replaced water pump
now it runs ok, eats a lil bit of oil here and there.

but the problem is.
when she drives it to work about 45 min commute in traffic on the freeway
she parks it and then it wouldnt start
after few tries it starts and runs.

i cant figure out whats wrong

 

anyone?

 

same issue here. i'd have to let it cool down a lil. i doubted it was the fuel pump like i was being told cause i figured...well it starts in the firs place... but i replace it and never again did i have that issue.

2 steps.

fuel main relay (kinda doubt it tho.)
then fuel pump.

 

ok so i got a main relay from junk yard

switched them around to make sure it works and it does.

today my wife got stuck at the grocery store,

i told her to switch the relays to see if it was in fact a bad relay.

she did and it still wouldnt start

i told her then to wait few minutes untill teh car cools off.

and it started right up.



so it only happends after driving when car is hot.
when this happends i dont hear the relay click either.
and its not the relay itsself since i have a cold relay to switch and check


what can it be?

 

When the engine won't start, does the fuel pump fail to prime? If so, resolder both main relays:

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

Also clean and tighten the G101 ground on the thermostat housing:

 

tightened the ground
replaced fuel pump with a good working one.
replaced fuel filter added a bit of trany fluid it was low
when the car works it works with both relays, during no start issue either relay doesnt help.
today she got stuck in the middle of traffic in the city i had to go get her.
jumped the battery and it wouldnt start at first.

it cranks but doesnt start.i didnt pay attention of the starter disengages or it cranks untill you let go the key. what would that be if starter disengages?


accidentally i found another main relay in my box of parts and had it with me, after 2 failed attempts to start with 2 previous relays the car started right up with the 3rd relay i had.

i dotn know what else to look for, im pretty sure its related to overheating the engine but what can be damaged that will cause this issue

 

drove the car today.
heres whats happening.

the rpms go up randomly thoughout driving while holding the RPM steady the needle jumps up for few seconds and back to normal.

when i push the brake the rpms go up a bit similar to downshifting in manual tranny, i can feel the clutch still engaged and then itat some point later it separates and rpms drop.

its definitely something with torque converter or tranny.



its actually a 94 civic LX model that came with a D
another thing is i belive they swapped a d16 non vtec engine instead of D15 in it when the first one blew up.
and i dont think htey replaced the ECU. would that affect anything at all?

 

bump for some help, need the car asap, dont know what else to look for

 

Any CEL codes?

If you don't want to replace parts at random ($$$), then do some basic troubleshooting. When the engine WON'T start, listen for whether the fuel pump primes for 2 seconds when the key is turned to ON(II) and also check for spark (click spark link in my signature). Post the results of this troubleshooting.

 

i would recomend checking the compersion in your cyl since u have overheated it there are ways to check parts without buying new ones ... dont buy stuff u dont need and through good parts away...

 

fuel pump doesnt prime, main relay doesnt click when that happends.
it will turn over on its own for a second or two sometimes and die.
no CEL codes, it runs ok when it doesn run, it started after it overheated it would do it once in a while and it became more and more often within few months.

i didnt buy any parts yet, just replaced whatever spares i had.

what can cause the main relay circuit to not work properly?

 

When the engine WON'T start, did you also check for spark (click spark link in my signature)?

When the key is turned to ON(II), does the CEL turn on and then off after 2 seconds?

Did you try resoldering one of your main relays?

Also try sanding the G101 ground and where it contacts the thermostat housing. Ant then tighten it.

 

i belive we have replaced the ignitor last year.
i personally replaced the plugs wires rotor and cap a year ago
because the rotor was loose and got chewed up, not sure if it affected anything besides the rotor itsself. didnt see any damage to other dizzy components when checked.

yes cel turn on and off

i have not resoldered the relays because if it was temperature related (solder crack) the other relay would work since it was not warm or cold but both of them either work or dont.

i cleaned up the ground and it didnt do anything.

the car starts again after sitting for some time.

the temps dropped here pretty low(snowing today) and i drove the car around all day and it started every time.

so its very random occurence.

 

This reasoning is flawed. If all your used main relays are bad, they could all cause an intermittent problem. Resoldering one will yield a more conclusive result.

 

well i cant trace it since most of the time it happends when my wife is driving it and stuck in the middle of the road somewhere. by the time i get there the car already starts again.


i will resolder the relays just didnt have time for it.
the reasoning is:
if the problem is caused by heat, expanding and contracting the soldering cracks, and separating the connection. then the other relay should work at least the first time because its been sitting in the car and its at normal temperature.

last time i did it, the car did not start with relay#1 i tried #2 no start.

waited a bit. and it started with relay #2. i switched back to relay#1 right away and it started as well. and switched them around few more times and it still started.

thats why i cant figure out whats causing it.

it might be a bad (melted) wire in the engine bay that is causing one of the components to overheat and cause a no start untill it cools down, possible?


would i be able to just jump the fuel pump directly to see if it starts that way when next time it happends?