Hello friends 😊

I typically don't go on the forums much, and when I do it's usually because I'm trying to figure out how to solve a car problem.

That being said, I finally solved a 3.5 year long issue with my 91 Hatch. Ever since I bought it, it had a weird no-start issue. It would work fine for months, and then suddenly after running into the gas station it would have no fuel pump priming action. If I let it sit for a few hours, it would always solve itself and start up like nothing was wrong.

I've kept a fuel pump on hand for years, thinking it was only a matter of time before I would need it.

Over the course of time, almost every piece of my car's internals were replaced, or at least tested multiple times to insure proper function.

I checked my main fuel relay time and again, and it always looked good when I checked it...until today, after 10 hours of no fuel pump prime that didn't fix itself.

I popped the main fuel relay open and ice chunks fell into my lap. The entire circuit board was covered in ice.
I had never had a starting problem in the winter up until this point, but I can imagine the relay filling up with water, evaporating water as it got hot, and quitting on me, leaving no visible trace of an issue when I checked it before.
This time I caught it red-handed. FINALLY!!!!

As far as I know, there's really no good way to repair the water damage. That being said, once I removed the ice and let the relay dry out, it would start my car again. No surprise there...I'm sure it's been the culprit all along, and I'm replacing it with a new one tomorrow so this doesn't keep happening.

Dried out, it looks perfectly fine to the unsuspecting eye. I saw bubbling under the green layer when it was wet, but the water dissipated and the bubbling became all but invisible once it was dry. I could see it if I looked really closely, but I would have missed it if I didn't know what I was looking for and where to look for it.

I searched for another post about an iced over main relay, but I didn't find one. Apologies if someone else has made this crazy discovery already.

To all my cold weather Honda owning friends - even if your main relay looks good and tests good, try replacing it if you're getting random no start issues. I got lucky and caught mine acting up, but never would have suspected something wrong until I caught it after a snow storm.

Hope this helps someone 😊 happy driving!

 

Glad you figured it out. Hope the snow doesn't stop you next!

 

this is not the first time ive seen a main relay filled with water...wtf is up with that?

 

I've seen it on EF's only. Never verified it, but I suspect it's a leak from the cowl that drips down the harness into the relay. DAs are known for the passenger side cowl leak... I'll bet EF's have something similar on the driver's side.

 

Do you have the antennae gasket on?

 

In my case, I think it got water in it because of where it was re-located to by the previous owner. If I left my window cracked at all during rain or snow, I could see how water trickling into it could happen quite easily. (Hindsight 20/20)
I'll try to get a good pic of its location once I'm off work, too much snow to go out and do it at work. ��