My car is a 1991 Honda CRX. It starts up like a normal car 95% of the time.. but it randomly doesn’t want to start just once every blue moon. It’ll just crank and crank and crank.. then i’ll come back out a little bit later and it’ll start right up like nothing happened. I have replaced the distributor, and have cleaned the carbon build up from the ignition switch.. could this be a bad main fuel relay? That’s just my last guess. Can’t seem to think of anything else. Just wanted to see what you all think before i buy a new relay.

 

Sounds like a main relay issue - especially if it doesn't crank well when hot. I've also had issues with the ignition switch - never tried cleaning it like you say you did...I just replaced it with a new one.

 

 

Take the main relay out and look at the solder joints with a magnifying glass. If you see cracks in the solder, that is likely the culprit. They can be resoldered but a new one is cheap.

 

Yes. The main relay controls the fuel pump and other components as well.