'91 EX Coupe- 222K, 5spd.

This is the wife's car. She had surgery last Tuesday, so her car has been sitting untouched for nine days.

Today, I decided to do what I had meant to do for several days- start her car and let it run for a few minutes just for good measure. Car ran fine before we parked it a few days ago, BTW.

Well, I turn the key and... Battery is strong, motor turns over just fine. But it will not fire. Any suggestions? Where do I start? This is not the type of problem I have ever had with any car, so I am baffled.

If any of the trolls who automatically type in "do a search" to nearly every thread are looking, go away. I am in a bind asking for help. That crap does not help ONE LITTLE BIT.

 

The first place to start is the main relay. Do you know how to solder? The relay has a cold solder on the circuit board. All you need to do is re-solder all of the joints, for good measure.

Of course, you could have a problem with the distributor, too, but to keep it simple, you need to eliminate the main relay as a possible cause of the no-start; and it's no-cost fix.

 

I'll start there. THANKS!

 

PGM relay or starter relay? I can't decide which one you mean...

 

It's the main relay. It's under the dash, on the left hand side of the steering column. You'll need to remove the cruise module to see the relay. All you will need is a 10mm socket, extension and ratchet...

 

And the winner is:

Tried to jumpstart. Nothing.

Heated up relay solder joints. Nothing.
Tried to jumpstart after "fixing" relay. Nothing.

Replaced plugs, rotor and cap. Nothing.
Tried to jumpstart after replacing those. Nothing.

On a hunch, replaced coil.
Started up like there had never been a problem!

Just thought I'd post this in case anyone else has a similar problem in the near future. The coil becomes one more thing on the list to look at!

Thanks for all the great suggestions- so the car got a tuneup it wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Runs even better now, which I'll credit to the plugs, rotor, cap and relay.So thanks to your suggestions, the car is definitely better off.