On my sisters 1990 Honda Accord, every now and then the motor would shut down on her while she's driving. When she would pull over and try to start it up again, the engine starts for a sec and then just shuts off. Also, Sometimes the car has a hard time starting. I took a look under the hood and noticed the radiator fan is bad, so I'm going to replace that. But what is causing this??

 

Can you make it screw up by rattling the key chain, or twisting the key just slightly? Flaky ignition switches are sorta common, especially with big keychains.

 

check the main relay i have a 90 accord however my problem was reversed sort of, my car would not start sometimes then died on me while i was driving. Turn the key to the on position and see if you can here the fuel pump priming that was my problem the fuel pump was not priming all the time. Once i changed the main relay i did not have the problem anymore

 

That is exactly what happened! I just tried what you posted and I do not hear the fuel pump priming. Also, I noticed that check engine light and other misc. lights did not come on when I put the key to the "on" position.

Where is the main relay located and can it be purchased at a local auto parts store?

 

my eks is on the side of the glove box and i got mine from honda.

 

Anyone know where it is on a 90' Accord and what it looks like?

 

i think its on the left side its a lil gray relay with a brown plug i think maybe 3 inches long one inch thick its by the fuses take off that cover so you can get to it easy... but it could also be your distributor that the coil or the lil chip inside is going bad.... see if that helps and try to read your codes...

 

if it dies with no dash lights coming on then it is the ign. switch, take off the plastic around it and make sure it is tight, if it is then go buy a new one.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b18ccivics &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if it dies with no dash lights coming on then it is the ign. switch, take off the plastic around it and make sure it is tight, if it is then go buy a new one.</TD></TR></TABLE>Main relay or ignition switch. Either one can interrupt power to the ECU. So you use a multi-meter to check which one is going bad.

However, it's sorta unusual for the main relay to do this after the engine's already running.

 

Thanks, I'm going to check the ignition switch since there is no power when the key is on the "on" position.

There are no codes for me to check.

 

I had a similar problem. Mine was corrosion on the battery terminals. Cleaned the terminals and it was solved.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ludeboi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks, I'm going to check the ignition switch since there is no power when the key is on the "on" position.

There are no codes for me to check.</TD></TR></TABLE>Bad ignition switch, or bad battery cables, or bad main relay; probably don't store codes. Basically, the ECU thinks you've turned off the car, so that's not really something for it to store as an ECU error.

 

Remove the Main relay, remove the cover exposing the soldiering points.

Re-Soldier the points. Put back together and try it out....

Over time the soldier points loose contact with the circuit board.
Both the ignition, fuel pump are controlled through the main relay.
Could be cutting off the fuel pump... or cutting power to the ignition intermittently

Its a definite possibility, and is a common problem with older main relays.
And hey its free and easy to fix. Do this before spending 40 for a new one at Honda.

 

THANKS ALL!!! It was the ignition switch all along! It was 79 bucks but now it's alive!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b18ccivics &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if it dies with no dash lights coming on then it is the ign. switch, take off the plastic around it and make sure it is tight, if it is then go buy a new one.</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ludeboi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">THANKS ALL!!! It was the ignition switch all along! It was 79 bucks but now it's alive!</TD></TR></TABLE>

it is good to know that i was right.