hey guys,
New to these boards. My daily driver has finally decided not to start. The engine turns over, but will not start. I had this problem at the beginning of the weekend when the car wouldnt start unless letting it sit for 5 minutes or so. It is not over heating and everything looks to be fine...anyone had this happen to them before?

Im aiming to build a decent track car also, anyone got any ideas on what platform to use? (probably not the 1990 civic that i have...lol) any insight would be greatly appreciated...


-Chris

 

my guess would be dizzy cap and rotor. Happened to me in my old civic

 

Main relay is the first thing to suspect. Have you resoldered it yet? Do you hear the fuel pump when you click the key on but don't crank?

 

when you turn your key to the on position does your check engine light come on then go off??if it doesnt go of or come on does your fuel pump come on??its prob your main relay, take it down and smack it with screw driver not hard though lol. is your car throwing codes????

 

hey guys, thanks for the quick responses. I am an avid AWD fan (i drive a 2007 400hp STi, and the wife has a Golf R32 VR6) but i tell you...there is something about this honda that i love...prolly the 35mpg or the fact that its built like a tank.

anyways, i dont recall hearing the fuel pump going off...but i havnt checked it. the cap/rotor was replaced before i bought it from a friend of mine.

where is this relay that i need to beat on?

 

drivers side. remove fuse cover look to the left of the fuse box its above your hood release.the pic below shows a main relay taken apart

 

ok gotcha, so just unbolt it and take it out? tap on it and put back in? Ill give that a shot, im gunna head to the autozone and pick up a new one if tapping on this thing doesnt work. how often would you guys say that this is a problem?

thanks hatch for the visual. im going to check on this now

 

no prob. its a pretty common problem i relocated mine for easy accsess. dont put back together until fixed . and if hitting does work i do have a brand new in box, main relay from honda.

 

You can take the bolt out and let it hang down by the wires, then you can beat on it whenever necessary. If that gets the car started, it can be repaired rather than replaced. Take it out of the car, pry the case apart and resolder all the connections on the little circuit board inside.

Unplugging your main relay and taking it with you is also an excellent theft deterrent.

 

I have never heard of hitting as a solution, unless using a hammer. I have a 90 1.5l also, bought used a couple of years ago. When the outside temp warmed up the main relaywould fail, letit cool off for 5-10 min and it would start right up.
The solder joints in the main relay were poor quality, a problem with almost allmodels. Simply pry off the cover and reheat the connections, mine has been hanging downfor over a couple ofyears,no problems yet. I had to loosen the dash on the left side to get enough room toget it out.

Reheating the joints seems to solve the problem, for me and whole lot of other people. My chiltons has a very detailed test for the relay as well as the connections to it. but as it only seems to fail when hot, there is no way to test it, without first reheating the connections. (when coldthe solder jointswill show good)

If you find the solution please post the answer. I have a similar problem posted under "stalling problem" The guys here gave me a list of places to start that was very handy, but we still haven't found it yet.
good luck