In the last few weeks my 89 CRX has been acting a bit odd. Every now and then it won't start with the first turn of the key. When I turn the key to the Start position, sometimes there is a slight (1 second maybe) hesitation, and then the starter will kick in. Other times it won't kick in at all until I try it several times. It seems to be getting worse as the weather warms up and today it wouldn't start for almost an hour after driving it about 20 miles (it was close to 100 degrees here which is a bit unusual) - anyway, after the 100th try, it kicked in and started right up. After getting it home and letting it cool down in the garage for a couple hours, I tried to replicate the problem and the starter kicked in every time I tried it. This is why I think either the ambient temperature or the engine temperature (which does stay in the normal range) might be causing this.

So the question is - where should I start looking to try and find the problem? Is the temperature issue just a coincidence?

-Shawnpdx

 

No, it's not a coincidence. This is a very common EF problem. The cause is almost certainly the fuel pump relay (located on the driver's side under the dashboard by the fuse panel). Search for "fuel pump relay" and look for posts by me. I detailed how you can go about jumping the relay to fix the problem - you'll need about three inches of wire and two spade connectors. I'd search for it myself, but I'm on 56K and time is precious.

Good luck.

 

I have read several articles about the 'main relay' causing issues when it's hot, but the starter won't even try to engage when I am turning the key during these episodes and when it finally does, it starts up just fine. So this seems more like a starter/ignition switch/?? problem. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

It sounds like there is something wrong in your starting circuit, and it could be a relay, but it might not. Check the fuse/relay panel under your hood to see if you can find the starter relay. I'm not exactly sure where it is on the CRX, but it's there somewhere. When you are having the problem, have someone turn the key to on and listen and feel the relay to find out if it clicks. If it clicks and the starter doesn't kick over, your relay is probably ok. But, relays are situated in a box usually away from the engine, and they don't really get hot. The thing that does get hot is the starter and solenoid, since they are bolted directly to a hot engine and tranny. I have seen many starters/solenoids have problems when they get hot. I would suggest letting the car warm up and wait for the probllem, then hook up a remote starter switch to the solenoid and battery so that you can bypass the the relay and ignition circuit all together. Test to see if the starter works or not. If the solenoid doesn't want to engage the starter, or it does but the starter won't spin, you have a starter or solenoid issue. Pull the thing off and have a local auto parts store test it. Of course, check all electrical connections first to make sure everything's clean.

 

No, you have exactly the symptoms of a fuel pump relay short. I've owned 6 EF hatches, and 4 of them had this problem, plus I've fixed a lot of other people's, so I'm pretty confident on this one. But I know what you're talking about: When you go to crank it, you just get a "click" and the dash lights go off like a normal start. Then after 5 or 10 minutes, you can just start it right up.

Phil, if he's getting the symptoms I'm thinking of, he'll be able to hear the starter solenoid click when he goes to start it, so that eliminates the starter relay. Also, the fix for the fuel pump relay is very inexpensive and easy to do... very much worth it before he starts trying to f**k with the starter.

 

The car is 17 years old, so maybe a new fuel pump relay is in order.

I assumed that if the fuel pump relay was bad that would mean that the engine would crank over and over and just not start which is not the case here. The situation you described - "When you go to crank it, you just get a "click" and the dash lights go off like a normal start. Then after 5 or 10 minutes, you can just start it right up." fits almost exactly so I will take your word and give it a try. I'm assuming this is the 'main relay' that is under the dash right behind the fuse block...

Thanks for the replies!