A few times now my civic will just crank but not start. Battery has plenty of power and I believe it is not a fuel issue. The last few times it started after cranking for a while I would hear a click then it would start right up. I dont crank continiously but just for 4 or 5 seconds at a time. Any idea on what to check? Now I cant hear that click go off and it wont start after many cranks. Thanks.

 

When you turn the key to the position right before it starts, do you hear a low hum from the back seat area? That's the fuel pump priming. If not, it's likely the main relay. That's a very common problem with that generation as they age.

 

It started right up today and I did hear the fuel pump firing up. The next time it wont start I'll see if I can hear the pump or not. Thanks for the input.

 

http://techauto.awardspace.com/mainrelay.html

 

You guys are great thank you very much! Cheap and easy do it yourself fix=more money for diapers. Mine was right below the fuse panel and fairly easy to get out even with big hands. I bought the new relay and installed in ten minutes. There is a possibility that just unhooking the battery and reconnecting reset something and it may give me problems again later but lets hope not. She is starting like a champ now. Thanks again.

 

Well the car is not starting again. I have not driven it in a while and I went out the other day and the battery was dead. I wonder if this no start issue has something to do with the battery going dead. The battery was the cheapest autozone battery so just sitting around not being used with a 2 year old cheap battery may be what happened there. So I upgraded the battery to a duralast and no start again. I am not hearing the fuel pump prime. I guess I wasted my money on the relay but now it has a new one anyway. What would be the next thing to check? Has the fuel pump died? Thanks in advance for any other ideas guys.

 

I just went out to try the civic and the thing started right up with the pump humming in the on position. Any ideas on this gremlin?

 

The relay you replaced, did it say "RELAY, MAIN" on it? In a 1993, the main relay is attached to the side of the car above the hood release handle, not the fuse box.

 

I dont recall if the piece said main relay or not but when I asked for a main relay at the auto parts store that is what I got. The piece also looks like the main relay you find when searching online or the service parts link posted above. The location is also right above the hood release lever. Someone mentioned in the other no start thread that it could be a shift lever park safery switch but I would imagine this would cause the car not to crank. My problem is the pump is not priming all the time. Any other ideas guys?