Yesterday the wife & I took a 600 mile trip in the Honda. On the way home last night everything was going great. We were cruising along at about 75 MPH. We got to the town 100 miles from home & stopped to top off the gas, (gas is way cheaper than the town we live in). So we topped it off & used the restroom & got back into the Honda to travel the last 100 miles home. Guess what the Honda would crank but not start. So I started checking it out, (the temp outside was 27 degrees & it is snowing so hard it is a white out.) Well, I determined that it wasn't getting fuel from the tank to the fuel filter.
Now keep in mind this summer 10,000 miles ago I had a fuel filter, fuel pump, pick screen, & main relay installed. The pump was a new Airtex pump.
So I called my buddy 100 miles away & he is on his way to get us. About an hour & half later I pulled & checked the ECU fuse & the two fuses on the positive battery cable they were OK I reinstalled. I got back in the car (about 4" of snow is on the ground & it is still coming down hard.) I cranked it over & it fired & ran fine. So I waited for my buddy. Because the 100 miles from where we were & home is nothing but road & desert, NOTHING not even cell service in most areas in that 100 miles. Well he showed up in one of his 4x4s. We take off for home. We get about 28 miles from home & the Honda starts loosing power then it regains etc (acts like it is running out of fuel, step on the gas & it just bogs out.) Well we get it home, (its midnight by now & we started at 3am in the morning) we go to bed.
Today I get up & go to get a cup of coffee at McDonald's down the street. I leave it running to warm up some & go in & get my coffee, (we live in a small town). So I go to my moms to check on her & have my coffee. I do this everyday. After about an hour it is time to go & I get in the car & it cranks but not start. So it is sitting in its parking spot of 20 years, & I called my wife to come get me.
Sorry for the long story. I have no fuel pressure checker. But I'm thinking it is the pump going bad. When I turn the key on the "check engine light comes on & then shuts off in a few seconds. & when cranking it doesn't come on like when the main relay failed this summer.
Any Thoughts or ideas. I'm not going to take it to a shop it can sit there forever, but I thought when the weather warms back up into the mid 40s maybe I would think about dropping the tank. WHO MAKES THE BEST PUMPS??? I have heard bad stories about AIRTEX PUMPS in other brand vehicles.
Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks in Advance.

 

Now you got me worried about my fuel pump because 2 weeks ago I got a AirTex fuel pump. But I still keep my old fuel pump(it's still working) just in case.

Question...Can you hear the fuel pump prime when you turn the key on the 2nd click? If so..does it make any odd sounds? The only sound you should hear from the fuel pump is what sounds like a "power-up" kinda sound for 2 secs(that would be the pump priming).

 

Intermittent problems are a real headache.

First like the other guy said, it's important to listen to the pump itself. If you don't hear the pump run, check for power on the fuel pump wire (green and yellow I think) under the back seat. Also check the ground there. If power is reaching that point but the pump doesn't run, the problem must be in the tank.

If pump does run, it still may not be pumping. To check that disconnect the fuel return hose (from fuel pressure regulator back to metal line on the firewall that leads back to the tank) and click key on see if fuel flows out. Point the hose into a container and just prime do not try to start with it disconnected to minimize the risk of fire.

There is also of course the distinct possibility it is not a fuel problem at all.

All these tests of course have to be done when the car is not in a mood to start. If it's going to start, nothing can be learned because everything will check out normal. And that is the headache of an intermittent problem.

 

Thanks guys. Yea, I thought maybe pulling the ECU fuse I reset the computer or helped a bad or dirty connection. But no luck. I never paid attention if the pump was making noise, because I seldom hear them anyway. Which means NO, No odd noises. I wonder if it is a connection because the shop that did the pump when the real problem was the MAIN RELAY, which I found out when I had a shop that does a fair amount of work for me replaced the MAIN RELAY. The mechanic that did it was a former Honda mechanic that runs & owns Honda today he is the one that questioned why they changed the pump when the Main Relay was failing. The shop that did the pump is pretty shadfe tree I found out after I had to fix other things they did for my mom.
I'll keep you posted when I get back to it.
Thanks again.