Starting / fuel problem 89 Accord DX

[jim89]

Hi all,
I've had this problem for some time, nothing I've done has worked.
It's an '89 Accord DX I bought new, it currently has less than 70,000 miles on it , most miles less than 1 mile at a time.
I only drive it 2 or 3 times a week, so if it sits for 2 or 3 days it's hard to start, have to crank it 2 or 3 times 5 to 10 sec each,
if I start it every day it'll start right up.

If it's been sitting for a couple of days the bowl is empty.

I've changed the main fuel relay, the starter switch,( it was needed anyway), plugs, dist cap and rotor.
I listened to the fuel pump when the key was moved to "on" it was hard to hear and it only lasted maybe a fast half second.
I've tried turning the key from off to on, ( I can hear the click) leaving it on for a few seconds and repeating a few times hoping it would add up to
the 2 seconds, but no luck.
I've changed the fuel filter under the hood, it seemed to be good, haven't had time for the tank filter yet.
I live it the hottest city in Arizona ( official) which takes a toll on the paint, interior plastic parts and dielictric grease, I've had to chase down multiple
connection problems.

Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jim

[Dr_Snooz]

Are you sure the gas isn't simply evaporating in the heat? It is a carb after all, hard starting and other finickiness is par for the course to an extent.

Whenever I open an electric connector, I make a point to pack it with dielectric grease before putting it back together. Don't know if that would help you or not.

[jim89]

Are you sure the gas isn't simply evaporating in the heat? It is a carb after all, hard starting and other finickiness is par for the course to an extent.

.

Thanks for the reply.

That's exactly what I think is happening, but shouldn't the bowl fill, at least partially, in the 2 seconds the relay circuit is closed and with repeated tries ?

[Oldblueaccord]

Common sense says yes......but

All my carbed cars do it to.

One thing to prove it out is start the car every day for a week and see if it holds fuel and work back from there...everyother day every 3rd day until you get a break over point.


Other than that I have found on my cars with E85 it doesnt evaporate as fast with a 50/50 mix. I can prolly go a month without a dry start.

[jim89]

What do you think about wiring in a momentary push button switch to prime the bowl ? I did a search but couldn't find anything.


.

[Dr_Snooz]

Seems like a Rube Goldberg solution to me. You'd do better, I think, to spend time verifying the fuel pressure, volume, output, etc. There are a variety of diagnostics and tests starting on p. 11-42 of the manual. It shouldn't take very long for a properly functioning fuel pump to refill the bowls on its own (like within the 2 second priming period when you first turn the key on). If this is a new problem, then it might be telling you that some repairs are in your future.

[jim89]

Sounds like a good plan, thanks.