Main relay location for 86 accord lx 4dr sedan with carb

[lx 1986]

I know this question has been asked. Where is the main relay on a 86 honda accord lx, 4dr sedan with carb? Has anyone found it and taken it out? I'm trying to locate it to get a part number. Rock auto show ones for fuel injection and the only one they show for a carb is a fuel cut off relay which I'm told is not the main relay. I found out yesterday from a mechanic that there is suppose to be a main relay. If you have removed it, can it be seen and reached by removing the the dash to get to it more easily. I've looked and read info but am having a problem locating it.

I replaced the fuel cut off because the info I read said that my car didn't have a main relay and the equivalant was the fuel cut off relay. Am I missing something is the fuel injection relay supposed to be used for the carb model cars also? Can someone clarify these questions for me. I'm having a cold start problem still.

[AWH]

As far as I know fuel cut off / main relay is the same thing in our cars. Should be behind the interior fusebox,but is a pain to get to and out.If you can hear the fuelpump prime a few seconds on ignition, the relay is fine.
The way your choke operates is as following. Before ignition put gaspedal to the floor one time.Take your foot off the pedal. Start the engine. It will now run high rims. Ik you leave it running without touching the pedal,rpm will slowly come down to normal. The moment you put your foot on the pedal before that,the choke will come off at once.This is the proper choke operation on these cars.

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[lx 1986]

Thanks AWH for the reply. I guess I read that on this forum. My cut off relay is there and I did change it already like I said. I went to the mechanic yesterday to have the fuel pump checked out. He was telling me the pump was fine because I was able to make it out there. My car usually starts exactly how you stated but the problem is recently in the morning when I start it I notice that the site glass in the carb doesn't have any gas in it. I turn the key step on the gas and the site glass is empty so I turn the key off and on 10 to 15 times to build up pressure so I can see gas in the site glass and maybe the car will start. If it's warm in the afternoon I can get it to start easier but I have to get out the car and push open the butterfly some to get the car to warm up so I don't have to hold the butterfly open. If I drive the car and park it after awhile I notice the gas in the site glass has gone done a bit but it will still start. Do you know if low pressure in the pump would cause this or any other thoughts.

[AWH]

My car is a Prelude so the site glass you speak of I don't know about. But should fill up immediately or always be full I reckon.Maybe it's loosing pressure somewhere. In the manual you can find exactly how much gasoline per minute or 10 seconds the pump should put out. Loosen the fuelline,crank for that amount of time,and measure the gasoline in a measuring catch can.Could well be your pump is on its way out.Like it's not holding/ building up enough pressure anymore to keep the entire fuelline full.

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[Dr_Snooz]

Having your float bowls go empty is a relatively rare phenomenon. A few things could cause it:



A cracked fuel bowl - does the car smell like fresh gas when it sits?
A failed casting plug - may not apply to your carb. You'll have to dismantle it to find out.
Heat soak - After shutting off the engine, heat soak from the engine bay can cause fuel to boil out of the bowl. This will affect hot starts especially. Are you missing any heat shields?
Natural evaporation - usually only when the car sits for very long periods.


Let us know what you learn.

[lx 1986]

AWH
Your right the site glass is supposed to stay full or fill up. That's why I also thought that my pump is going out. I would think with me having to turn the key off and on to build up pressure to get the fuel in the bowl to start the car in the 1st place sounds like my pump is getting weak. Once it's warmed up I have no problem restarting or driving, and is strong enough to keep the car going because the pump is running while I'm driving. I don't think the bowl is filling up enough so the float stops the gas from leaving the bowl that's why I think the gas runs out of the bowl. The bowl looses gas when it sits overnight. So cold start, there is no gas in the bowl and the pump is to weak to build up enough pressure to start the car in the morning. Both my filters are new and the fuel cut off relay is new. I told the mechanic that my car doesn't have a main relay and that the fuel cut off relay is what is suppose to be the equivalent. He showed me a main relay from another Honda to show me what it looks like and it looks like the one on rockauto it has 7 pins and is for a fuel injected honda. The mechanic claims there is a 7 pin main relay. Do you know if the 7 pin relay for fuel injected model is also used on a 86 accord lx,4sp auto,4dr sedan with carb? Will also check manual about for how much gas comes out after cranking.

Dr Snooz
No I don't smell gas, don't have any heat shields missing don't have a problem with hot starts, car sits overnight or 1 day. Maybe you have the answer? The mechanic claims there is a 7 pin main relay. Do you know if the 7 pin relay for fuel injected model is also used on a 86 accord lx with carb?

[AWH]

I don't think the FI and carb relays are the same. That's also why Rockauto is only showing one for your car,because there only is one relay. Snooze would be able to confirm I quess.I want to say your mechanic is wrong.Yourvrelay has nothing to do with building up pressure slowly. It either works or it doesn't, yours works,otherwise your pump wouldn't kick in at all. I am still on fuelpump.

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[lx 1986]

AWH
I'm thinking fuel pump to. When I told the mechanic my car doesn't have a main like the fi models and the fuel cut off was the equivalent he wasn't sure and he tried to call someone else but it was Sat. and the person wasn't there. I do know the fi models have a main relay problem when the pump is suspect. I'll check back to see if Snooze has anymore info on whether or not there is a main relay or not for carb models. I need to have this confirmed.

thanks AWH for helping me.

[AWH]

Fuel cutoff relay and main relay are the same thing,just called different. Some call it main,some fuel cutoff. There's no and- and.There are different models of it,hence the FI and the carbs ones. Yours works, lookout for other culprit like pump.
Glad to help,hope you get it sorted.

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[Oldblueaccord]

I think the carb relay is on the fuse box and the fuel injection "main relay" is bolted on the drivers side kick panel.

I would download Dr.Snoozes manual he provided and confirm this.

I would change your fuel pump out the check valve is bad and keep the old one as a good spare.

My fuel injection car the pumps is bad also it would hold pressure more than 30 secs. after being turned off.

[AWH]

Old Blue Accord,
Am I right you meant to say that your pump would NOT hold pressure [emoji780]

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[lx 1986]

AWH
Thanks for the clarification . That's what I thought. I told that mechanic my car doesn't have a main relay and the fuel cut off was the equivalent. He didn't believe me. I was trying to find more info today about it. I didn't really find anything new. I spent the rest of the day trying to start my car hoping I would get lucky and it would start. I even hit the carb a few times in case the float and needle were sticking. I just ended up running the battery down.

Thanks a heap you were a big help.

AWH I think Oldblueaccord meant not holding pressure for the 30 seconds

[lx 1986]

Old blue accord
I have Snooze 's manual and spent part of yesterday looking for the elusive main relay which only exist for fuel injected models apparently. The rest of the day spent trying to start the car. I usually do save my old parts just in case for spare parts or to take it to the store as reference. Something my father taught me.

[AWH]

I am wanting to say get a different mechanic..
I think you're right about OBA post, seconds instead of bars.Misread that I think.Go get yourself a pump,look on EBay,you might get lucky, prices vary a lot.Install is not hard at all, and you' ve got the manual now. Good thing.
Go charge your battery, and I hope you'll keep us posted about progress.

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[lx 1986]

AWH
I do have a regular mechanic but he was backed up for 1 1/2 weeks. He fired his brother so he was by himself. So I postponed this for him so he would have a chance to catchup. This was alright with me because I could still get the car started. I have to call him back tomorrow. To see when he can take me in.

I already have the pump, a Delphi got it at local Autozone with free 1 day home delivery. I bought the assembly so it would be easy to install or return if not needed. I wanted my mechanic to check the system to make sure it's the pump and not a carb problem. I hope so. I got the car when it was 10yrs old. I've owned the car for the last 24yrs and have never changed the pump. I don't think my relatives ever changed the pump since they very seldom go out. So I'm assuming it's the original pump. I'll post back to let you know what happens.

[AWH]

Please do let us know. Fingers crossed on pump then.
Btw I love the fact that you got the car for that long of a period,and that it came from the family. Must be some love there [emoji854].Hope you'll be able to add some years to that.

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[Oldblueaccord]

Yes after shutting the car off it wont hold pressure at all.

Running it can hold 40 psi. Its original.

[AWH]

Yes after shutting the car off it wont hold pressure at all.

Running it can hold 40 psi. Its original.But your car still starts as I understand [emoji780] OP his car by now won't. Do you also have the empty bowls as OP does [emoji780]

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[Oldblueaccord]

my car is fuel injected, it does start just extended cranking and I cycle the key about 5 times to help prime the system. Once its been running it starts pretty easy until it sits long term. Fuel injection and a carb are drastically different things.

If by adding raw fuel to the carb manually and carefully and the car doesnt start then there is another problem.

[AWH]

Right,forgot you're FI. But also need for multiple key cycles before being pressurised,same as OP, when his did still start.

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[lx 1986]

Hey AWH and Oldblueaccord

I found a video on YouTube which describes my problem. Since Old blue mentioned there's a check valve in the pump which I didn't know it had. I searched it on YouTube. Although it's about a fuel injected engine it helped me understand what was happening. It's called Testing for a failed fuel pump check valve. The guy's name is Kevin Criswell. The 1st minute 24 seconds sounds like what's happening.

My car will be in the shop on Friday. I'll let you know what happens.

[Dr_Snooz]

Even if the bowls are empty, the pump should more than be able to fill them again before the battery dies from cranking. It's an electric fuel pump, after all, not mechanical. Something more is going on here. It's strange that the pump can run the car okay, but not prime the fuel system? Maybe he's out of gas...

[lx 1986]

Yesterday car was in the shop. My mechanic checked the pump. He said the pump wasn't getting any power. He direct connected the pump and it was working. So he thought it was the relay.

I explained to him that the fuel cut off relay is the equivalent of the main relay on my car. He checked the schematic for my car and found I was right about it. So I have confirmed that this is what is considered the main relay for a Honda with a carburetor. Well I told him I had changed that out last year. I also put the old one in the glove box so he could see what it looked like. He put the old one back in and the car started. Just to make sure my old relay was working I had him hang on to the car till this morning. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't a fluke seeing how I'm having a cold start problem. This morning it started right up. But it was running a little rough like it was starving for gas. I had him replace the pump. Once he said rough idle.

I know the pump is probably the original has 300,000 miles on it. Surely the pump is weak by now.

So Sun and Mon will be the real test. The weather is going to drop 10-20 degrees tomorrow and Mon. So it should be around mid 55-60 degrees. This will tell me if the problem is solved. If not I know it's not the pump.

[lx 1986]

I was trying to update some more but I couldn't log on the other day. I was getting 404 forbidden thing.

I sent the relay back to Rock Auto. It has a 3 year warranty. The new one will be here Friday. I bought it in Oct 2019. It lasted 3mos. When I bought it, it was listed under both fuel injection relay and fuel pump/ opening circuit relay. Same relay WVE 1R1040. Only the one under fuel injection was cheaper. When I got it I noticed it was a different color, black. The one on Rock is grey like my original. Don't know if it was cheaper because it was old stock or what. I also noticed this past week that rock changes things around they had the WVE listed under fuel pump/opening circuit relay as the most expensive one and the standard motor one cheaper and they had nothing listed under fuel injection relay. Today they have changed it again.

I try not to get things online if I can help it. It's always a hassle to return it. That's why I bought my Delphi pump at Autozone. At least with my new pump I can get the car started in the morning. It runs a little rough but once it's warmed up it's good. I'll see how things go when the new relay gets installed.

[ckhaing]

I was trying to update some more but I couldn't log on the other day. I was getting 404 forbidden thing.

I sent the relay back to Rock Auto. It has a 3 year warranty. The new one will be here Friday. I bought it in Oct 2019. It lasted 3mos. When I bought it, it was listed under both fuel injection relay and fuel pump/ opening circuit relay. Same relay WVE 1R1040. Only the one under fuel injection was cheaper. When I got it I noticed it was a different color, black. The one on Rock is grey like my original. Don't know if it was cheaper because it was old stock or what. I also noticed this past week that rock changes things around they had the WVE listed under fuel pump/opening circuit relay as the most expensive one and the standard motor one cheaper and they had nothing listed under fuel injection relay. Today they have changed it again.

I try not to get things online if I can help it. It's always a hassle to return it. That's why I bought my Delphi pump at Autozone. At least with my new pump I can get the car started in the morning. It runs a little rough but once it's warmed up it's good. I'll see how things go when the new relay gets installed.

Any update on relay / pump issue? I have same problems as yours, with my 88 dx carb. I was trying to find relay wiring or circuit diagram to test if it is working, and nowhere to find online yet.

[ShiRen]

You can get the service manual from mine or Snnoz's sig