fire issue

[ianjk46conv]

:help: I drove to school.. parked, attended class, got back out an hour later to my 89 lx-i. Turned the key, the car fired, then immediately died. Then after that, the car would crank like a s.o.b. but wouldn't fire. Didn't smell gas, and yes, the car had more then half of a tank. The car is a well cared for vehical. It has almost 120kmi, I got it this summer, changed the timing belt, water pump and acces belts. The plug wires look fresh, but i didn't pull the plugs out to check color/gap..etc. The weather that day-cool + or - 50 deg with stagnant rain. So, instead of calling AAA i just left it there for the next day. Well, just getting to it today, I pull in, the sun is out and it's decent, still chilly, the car fires right up. Any ideas?? I was just about to check the relay, but i trying to fire the car, and she started right up. with winter coming, I would like to get this problem resolved before flakes start falling. Winter isn't pleasant here in upstate NY. thanks guys,
Ian

[evil88accordLX]

upstate NY, i lived there for 16 years, right outside of saratoga springs. i miss the winters!
how is your distributor cap and rotor? if moisture gets in there it can keep your car from starting.

[ianjk46conv]

one of the guys at work told me to take it off and check for moisture. I was just assuming that if the previous owner replaced the plug wires, they would have enough sence to replace the cap and rotor also. :slap: There aren't any cracks on the outside.. Oh, I added dry gas to the tank also but I didn't get a positive result.

[russiankid]

You will be surprised how many people don't even know what a distributor cap and rotor is. Those usually last a long time but after 15+ years its a good idea to change it out. Usually you don't change the cap or rotor when you do the spark plugs, but if you do not know when the last time it was done you might as well do it.

So if I were you I would get new spark plugs, cap,rotor and a fresh set of wires and you should be good to go.

[evil88accordLX]

^^^^ what russiankid said.

dry gas, i forgot all about that stuff. dont really need it here in the south.

[86AccordLxi]

Could be main relay related, as well.

[Oldblueaccord]

Main Relay. There is a write or two on here and you do a google search for it.

Its a little unusual for it to do it in cold weather.

wp

[86AccordLxi]

Yeah, the cold weather part threw me too.

My local Napa had 5 in stock --- $63 each iirc.

It's sort of hard to get to. I cheated replacing mine, though. I left the old one bolted in, just unplugged it, and plugged in the new one. it's ziptied so it doesn't move around too much.

Saves a helluva lotta time doing it like that :P

[86AccordLxi]

Basically the best way to tell if it IS the main relay, is to key the car to the 'on' position (not starting it, just all the lights on on the dash). You'll see the check engine light come on, and when it goes out you should hear a simultaneous 'click' from the main relay. If that's not happening, then it's for sure the relay that's bad.

[redaztec]

A lot of times, if the main relay is bad, all you have to do is pull the cover off and re-solder the contacts back on to the relay itself. The solder joints just tend to go bad over time. Spending 5 minutes soldering beats $60+ for a new one!

[86AccordLxi]

Meh.

I'm a big fan of paying for convenience ;)

Plus, my mrs. drives the car and it already left her stranded once when the relay stopped working.

[lostforawhile]

^^^^ what russiankid said.

dry gas, i forgot all about that stuff. dont really need it here in the south.need it here sometimes,it does get cold. one time i had to pay a tow truck 75 dollars to tow my car 5 blocks, fuel line actually had froze from miosture in it. it was 15 degrees out,and i'm almost in florida

[evil88accordLX]

need it here sometimes,it does get cold. one time i had to pay a tow truck 75 dollars to tow my car 5 blocks, fuel line actually had froze from miosture in it. it was 15 degrees out,and i'm almost in florida

dont get me wrong, it gets cold here too, but ive not had frozen lines here in arkansas.

[lostforawhile]

dont get me wrong, it gets cold here too, but ive not had frozen lines here in arkansas.was the moisture in some shitty fuel

[Demon1024]

it cranked in a good sob way or bad?:) battery maybe... i dunno doesnt really sound like the relay in cold
on the relay try resoldering it first. it has fixed every one i've had

[ianjk46conv]

It's not the battery. The car has plenty of juice. I'll pull that cap off and check for residue. I should have kept my se-i. I had so many new parts on that f-ing thing. I wish I was computer savvy, then I'd post pics off my digital camera. The car is in sweet shape, and the engine bay is cleaner then my 03 ford. I just fixed the sunroof leak. Right where the tubes for the sunroof runoff are, she was leaking.

[ianjk46conv]

:banghead:
Ok, it did it again damnit. I replaced the cap, rotor, plugs and wires two nights ago.. Car has been fine since i picked it up from school a few days ago. Today it did the same thing. I went out to my car once I got done with school and she wouldn't start. The weather was dry, sunny and cool. No moisture in the air.. I got ahold of a few guys taking the automotive program at my college and we determined that there was spark coming from the wires. We listened for the fuel pump, and heard nothing. Then we decided to push her into the garage they have at the school to get a better look, and just as we got to the bay door, the dude that was doing the steering dropped the clutch and that bitch fired right up! WTF! I"ve been owned by my own car. They couldn't really give me a definite answer to why it's doing this. I asked my buddy that works at a garage and he said something about a possible faulty fuel pump responding to the commotion from dropping the clutch. I don't know, someone give me answers!! ..please.

[redaztec]

If you're getting spark, it's pretty much got to be something related to the fuel system. I'm no expert, but at this point I'd guess the fuel pump is going out. If it were hot outside when the car isn't starting, I'd guess the main relay, but since it's cool, probably not. It wouldn't hurt to check the relay before pulling the fuel pump though.

Edit: Did you also check your temperature sensors (TW sensor especially)? I've heard that those can also cause starting issues, but I don't know much about the exact symptoms of that.

[Dr_Snooz]

Pretty handy breaking down with the auto shop guys right there. Sounds like a good place to park!

A hard cold start, apparently, can be the coolant temp sensor. You can measure resistance across its terminals when warm. It should be 200-400 ohms. If not, replace. Also check voltage between the yellow/green wire and body ground. Should be 5V. If not, check for an open wire. Finally, check voltage between the yellow/green wire and the green/white wire. It should also be 5V. If not, then you need a new ECU.

I don't think it's that because you'd get a check engine light. Are you experiencing any other running issues? That might help diagnose.

[ianjk46conv]

Ok, I'll check my ohms and voltage at my sensor after work tonight. Other then this problem, the car is great. Next time it happens, I'll bypass the relay. If that doesn't do it, i'll beat the piss out of the gas tank. If that doesn't work, then i'll try some choke cleaner. I'm running out of ideas after that. I really don't want to bring it to honda and take it in the pooper. ....to be continued.
by the way, thanks for the advice so far.

:pc:

[ianjk46conv]

Got pulled over on the way to work, and the car died on the side of the road. Out of no where it just started hesitating at around 600 rpm and just died out. It's like it ran out of fuel. I don't understand, it started at my house, and ten minutes down the road, she stalled. I'm almost convinced she needs a fuel pump. I have to go check it out in the morning, she's still on the side of the road.
:burn:

[redaztec]

Yep, sounds like a fuel pump to me too.

[ianjk46conv]

I checked my main relay as the Haynes book told me so and I have a question. By putting positive batt term to the No. 4 and negative batt term to No. 8 on the relay, then tested continuity between the No. 5 and No. 7 terminals of the relay. The meter beeps, but doesn't hold a steady beep. I put positive to the No. 5 and negative the No. 2, and test continuity between No. 1 and No. 3 terminals on the relay and I get a steady beep from my meter. With positive to No. 3 and negative to No. 8, when i test continuity between No. 5 and No. 7 I just get a beep, not a constant beep. So from the 1st and 3rd test, there is just an instant continuity, but the 2nd test gave me constant continuity. Is my main relay ok??

[redaztec]

This might help:
http://techauto.tripod.com/mainrelay.htm

[ianjk46conv]

Well, checked the back of the main relay, and found where I needed to do the soldering. I then did my continuity test and she rang out like a champ. I'll give in a couple weeks before I'm convinced that's the problem. I'm keeping my hopes up though. Thanks a lot for your input guys! So far you guys saved me a hand full of cash already.
:cheers:

[redaztec]

Good deal, I hope that's all that was wrong!