'89 Accord won't run after rain. Water in the main relay?

[Ed Rush]

Hello,

I posted this in the Honda-Tech forum and someone kindly directed me here.

'89 Accord, Manual Transmission, well maintained, excellent runner until now.

Very heavy rains here and I noticed the seal at the bottom edge of the windshield was loose and riding up. Inside, there were a few drops of water leaking down onto the passenger floor, indicating that water was indeed getting inside.

At first, the car ran fine. After turning off the ignition, a distinct clicking could be heard from the fuse-box area. I made a mental note to replace the windshield seal as soon as the rain stopped.

After 4 rainy days with the same clicking I started the car, drove about 100 feet and it died. It just shut off. I tried many times to restart: battery was fine, car cranked but didn't start. I let it rest for a few hours and tried again. It started, idled perfectly for 5 minutes, then died as soon as I tried to accelerate.

Now there is a near-constant clicking from the electrical area. First, a quieter clicking from a source behind the fuse-box that I can't locate. That soon turns into the Main Relay clicking loudly and vibrating intensely. (All this when the key is not in the ignition). The only way I can stop it is to disconnect the battery. The car will no longer start. When I investigated the Main Relay box, a few drops of water were present on or possibly in it.

Any advice on where to begin? Should I replace the main relay or perhaps take it out and dry it out? Any idea what the other click is (from deeper in the wiring than the Relay box)? Should I be investigating the starter as well?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Ed Rush

[Vanilla Sky]

I'd also make sure there's no water sitting on the back of the fuse panel. There's a panel of relays on the back of the fuse panel, and they may be causing issues as well.

Ed, where are you located?

[Ed Rush]

I checked and there is no water on sitting in the back of the fuse panel. Only the Main Relay box seems wet (and only slightly).

I am located in Nanaimo in British Columbia, Canada. We are getting a great deal of rain these days.

[Vanilla Sky]

The main relays are a weak spot in these cars. They tend to develop broken solder joints. That woudn't cause it to click when it's off, or at least I wouldn't think.

You can pull the case off of the main relay. I'd pull it and make sure it looks good, IE: clean solder joints, no corrosion on the contacts.

I'd also try to get the car as dry as possible. Do you have a garage? Garaging it while running a dehumidifier would pull a great deal of moisture out of the car.

Did the water make it as far down as the seat? The computer is under the driver's seat.

[Ed Rush]

I've been struggling with trying to get the case off. It's really hard to get at. Hopefully I'll be able to pry it off soon and that'll help things dry out.

Unfortunately I don't have access to a heated garage. The car is still out in the rain, still with the leaking windshield seal. Not ideal. I could try a hair dryer on it but I wonder if that could do even more damage. There is no water under the seats, at least.

Thanks for your suggestions.

[nswst8]

Can you at least cover the car until the rain stop in your area to get the leaking windshield fixed/replaced. Because no matter what you do until that is fixed its just going to continue to cause shorts.

You'll have to gain access to the main relay to decide if it needs replacement/repair.

[Ed Rush]

Do you know how to get the dash front panel off that is covering the area? I've undone all the obvious bolts but it's still stuck on there. Are there some hidden bolts I can't see? That would make it much easier to get the housing off the Main Relay.

[Vanilla Sky]

The panel under the steering wheel? You can remove that, or you can take the whole dash out. The dash is bonded together, and the only way to separate it is to break it. It's very easy to take out, but I've never had an issue getting at the main relay, as I have small hands and I'm a contortionist.

[Dr_Snooz]

I'd get a $5 tube of silicone from the hardware store and go after that windshield. Remove the trim pieces. If you break them, they can be obtained easily from the junkyard. Just get that leak fixed. Then run a power cord out to the car and run a heater for a few days. That will probably get you running again. I would expect further trouble down the road though as water on electronics always ends badly eventually.

[Ed Rush]

Thanks - I'll try that. It's supposed to stop raining later this week so I'll post back again if I can't get it running. I appreciate all the feedback.

[xxxfrankensteinxxx]

remove the battery just incase of a short and let that puppy dry out silcone works wonders used it on my 88 accord but a 91 took its place ;]

[Ed Rush]

Alright, I have spent the last several days drying out the car. I've replaced the windshield seal as well.

I removed the Main Relay and the housing box was more or less filled with water. I dried it out and removed all the crud that had gotten in there. The soldered joints were dirty, but not too corroded. I dried everything and put the main relay back. This seems to have solved the clicking problem when the battery is hooked up. However, the car still won't start.

When I put the key in, position I seems normal. Position II, the engine light, battery light and oil light go on and the seatbelt noise sounds. As I recall, this is all normal. However, I don't hear any noise from the fuel pump.

At Position III (start), the engine gives a healthy starting sound, yet doesn't fire up.

I checked all the fuses and they are fine.

Any ideas where I should go from here?

Thanks in advance.

[Vanilla Sky]

The relay is dead. It sends power to the pump at position II. If it's not getting power, then it's more than likely that relay.

[Ed Rush]

So in position II I should be hearing something from the fuel pump?

[Ed Rush]

Also,

Spark plugs and cables seem fine. No water in the distributor cap.

[Vanilla Sky]

Yes, you should hear it "whirr" when you click into position II.

[Oldblueaccord]

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

lenghty write up. Try jumping it out and see if it starts. after that I would move the relay to keep water out of it JIC the windshield was not the only leak.


wp

[Ed Rush]

Thanks for the instructions, OldBlueAccord. Very detailed and helpful. I wonder if it's worth re-soldering the joints, or if there was too much damage due to the water and I should just replace the main relay entirely. I'll post back once I figure it out. (and yes, I've moved and rotated it so hopefully it won't fill with water again if the seal wasn't the problem!)