car wont start all of a sudden

[geeteedan]

was fine yesterday and the whole weekend before with no problems

went to start it today to refill the ac and now it wont crank. It tries to but wont

ive checked the fuse under the dash and its fine. stumped

[geeteedan]

edit: upon searching i hope its not the main relay

[geeteedan]

well rolled the windows down for a little while and let some fresh air in for about 10 minutes and what do ya know, car started right up. So if it is the main relay, how hard a swap is it? My local stealership has one for $67

[conozo]

Its not hard to resolder once its out, but it would help if your elbow was 3 inches from your rist to get at it.

[Joay]

The hard part is getting to it, cause it's kind of jammed up under the dash. Once you get there, it takes all of thirty seconds.

[geeteedan]

The hard part is getting to it, cause it's kind of jammed up under the dash. Once you get there, it takes all of thirty seconds.

napa carry them or is $67 + tax my only option?

i wouldnt know thr first thing about resoldering

[TsubohachiLX-i]

When you turn the ignition to ON mode, you should hear 2 CLICKS come from your foot (if the clicks are strong enough, you should FEEL them). If you do not hear those clicks, then it IS your Main Relay. Also, be sure to listen BEHIND YOU as well, because the Main Relay also activates the FUEL PUMP (the pump makes a humming noise). This happened to me last year.....

You can always tell when the Main Relay or Fuel Pump is going bad, because sometimes they'll work and somtimes they won't......it helps to listen for the sound........

Once you replace the Main Relay, just kind of leave it hanging near the floor, or prop it on the carpet so it won't be so hard to reach it next time.....

[w261w261]

There's a couple of suspects in the "crank but won't start" category. First is the infamous Main Relay. If yours hasn't failed, it will eventually, so you might as well deal with it. You don't have to buy a new one, although I did, but that's just me. The problem is micro-cracks in the solder joints, which need to be resoldered. The other problem is access.

See message #2 in this thread, about tapping on the relay for a possible emergency fix:
http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61988

And if you want to read my adventures with the relay, message #1 in this thread:
http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61773

You don't have to do what I did to get at the relay. You can drop the fuse block (so say others).

If you'll read my posts referenced above, you'll see that I couldn't get enough of a swing on my ratchet to remove the bolt holding the relay in. As a result, I bought this tool. Haven't used it yet, but it would have made getting the relay out pretty easy I think. $29.95 at Home Depot.
http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62698&highlight=husky

The other suspect is the TW sensor, about $20 at the dealer. Located by the thermostat, if it's failing, you'll get 6 flashes on the box under the drivers seat, and eventually the car won't start. Again, it will fail eventually, so you might want to put a new one in anyway.

GL

[geeteedan]

There's a couple of suspects in the "crank but won't start" category. First is the infamous Main Relay. If yours hasn't failed, it will eventually, so you might as well deal with it. You don't have to buy a new one, although I did, but that's just me. The problem is micro-cracks in the solder joints, which need to be resoldered. The other problem is access.

See message #2 in this thread, about tapping on the relay for a possible emergency fix:
http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61988

And if you want to read my adventures with the relay, message #1 in this thread:
http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61773

You don't have to do what I did to get at the relay. You can drop the fuse block (so say others).

If you'll read my posts referenced above, you'll see that I couldn't get enough of a swing on my ratchet to remove the bolt holding the relay in. As a result, I bought this tool. Haven't used it yet, but it would have made getting the relay out pretty easy I think. $29.95 at Home Depot.
http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthrea...ighlight=husky

The other suspect is the TW sensor, about $20 at the dealer. If it's failing, you'll get 6 flashes on the box under the drivers seat, and eventually the car won't start. Again, it will fail eventually, so you might want to put a new one in anyway.

GL

i'll check the box in the morning to see if im getting anything there

thanks

[mountain_geez]

Salvage yard will have them I would bet. I found a few of them along with the carbed ones I needed for 2 bucks each. To bad I could only find 2 of each type. I know it fixed the problems on 2 of my cars. At least call them and see how much they'd charge for a relay from the accord or what not and don't use the word "main" for the relay lol.

OFC if you have the ability to solder and such I'd do it that way cause free fix is better then 2 bucks. (buy a few spares if they're as cheap as I got them)

[geeteedan]

ok, im getting ticked off at my self.....

I have spent the last 30 minutes trying to even find the relay and i cant see crap up there

[Joay]

It's on the driver's side right up against the fender. It helps to take out the fuse box, if you take out the coin thinger you can see the relay behind it with a flashlight.

[86AccordLxi]

I managed to pop the connector off of the stock one and just plugged the new one in.

It's ziptied down, but it was too much effort to remove the dead one.

[w261w261]

I managed to pop the connector off of the stock one and just plugged the new one in.

It's ziptied down, but it was too much effort to remove the dead one.

Wuss! Yuk yuk

[w261w261]

ok, im getting ticked off at my self.....

I have spent the last 30 minutes trying to even find the relay and i cant see crap up there

This main relay replacement is like a Hell Week for 3G owners. The rest of the car is so straightforward and generally pleasant, that is comes as a surprise (at least to me) that the main relay is where it is, and is such a PITA to replace.

I couldn't find it either, that's why I wrote this, which was referenced in an earlier post in this thread:
<Open and remove the coin drawer on the left side of the dash. Look in with a flashlight and see the main relay up on the left. It's a black box a couple of inches square with the coupling going into the bottom of it...if I recall the coupling is white.>

You still can't find it? Look harder!

[86AccordLxi]

Wuss! Yuk yuk

Not denying it.

[2oodoor]

take the front seat out first :bowrofl: saves time in the long run

[88Lxi Guy]

you probably have a bad distributor coil.