1986 honda accord starter problems

Im not to familiar with cars or how to work on them. I have an 86 honda
accord that starts fine in the morning and when i leave to go home after
work. But as soon as I stop to get gas. I'll always end up being stuck
their for atleast 10 minutes. The PGM FI light is on and I took to the
shop today. The mechanic said that was the problem but he didnt have a
scanner to pinpoint it correctly. So tomorrow im going to a place with a
scanner. Has anybody ever had this problem??

 

The mechanic said what, exactly, was the problem? The starter? The PGM
FI light?

More detailed symptoms would help... like, what makes you think it's the
starter? Does it refuse to crank over? Or does it crank and the car
not start?

 

so true - there's no scanner output on the 86. suggest you get a
mechanic that knows what they're talking about, who can lift the carpet
and get the code off the ecu by counting th little red flashing lights.

if it's the 86 [not 96], there /is/ no scanner port. to fix the car, go
to tegger.com and look up "main relay" for the most likely problem
cause. and when you've done that, call around for a mechanic that
/knows/ there is no scanner port on the 86, then take all your future
business there.

 

If it happens usually in warm weather, I suspect it's the main relay.

 

Basic symptom is often (but not always) a Main Relay problem. Need more
details on this.

Your mechanic has no idea what he's talking about. The '86 is OBD-I, and an
external scanner is neither needed nor available).

See here:
http://www.iequus.com/assets/manuals/3173_ICCR_E_14JAN03.pdf
specifically page 15.

Your ECU is under your driver's seat. Turn ignition to ON (not to START!)
and count the blinks from the red LED.

Short blink = 1
Long blink = 10

Example: Sequence long-long-short-short = code 22.

There may be more than one code stored and if so they will be separated by
a long pause.

 

If you get diagnostic trouble code (DTC) 16 it is most likely a main relay problem.