Intermittent problem on 88 Civic

I bought it new. She'll be 17 years old next month with 315,000 km!
The problem started one morning - engine cold - when she would turn over
just fine but would not start. Towed to a garage, they changed the
distributor cap and rotor, the plugs and cables, and the air filter. It ran
fine for a few days. Then, out on the highway - engine warm - it started
sputtering, choking, but it never died. Pulled over to the side, killed it,
but it started back up on the next try and ran fine for a few days. Same
thing happened yesterday but this time, it didn't restart. Tried for an
hour before giving up. It was towed for the second time in its life. At
the garage, it started on the third try, with an ignition tester between a
plug and its cable. It ran fine for the hour long drive back home.
Humidity/rain doesn't seem to be a factor.

I know she'll leave me for the great scrapyard in the sky someday, but I'm
just not ready to let go yet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,

André

 

Stop being a cheap bastard and get a new car!

 

Google for " honda main relay";they get bad solder joints,and the fuel pump
does not always run,and the car starts,but does not have enough fuel
pressure to keep running.There are a few websites with instructions how to
find the MainRelay and how to resolder it.(easy task)
A new relay will cost at least $50 USD.

This is a VERY common Honda/Acura problem.

 

Jim
Great post.
Jason

 

Shall do. I'm very happy with the idea that it might that simple.
Thank you for taking the time, Jim.

André

 

Besides the main relay, if the fuel filter hasn't been changed recently this
would be a good time for that. In any event, the symptoms sound like a fuel
delivery problem and the main relay and fuel filter are at the top of that
list. The part that sounds more like the relay than the filter is the
failure to start in the morning.

Mike

 

My '88 HB is the same vintage (225,000 kms), when my
main relay failed, the car wouldn't start only when it was warm
(or hot of course). In fact, it started to act up one fall and I drove
the entire winter without a problem, come the spring when things
warmed up, the car would crank forever without firing. So I bought
a new relay. So, when you say it won't start when it's cold,
I'm thinking it *might* not be the relay, if I'm wrong, I'm sure
someone will verify this. In any event, let 'us' know the
outcome.

Mike / Toronto

 

(F1 FAN) wrote in

I imagine that eventually,any cracked solder joints could become bad enough
to fail even when 'cold'.
And 'cold' may only mean here that his motor had sat all night,not that the
outside temp was "cold".

 

It's been over 3 weeks since I changed my main relay and I haven't had a
single problem. Because the part was 17 years old, I decided to replace it
instead of resoldering it. $68 CAD. Not bad.
Unfortunately, a cracking sound that was coming from the front end got
exponentially worse in frequency and amplitude. I brought it in to my
garage; 3 ball joints and a tie rod. "With the amount of rust you've got
under there...", said my mechanic, with a not-worth-it-time-to-get-a-new-car
look.

Ahhh...Crap. I really liked that car.

Many thanks again, Jim. I'm still blown away by the idea of troubleshooting
a car problem on the internet.

André
Montréal

 

Good post. It's particularly helpful as I contemplate my 14-year-old Civic
(bought new, like yours). Fortunately only about half its life has been
spent in really snowy long winters. It has 274k kilometers ( = ~ 170k miles)
on it. So using your numbers and Canadian locale, I figure she's good for at
least three more years. The only major repair/maintenance is the timing
belt, for which I happen to already have the new belt and tensioner. So I am
calculating whether to actually replace these when they're due in summer,
2007... Guess I'll see how everything else looks.

At least the Honda Fit/Jazz should be available by then!

 

I'm in a similar spot: I have a 1990 Accord LX with a host of
problems. About 200,000 miles, though I don't know the exact
amount because the speed sensor (or its wiring) went out a few
months back, and I haven't had time to look at it yet. (I only
recently reclaimed the car from my stepdaughter.) Windshield's
cracked. All four tires are shot. Rust around rear wheels has
penetrated far enough that the trunk leaks. There's some body
damage, including the front passenger light cluster.

And I suspect bad suspension wear (ball joints and/or tie rods); it
has a nasty shimmy at highway speeds. Could just be the tires, but
I'm not optimistic.

However, I'd like to be able to trade this car in about six months
from now, and if I don't keep it running I won't be able to. I have
to decide if it's worth doing the things that absolutely need to be
done now (windshield, tires, lights, speed sensor), with junkyard
parts where applicable, just to keep it on the road for a little
longer.

On the plus side, the engine still runs well (despite being overdue
for a tuneup, among other things) and the interior is in good shape.
It'd be a pretty nice car for running local errands if the most
urgent things were fixed.

--
Michael Wojcik

Unfortunately, as a software professional, tradition requires me to spend New
Years Eve drinking alone, playing video games and sobbing uncontrollably.
-- Peter Johnson