Problem starting

absolutetintingabsolutetinting Wagonist
in Engine & Drivetrain
i drove the wagon about 100 miles to visit a buddy. he sees the wagon and he loves it. he wants to take it for a spin, he starts it the wagon idles really low and dies. tried several time and still dies. so we make a few calls to some local mechanics and no one really knows. about 45 mins passed i tried again the wagon again, and she started. this has happened several times now, it seems she need to rest before starting up again. lol. or just cool down.

the sum: she idles really low, then dies. only when shes hot. shes fine in the mornings or when she's time to cool down.
temperatures fine, distributor/cap/rotor/wires/plugs fine, gas full, lights/radio work.

what do i need to replace before this gets worst?

thanks.

Comments

  • JakerJaker familEE
    My 1st place to go for troubleshooting this issue would be the PGMFI relay (main relay). Over the years, the solder joints get brittle and cracked, and when the relay gets hot (after a long drive) the joints get intermittant. The point of failure is the power to the fuel pump. That's why it starts and then sputters. The residual fuel pressure gets the engine started, but then it drops to nothing and the engine dies. Once the relay has cooled down, the joints make a decent connection once again. It's pretty simple to re-solder the joints. I've done it a few times, and each time it has fixed the problem. If you're not comfortable re-soldering, you can buy a new relay from a jobber for about $50.
  • absolutetintingabsolutetinting Wagonist
    thanks jaker,

    just ordered it, $95.00 @ the dealer. $45.00 @ jobber with 1 year warranty.

    the dealer said the same thing with the main relay(especially on hot/warm days) the plastic gets brittle.

    thanks
  • udubrx7udubrx7 Senior Wagonist
    Don't mean to hijack your thread, this question is relevant...

    Where is the main relay located? Is it just one of those big black boxes up under the driver's side dash by the fuse box?
  • JakerJaker familEE
    Yup. It's directly above the hood release. You have to unbolt the hood release and you may need to unbolt one or 2 of the dash bolts to get at it. It's a bit of a biatch to get out, but then it's super easy to repair/replace. Oh, and there's a bolt in the relay itself holding it to the car.

    It is about the size of a business card, and about the same thickness as a business card is high.
  • hondaracer72hondaracer72 Band Wagon
    ive had that same problem i switched out my ecu from a pm6-A080 to a pr4 and hadnt had the problem since
  • morriswilmorriswil Band Wagon
    There's a post somewhere on here that tells you how to solder fix the old one. I did it to mine and it's worked 100% for a year now.
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