2002civic startup problem

Hi Guys, It started this year. For a hot day with 92F, it is no problem, but at any time we people feel comfortable, means a cooler day, or after overnight park, the first Startup will hesitate for about 1-2 seconds. Is it fuel pressure problem, or something else? Can I solve the problem myself, or I have to send it to dealer? Thanks.

ZM

Reply to
zmu
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The symptoms and age of your Civic suggest it may be simply a dying battery, so I'd try to quickly eliminate it, first. Try the five quick and dirty battery/charging system checks at

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. If this Civic is still on its original battery, and if any of the checks look suspect, I'd seriously consider a new battery.

Interstate is the brand probably most often recommended for Hondas.

How many miles on your Civic, by the way?

Reply to
Elle

Thanks Elle, It is the original battery, about 30K. I will check it later. But there was no click noise, I just needed to hold the key for a short while.

best,

ZM Elle wrote:

Reply to
zmu

Oh yeah, five years old, I would consider replacing it pre-emptively. You got your money's worth out of this battery. (Mine have been lasting about 4 or 4.5 years, on average.) Even if this does not fix the problem, you spare the wear and tear an old battery does on an alternator.

Especially if you've done a few jump starts on this car, replace it. Jump starts reduce battery life.

Reply to
Elle

Replacing battery might be a stone in dark. Your money will be well spent with a proper diagnostics.

Reply to
morshedbashir

In recent years I've come around to Elle's way of thinking on this. Replacing the battery that is already at life expectancy does two good things: it reduces the likelihood the battery will fail when it is needed and it reduces the heat generated within the alternator after starting. If the battery costs $100 and still has a year of life left the OP would only be spending about $20 (the prorated value of the battery in its sixth year) for those valuable benefits.

The first step of troubleshooting is to make everything right; clean connections, replace worn belts... then see what problems remain. Otherwise I agree about a proper diagnosis. Shotgunning out an alternator is not the way to go.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

First, I think the OP should do the simply voltage checks referred to in the previous link. They will tell a lot.

Second, "shotgunning" is a vague term , in my opinion, and depending, wholly condemning it may in fact lead to more owner-operator frustration and more expense. ("Proper diagnostics" is just as loaded and so just as useless IMO. Tell the OP what exactly he should do to diagnose and why... .)

With older cars in particular, precise diagnoses can be stymied by the interplay of various aged and sometimes failing, but not quite fully failed, parts. Replacing only one aged part while other, related aged parts remain may in fact be throwing good money after bad. Continuing with other aged parts may result in a reduction in life of the new part, or the new part may not work as well. In both cases, the owner-operator is likely to have to repeat the bulk of the labor of the original repair (with the concommitant costs of this), or s/he will have inaccurate results of any trial run because of the interplay between old and new and so be misguided in his/her troubleshooting, or the "fix" may not last very long.

I see condemnation of "shotgunning" here a lot, and in my opinion it often denotes erroneous thinking about the goals of the owner-operator. Some narrowing down is often appropriate, but a general evaluation of systems' interplay and the status of underlying parts, plus the time demands of the owner-operator, may argue for "shotgunning" at least to some extent. I believe "shotgunning" is to naturally a fairly common practice among shop technicians. Counter to some uneducated consumers' allegations that certain shops replace more than is necessary, the shops are simply trying to (1) prevent an early comeback and (2) give the owner a car that works well, not merely "okay." People like to complain and expect solutions, whatever they may be, to fix the problem. I think many would rather pay somewhat more than not have the problem fully fixed or gamble that it is fully fixed.

I am reminded of an adage that went something like, "Young boys working on cars repair components. Shop technicians replace them." The young boys' repair might work for the short run, but does the owner really want a short run solution? Is a shop doing its job when it fixes only for what their judgment indicates likely is or could be the short term?

But again, without the simple, quick checks that are the price of an inexpensive voltmeter at one's local auto parts store and a little expertise, I would note the battery's age yada as a /possible/ cause of the startup problem but not replace the battery just yet.

Not that you are condemning "shotgunning," Michael. More to convey, for one, what is often the engineers' or highly qualified technicians' approach and why.

Reply to
Elle

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