Problem starting when lukewarm

I have a Del Sol (Honda Civic) Si. It has no problem starting when the engine is hot or cold, but in between sometimes just doesn't work.

For example, the other day I started it cold and drove 2 miles to a gas station. After filling up, the car wouldn't restart. It cranked over the same as always but wouldn't "catch", until about the 30th try when it suddenly started.

This never happened in the hundreds of times I've filled up when the engine was fully warmed up.

It has also happened other times, such as when I decide I need a CD out of the locked glovebox 1 mile down the road at a traffic light. I stop, pull the key out, unlock the glovebox, then try to restart and it just cranks with no kick.

Any idea what's going on?

I'm the second owner. I think there was some aftermarket gear in the trunk which was removed by the original owner. I always assumed it was audio, but it could have been some kind of alarm system. Such a thing wouldn't have remaining components which prevent the engine from starting twice in a certain time interval, would it?

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

Reply to
Spud Demon
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Sounds like an intermittant connection. What codes does the ECU report?

Reply to
AZ Nomad

snipped-for-privacy@LUMINA.MITRE.ORG (Spud Demon) wrote in news:ecl3ut$3g6$ snipped-for-privacy@newslocal.mitre.org:

Your PGM-FI Main Relay may be bad. That's probably the most common problem in Hondas.

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Also, does your tach needle jump up and down a tiny bit while you crank, or is it dead still?

Reply to
TeGGeR®

Another thought comes to mind, a leaking injector, partially flooding the engine after shutdown. The next time it happens try starting as if the engine is flooded, gas peddle to the floor, if it starts with a black cloud that may be the problem.

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Reply to
KG

KG writes in article dated Fri, 25 Aug 2006 08:23:06

-0400:

I didn't notice. I will see if I can reproduce the problem later and check.

The description on that site matches my symptoms, but it links to

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correllates the failure to interior temperature. I use the roof of myDel Sol only rarely; most of the time the interior temperature dependsexclusively on the weather.

engine after shutdown.

to the floor, if it

I tried that at the gas station, and it still didn't start. But a leaking injector would only flood one cylinder, right? (The fact that I've owned this car for 60,000 miles and don't know what type of fuel-injection system it has is a little embarassing but also a testimony to Honda reliability.)

Nomad: It's a '93 and I have an Auto-Xray code reader but I don't think it has a cable for pre-ODS-II Hondas, so I have no ECU code.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

Reply to
Spud Demon

I think that was it! I removed the main relay and re-soldered all the connections (didn't bother removing all the old solder, it all melted readily enough). Then I tried several times to reproduce the problem; so far it hasn't happened again.

Thanks Tegger.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

Reply to
Spud Demon

snipped-for-privacy@MAZDA.MITRE.ORG (Spud Demon) wrote in news:edirmn$60f$ snipped-for-privacy@newslocal.mitre.org:

Excellent! Glad it worked.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

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