If a 1994 Honda Prelude vtec does not start but sometimes the engine turns and you changed the fuel pump and the distributer but still the car wont start until two hours later what could be wrong?

Answer 1

Probably the main relay up under the dash above the steering column on a right hand drive car - not sure about a LHD. I had this happen to me - once I drove 5 minutes down the road to the shop. When I returned to the car it would crank over as normal but wouldn't fire until I left it for a few minutes. Other times it would start fine every time then for no apparent reason I'd get a run of no starts.

I detected no spark so replaced the ignition coil in the distributor followed by the main relay - if the main relay fails the EFI module gets no power so no spark is generated but I'm pretty sure my coil was bad as well because it wouldn't produce a spark from my workbench power supply.

Answeryah um i just bought a 94 Honda prelude also and we went to look at it and started it and it worked fine so we shut the engine off. then like five minutes later we wanted to take it for a test drive and it wouldn't start and the car dealer said it was the relay so they put a new one in but sometimes it still doesnt start. so i don't know if that was the problem or not. AnswerDon't know much about cars - but my cousin's boyfriend fixed this exact same problem just LAST NIGHT!!!! My problems was the same...when the car did start, which was most of the time, it turned over and "caught" very quickly. However, it could sit overnight and not start or I could have turned it off 5 minutes prior and not start. It would just turn over and over and not "catch" or whatever.

Chris, my cousin's boyfriend, looked it up online and we think the cause was the main relay. Sometimes it develops corrosion and needs to be wiped off real good. That is what he did and so far, today, I have had no problems.

AnswerIF it's still not getting fuel (IS getting spark) after changing all that, I would see if it has a relay/circuit that is supposed to run the fuel pump for two seconds after the key is turned to 'on'. There is probably a little cube in the fuse box area that has a circuit that is failing intermittantly.....(get a repair manual and do some research and trouble shooting) Answerusually the main relay will cause this problem if its hot out, hot in ur car, or hot from running hard. if u park it in the summer witht he windows up and it heats up inside ur relay could be causing the problem. this is because the solder points on the circuit board inside crack and when its hot they expand and loose connection. i pulled mine, used a magnifying glass to find the point with the crack, and re-melted the solder. never had the problem since.