Del Sol Fuel Pump Won't Prime

[Hellotalkie]

93 Del sol
Spark plugs, wires, dist. cap all replaced recently


That noise I hear when I first turn on my car, sometimes my car refuses to do it.

This time I was coming out of Lowes, started the car, started right up then died. Tried to start again, starter would turn but the engine wouldn't start : /

I didn't hear that usually 'click' when i turned the ignition on.

Anyways what do you think I should do? Eventually I heard a click noise from under the dash and it started! No idea, and yes I know click is very vague way of describing something.


Researching online, people are saying it might be a burned out ecu, or failing ecu. Ouch! I recently fixed the drive side window leak so I dont have doubts the ECU could have collected moisture

 

[Eli]

lol. It's not the ECU if it's an intermittent problem.

How about you start with the fuel pump relay?

 

[jlee]

Sounds like the pump isn't kicking on at all - not that it won't prime. +1 to fuel pump relay.

 

[tbike06]

Definitely fuel pump relay. I have had that problem before.

 

[Rifter]

fuel pump relay,common issue on hondas

 

[dawp]

Like everyone else says, relay is what making that clicking sound.

If you've ever been in a 1a telephone switching office, that is all you hear is relay clicking. there are hundreds of relays of all types in that switch that are constantly clicking.

 

[BUTCH1]

Time for some basic troubleshooting, you will need a voltmeter to determine if the pump is getting power when this happens, then start working backwards, (check relay, connectors). Hopefully you can find parts at a pick a part to save $$, at least those model years typically don't require a module to be programmed to a specific vehicle, if my BCM (body control module) goes out any replacement has to programmed to work. Buy a Chilton's or Haynes manual for the car well worth the $10-15 IMO..

 

[Hellotalkie]

Is it hard to replace it? I'm computer savy but when it comes to cars, meh!

 

[Hellotalkie]

Would this be a similar procedure?
http://www.d-series.org/forums/diy-forum/15210-replacing-main-relay-92-95-civic.html


and is this what I need? http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3381756


I didn't know it was just plug and play? I thought this included soldering.

Firestone wanted 300 for the relay :0

 

[NutBucket]

It's plug and play. If you're feeling adventurous, you can pop the cover off the relay and reflow the solder joints. This should solve the problem too.

 

[Hellotalkie]

It's plug and play. If you're feeling adventurous, you can pop the cover off the relay and reflow the solder joints. This should solve the problem too.

I would feel adventurous if the part was 300 dollars but its only 30 so, instead of the possibility of fxcking up my entire electric system, I'll spend the 30 haha.

 

[BUTCH1]

Is it hard to replace it? I'm computer savy but when it comes to cars, meh!

You bought a 1993 vehicle, time to learn and fast..

 

[Hellotalkie]

Ehh I've put about 5k miles on it. No problems whatsoever (except the relay). With only 87xxx miles, i'm sure I'll be having less problems than my 180xxx miles 97 civic.

I had everything maintenance-things replaced, fluids, belts, plugs, wires, dist cap.

Got the passenger window to work. So yes I've really only had 2 problems

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Could be that the fuel pump died.

 

[Eli]

Mileage isn't all that matters.

Cars rot when they sit. I'd rather have a 200,000 mile car that has been properly maintained than a 50,000 mile car that sat for 10 years.

 

[Hellotalkie]

I wouldn't say the car sat for 10 years...it was just severely under driven (~5000 miles a year).

The car was properly maintained at the dealership. Fluids were kept up. Weekend car.

I would totally pick a nicer (older) car with lower mileage vs. a high mileage newer not as good of condition. Just like I did with my Del Sol.

As long as I had documentation of the maintenance intervals (which was provided), I firmly believe my car is just as reliable as any other newer honda. Plus people have refered to the early 90's as the golden age for Honda's reliability.

 

[Eli]

Oh I know, I was just saying. An infrequently driven car can easily be as bad as a frequently driven car that wasn't taken care of. As in, it could need a lot of the same things replaced.

 

[BUTCH1]

Ehh I've put about 5k miles on it. No problems whatsoever (except the relay). With only 87xxx miles, i'm sure I'll be having less problems than my 180xxx miles 97 civic.

I had everything maintenance-things replaced, fluids, belts, plugs, wires, dist cap.

Got the passenger window to work. So yes I've really only had 2 problems

You will probably still get good service from the drivetrain but again, learn to work on your own vehicle as much as possible, with any 18 year old car parts are gonna need replacing just do to age, (struts, tie rods, radiator, ect.), if you can do your own work makes it that much more satisfying..

 

[Hellotalkie]

Update!:

Seems the problem went away. I've purposely stalled my car (in driveway) and was able to start right back up! I've done 5 consecutive starts and all worked perfect!

Now I'm more comfortable driving my car anywhere knowing that it won't leave me stranded

 

[jlee]

You may want to buy a relay anyway, so when it happens again you hopefully won't be stuck.

 

[Hellotalkie]

You may want to buy a relay anyway, so when it happens again you hopefully won't be stuck.

Oh! I meant the problem went away AFTER i replaced the relay.

It would bother me if the problem just went away one day for no reason.

 

[SearchMaster]

Yep, my '98 Accord had the exact same symptoms and a new FP relay did the trick. The funny thing is I couldn't easily get the old one out (I was afraid I'd break something important) so I left the old one in, ziptied the new one to it, and connected the wiring harness to the new one Someday I might go back and try to fix it but it's held for several months now and there's no compelling reason to think it won't stay put.

 

[Hellotalkie]

Yep, my '98 Accord had the exact same symptoms and a new FP relay did the trick. The funny thing is I couldn't easily get the old one out (I was afraid I'd break something important) so I left the old one in, ziptied the new one to it, and connected the wiring harness to the new one Someday I might go back and try to fix it but it's held for several months now and there's no compelling reason to think it won't stay put.

Yeah it was a pain to get the thing out. Not much room

 

[Thegonagle]

It's plug and play. If you're feeling adventurous, you can pop the cover off the relay and reflow the solder joints. This should solve the problem too.

Don't bother. I tried that with my '92 Civic. No effect. A brand new one, around $60 from a dealership at the time, solved the problem permanently.

 

[kornphlake]

Definitely fuel pump relay. I have had that problem before.

I had an intermittant problem with the fuel pump in my Blazer, the bearings had gone bad in the motor and the armature would stick some times. Same symptoms but a different problem.

That said if the relay is a known problem in Hondas, it probably the relay. A co-worker had to replace the fuel pump in his honda of a similar vintage, so it's not completely impossible the fuel pump has begun to fail.