Apparently if you’re having issues starting your Honda and it’s either a 1988-1991 or a 1992-1995 model Civic, then the most likely culprit is the main relay. The issue never replicates itself in winter. Amazing. Usually you have problems starting cars in frigid cold temperatures because the chemicals in the battery freeze or smth and something to do with the gasoline line etc.
Civics are unique. They won’t start in a warm/hot sunny day. The reason being that the “main relay” connections aren’t as good as they used to be so with the rise in temperature, the wires might expand and completely miss each other. Here are some tricks you could do to start your car if you have that problem.
1. Gun the engine rapidly a few times.
2. Put your car in neutral and have someone push the car while you attempt to start the engine.
3. Turn the key on the ignition one click clock-wise and wait for the beep sounds. Then look at the instrument panel display and wait for the “Engine Check” light to disappear. The moment it disappears, you can start your car. Now there’s been a coupla times when that didn’t quite work but it usually does.
4. The best remedy is to replace your main relay. They cost anywhere from 30-60 bucks and is located below the steering wheel near the fusebox. You can do it yourself or have it professionally done and it shouldn’t cost you much.
5. Or if you’re poor, try kicking the fusebox panel. It works. Summer’s on it’s way out and you can be happy in winter knowing that you won’t have this problem for the next 6 months.
I’ve had this problem and so did a few friends of mine who had 1988-1995 Civic models.
EDIT 08/07/07: Cmon. There’s always over 50 people reading this dumb post everyday and NOT A SINGLE COMMENT? What is up guys? Just leave a little something for me will ya? You don’t have to put down your real email address. Say something like “abc@hotmail.com” and you are still able to post your thoughts. Where’re all the thank yous? Don’t do this to me.
08/20/07: Thanks DrJazzB!
Kudos on # 4! You’re absolutely correct that that is the best and final solution. However, if #1,2 or 3 EVER worked for you (or anyone else) it was simply coincidence. The solder joints inside that relay will crack and not make contact when its hot in the car. You can sometimes get the car to start by opening the doors and letting cooler air in and/or whacking the kick panel under the fusebox to jar the relay contacts. Also, if you’re too tight to buy a new relay, you can resolder the connections on the old one if you are really careful. Anyway, good post, Slick!
Thanks Dr Jazzb. I forgot to add the kicking the panel section. That seems to help also. Good thing you covered it!
Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you for the tip!! We had just arrived home from a two week vacation and my car was sitting in our driveway, unused during that time. Our summers here are very hot, so when we tried to start my Civic, the engine would ‘turn over’, but would not start. The car had previously been hesitant to start on hot days prior to our vacation, so when I read your suggestions, I thought “What the heck,I’ll give it a try”.So I took a look at the fuse panel and the relay, making sure that all the wires were still connected, and then I gave the fuse panel a few little kicks, and YAHOO, it started !!
I just wanted to write and say thanks. Your tip saved me at least a few hundred bucks.
Glad to be of help Mrs T. DrJazzB reminded me of that trick. Do remember that kicking the panel can only help so much and is only a temporary fix to the problem. If you have time, you can swap out the “main relay” yourself. Will take an amateur roughly 3 hours and roughly around 60 bucks or less for the unit itself.
Thanks. My Civic is doing the same thing and i figured the issues out by trial and error. Took 2 months. Wish I would have read this sooner………..
Hi,
Is everything fine? How are you?
I look forward to trying these the next time my Honda wont start (its summer in New Zealand, so it currently wont start once or twice a week). I have been baffled by this for the past five years.
Will report back
I’ve been having a similar problem with our 1989 Civic. The car will sometimes (not always) start when it’s cool, but I’ve had to leave it running in the parking lot as I dash into the store. Even that has stopped working, though. Now, once the engine has warmed up, it will just die. Also, the orange engine light stays lit, even when its running. Going nuts about this. So ya think it’s the relay? If you’re right, how come my mechanic didn’t know this? #@!$%%!
Thanks
Carlos. You might have more than just a main relay issue. Try and have your battery checked cuz you could be having more than 1 problem. If your mechanic doesn’t know the problem, try taking it to a garage that specializes in imports. I had the same problem. Took it to major garages and they hadn’t a clue. Took it to an import shop and they told me right away what it was because they’re used to seeing that problem.
Final thought here. How long do you plan on keeping your Civic? If it’s for another year or so and you’ve never had to change it, I would be proactive about it and get it replaced regardless. Will cost ya around $30-60 give or take depending on if you did it yourself or had a mechanic do the replacing. You might also need to replace your battery if it hasn’t been replaced in say 6+ years.
could this problem of not stating also be caused by the cold? i hit a pothole and it felt like my power steering went out and now the car will not start
Problems starting your car in the cold is battery related. Hitting a pothole and losing power-steering and now ignition? Make sure the battery plugs are well plugged and didn’t come off. Also, the fuse box by the battery and under the steering wheel.
The main-relay problem only affects Civics during hot weather.
Helloi got a 1995 honda civic dx hacthback and it would start i replace the starter,distributor,fuses,mainrelay,brand new battery,sparkplugs. It crank fine and is sparkling what could be the problem man
fuel pump. under the seat….
I’m sorry but did you mean you were able to start your car after you replaced a bunch of parts?
Good post! I have a 95 Honda Civic and it decided to just not start after running fine for 4 months. Changed the plugs, wires, distro, rotor and still it will crank but not fire.
WTF……fuel pump in the gas tank……I think I’ll ride a bike.
I have a 91 civic hatch-back. It runs great and never stall out while driving. After driving 15+ minutes and then turing off the car and try to restart it it will crank but not start and during that cranking I am not getting a spark. I want to buy a part and not waste money on the wrong one. I have read about igniters, main relays, and coils what should I do.
Depends where you’re at.If you’re in a warm climate and it does that quite a bit, my best bet is the main relay. Don’t quote me on it though cuz it could be anything. If you plan on keeping the car for over a year, I would just get the main relay replaced regardless. It’s all around 60 bucks total and well worth it since this has already been identified as a trouble spot for these types of Hondas.
Thanks!!!
i figured it might be something like that cause it used to happen to my grandmas hatch as well, i also had some friends with hatchbacks that did the same. ill get another relay and i hope the issues go away.
Thanks again
Last week, I bought an ‘88 civic wagon & your tip seems spot on. Usually the car starts fine. But if I drive a little, then shut it off where I’m gone for like no more than 5 minutes, when I return & try starting it, the engine will turn over & that’s all. It doesn’t even pretend to start. I figured out if I sit there for 5 more minutes or so, it starts fine. I was baffled ’til I came across your blogf entry.
Definitely sounds like the problem. I’ll have a look at the relay & try resoldering the connections. Otherwise, this 5-speed mt is a bang on the road.
Thanks for the heads up!
I have a 92 civic dx that is having this problem. i havent done anything about it yet but im prob. gonna replace the main relay. i was told that it is hard to do with a civic. is this true?
Not really. Took a buddy of mine just over an hour to seal the deed but it depends on how dedicated you are. I let the mechanics try it out on mine because back then before I spread the word, I wasn’t sure what the problem was and used the mechanic’s “gut feeling” take over.
I have a 90 hatch, and of course having the same issues, will be trying the main relay 2morrow, hey EJ your issue may be the ignition coil
Thank you this has been frustrating me for years! Replaced a lot of parts when it turned out this was the problem all along. Dang I wish I read this a long time ago. But thanks for solving something my mechanic hasn’t helped with!
My 89 dual carbies has the same problem. I went to Honda’s parts section and asked for the main relay, but they claimed dual carbies model doesn’t have main relay at all. Is this true? Can any post the main relay part number if this model has it. Thanks in advance!
Wow..i was confident ( not 100% though) I will get some suggestions on this baffling problem in the net( only diff is I have 2000 Honda Accord Coupe).. Voila here I am reading this post and suggestions….
I thought this happens when ever I park in a slope in a hot day but it proved me wrong when it happened in flat surface also….but only in Hot days like say 95+ as if hot temps are not bad enough I have to literally sweat in the car and it will start after 5-10 mins (like it is happy with your suffering in the heat! :@) …it will start first and die and that’s it..nothing doing after that for next 5 minutes..when i tried to push the car it will start little faster..no such problems early in the morning or if I park in shade..i will try your suggestions or replace the relay…it is driving me nuts…thanks I really appreciate your tips!
Thanks! I have a 91 civic hatchback and was baffled by this problem, couldn’t figure it out and everytime I had a mechanic look at it, it would start like nothing was ever wrong! (which really pissed me off!!) So I’m going to give this a shot.
Im here in the Philippines and it’s damn hot in here even on rainy days, I have the same problem. My 93′ civic A/T won’t start during hot days when it’s left outside. it’s cranking but wont fire trying it more than 5x. but after leaving it for for an hour or 30 minutes,.. wolaah, one click it will start.. i had replaced distributor, fuel pump, change spark plugs, high tension wires, change timing belt, rpm adjusted but problem continues.. really frustrating.. but at night or early in the morning.. theres no problem,, really just when it’s hot outside and I don’t have a shaded parking space at home and in the office.. I don’t bring it aanymore in the office coz there were time that I didn’t start and had no choice but to leave it there and get it at night or the next day.. How will I know if I need to change the main relay connections and can someone tell me if how can I check if the temperature sensor is damaged and where it’s located. Because I’ve read from another forum that if it’s hot outside and civic won’t start after few attemps, damp the temperature sensor with water and in no time it should start.. please help me.. im really stressed about this.. thanks in advance.
Hey Gabby. I’m no car electronics expert but putting water on sensors isn’t exactly a smart thing to do in my opinion.
Hi ninjatales, i don’t know where it is located and don’t know how it looks like. I also think that Civic ESI 94′ model is different from US version. Hope you can tell me where can I find that. soon as i have money i’ll have the main relay replaced.. thank you.. and I will appreciate if you can give me more information.. thank you
Hope this link helps!
wow thank you so much for the link ninjatales,, although i really don’t understand the flow of electricity on the diagram but the explanation was clear enough for me to have an idea of what’s going on.. I’ll try to have it soldered or buy a new relay.. thank so much.. i’ll keep you posted.
I had the main relay replaced yesterday.. and so far so good. Im still waiting for a very hot day and leave my car outside and test if it’ll start coz it’s now rainy season here in the Philippines.. But one thing that i liked the most is that my car doesnt crank anymore… one click and its running.. hope this is the end of my agony.. thanks ninjatales.
I have the same problem with my civic vtec 95 sohc , in the morning not start but minutes later with the key on ,the check engine is now off and start quickly. I just change the main fuse but is the same in the morning , please help me , thanks Alejandro
[email address redacted for security purposes]
this session vic now
start my ciis great, i am going to try to
hey thanks guys, i am going to try to start my car now
have honda civic coupe auto 1.6 not vtec,1998 model. starts for 2 seconds then stops, you restart it does the same.
any ideas!!! thanks
I have a 1992 Honda civic 5 speed & i noticed that when the key is on the on position and the check engine light is on if you try to start it it wont . As soon as the check engine light comes off it will start and run like a champ. Does anyone here think that has to do with the main relay?
@Procharged: Yes. That was one of the symptoms with my car too before I got the main relay replaced.
@Ray3ray: Could be a battery issue. If the battery is new, possibly the main relay. What is the temperature like when you were experiencing those problems?
@Alejandro: I’m no car expert but you should get your battery checked! If the battery is old, it will be harder to start when the temperature is cold. Especially during the mornings.
I just got a 1992 honda civic lx sedan, and have the same exact issue as procharged. I am in MT where it has been cold and snowy, so methinks it is a battery related issue. one of my terminal connectors for battery is slightly corroded (do you think this could have something to do with the issue). nonetheless I am going to look into replacing the main relay, and battery. procharged let me know what fixes your car please if it is not one of these two things. I will do the same. Thanks for all the honda information guys!
Tim
p.s. there is not specifically a starter relay on a 1992 honda civic model? if so could that be the issue?
@ninja:
I have the exact opposite problem, but the same symptoms. When I was living in Arizona my 94 Civic always started right up, and was very happy in the heat. Once I moved to Oregon with colder temperatures and lots of moisture, it has refused to start, and went from the check engine light taking at most 5 minutes to turn off, to now taking about an hour (and that is if it is in the garage).
Thanks for the info! I am very happy to find an easy solution!
my Honda civic 92 start fine when cold but after running for 10-15 min then can not start. After 10-20 min restart then it run OK.
New part: Distributors assy, Main relay, alternator, startor
Please help. Problem with ECU or MAP sensor ?
Okay I basically determined the delayed problem with starting is just from older engine wear and tear. I read in a Japanese novel of someone with a honda civic just like mine having to wait for the engine to heat up enough for the fuel injectors to fully function and start. The battery is fine, but a friend said that I should replace my main relay when I have the chance, as he still is lead to think that is the reason the check engine light stays on occasionally when starting. Sometimes it doesn’t stay on at all… sometimes it takes a few seconds to a few minutes. I just have to keep turning keys back and forth a few times to get the fuel injectors going.
i have a 97 honda civic lx that stopped on me in the middlel of the road and would not crank back up, when I had the oil changed in the mechanic left a message that when they checked the battery it tested good but a low charge or something ,any suggestions
I Have a 95 Honda Civic lx, and it is having trouble starting in the rain it seems. About two weeks ago it was raining and i went to go start my car and it turned over but would not start. Ive had my Battery and my distributer replaces, I also had my starter and my wires checked. Well i left it alone for a day for the sun to come out, And after aboutt 3 times it started. And after that it had no problom starting. Now it rains again, but this time it takes about 7-10 trys befor it will start. I do notice when i turn the key over it my SRS, battery and other lights turn on.. NOTE- Normally when i turn the switch i wait for my lights to cut off, when the SRS light suts off it makes a click noise, when it does that my car will start, if it does not make a click my car will not start. Can anyone help?
it is the main relay but you dont have to buy a new one if you can soilder. the reason the dont start is the soilder points on the top of the relay chip have cracked from them getting hot and cooling down. when they get hot it expands and doesnt make a connection anymore. take the main relay out (it is usually just above the hood latch pull). pull the cover off of it, by using a small screw driver to push out the small tabs. on the side of the chip thats mostly flat except for some soilder points, look at them very closely. there will be usually just 1 with a hair line straight crack going around it. put a drop of solder on it heating it till they melt together. check for other and repeat if you find another. and ur done.
Wow! This is great news. I have had the same trouble in my 88 Honda Civic that I bought recently, and was feeling bad that something major was wrong with it. I am going to try kicking the fusebox panel to start it today and get the main relay replaced next weekend. Thanks for the info!!
you can have the igniters check at your local autozone. they do it for free, call yours and make sure that they can check yours. i have the same problem. on cooler days it will run or maybe cut off once. now that it is getting hotter in north carolina it is cutting off 2-3 times a day. i got ecu codes of 1, and 15. o2 sensor( wont cause car to stall) and igniter ( had it checked 3 times and it passed). thinking main relay. 45.99 at autozone.
sup pple, i have a 1991 honda civic dx dual point injection system that freaking crashed on me. this is what happened: i went to the store(it was a sunny hot day) when i came out, i tryed to start the car and only my check engine lights came on. the car did not turn on, it did not even crank up. not even onece. then i noticed that my head lights, tail lights any lights but my check engine lights did not turn. i have checked the battery, bought a new main relay (did not work) its just crazy how nothing turns on and i do hear a constant clicking noise left side under the dash bord. any advyse? please help
Hi, I have a 92 civic. 170,000 miles and always ran awesome. Started it up in a parking lot yesterday, shifted to gear and it died. I turned the key on and the familiar hum of the fuel pump didn’t happen. Soo…. I put a fuel pump in it, nothing. I changed the relay, nothing. I jumped terminals 5 and 7 on the relay and the pump worked when I turned the key. What else could it be? I spent 200 bucks on parts today and I’m very frustrated!!
I have a 1991 Honda civic i bought it and that same day the battery died and my friend charged it on 20 amps, and now it will crank but wont start. I know it’s not in the distibuter and I have narrowed it down to having no power to the ECU. The check engine light stays on the ECU is not booting up(no click under the dash and no led light on the ECU). I have already bought an ECU for it and still nothing. Where should i look please help.
I think this is my problem but i am not sure
I have a very slow battery drain (works as long as i use the car every day, but any longer and the battery is completely dead.
I try to jump the battery and it takes forever to charge, it has a hard time starting (sometimes it’ll start after the battery is completely charged)
it has a very hard time starting in summer or winter(that’s why im asking)
I’m confused because it happens year round, it gets a spark(maybe its weak) because it’ll start on starting fluid and it will run on it as long as you keep spraying it
have a 96 civic dx, has a wire issue before, the fuse alternator sp sensor went
keep blowing out, jack the car up found the wire that was under the manifold
took that black metal plating out and the wire was burnt on contact, so
rewire it up, known the car won’t start at all, has new alternator,starter,battery
replace all the fuse, still no power to the ignition, totally dead not a single
power, what could it be, any one?
it start when jumpstart though everytime, but let say you going shopping,
you turn it off, to lock the car up, come back to start it, it won’t start
have to ask for a jump start from people or pay some lock smith to
jumpstart it for $35 bucks, what a peice of crap any help?
have 95 civic dx park out side last night in the snow its start in the morning for 3 min and died its crank every thing every thing is new dont know whats wrong