Ok so I have a '92 Prelude S, I bought it for $1,000 with a bit of body damage but all things mechanical worked fine both times I drove the car around. Then the day I bring it home and try to start it back up it won't start.
I thought of maybe I just need to let it prime(?) a bit so I turned the key to the spot right before the ignition is switched and let it sit for a minute then try to turn it on. I still get the same thing: my cars starter sounds like its working but it seems to not be getting the gas the start up the engine. Later that day I got it to start up after having to lay down on the gas to get it to start up and all was well till I went to the gas station. After I filled up I tried starting my car and it did the same thing except this time it didn't start up even after pushing down on the gas pedal. I let it prime for a while again then finally it started after about 10 minutes of the same old routine. I figured I would go home and take a look around and see what's up but while I was sitting at a red light my car's RPMs dropped then my car sputtered and died. Now if I want my car to stay alive at a red light I need to put it into neutral and rev it up a little bit.
So after writing out that whole thing I've got a few questions.
1. Is it a fuel injection problem?
2. Spark plugs? the previous said they replaced them so maybe they got crappy ones.
3. Valves?
4. Is there anything in the gas lines or anything that could be clogging it?
I'm new to cars and I'm only 17 with limited backround when it comes to working on vehicles so the simpler the lingo the better it would be for me. Any help is appreciated!
There is a common problem with 4th gen preludes, the ignition relay sometimes sticks and won't allow the car to start. For most of us, its always started eventually.
When you turn the key forward to II (just before ignition) the fans and engine light etc. come on.
Wait until you hear a "Click" it'll be noticeable and comes from under the dash on the right side of the steering wheel (facing the steering wheel). If you do NOT hear that click, come back here and do a search for ignition relay. There will be lots of threads on how to replace it.
There is a common problem with 4th gen preludes, the ignition relay sometimes sticks and won't allow the car to start. For most of us, its always started eventually.
When you turn the key forward to II (just before ignition) the fans and engine light etc. come on.
Wait until you hear a "Click" it'll be noticeable and comes from under the dash on the right side of the steering wheel (facing the steering wheel). If you do NOT hear that click, come back here and do a search for ignition relay. There will be lots of threads on how to replace it.
Thank you very much. After looking through all the threads you seem to be very knowledgable so I'll be keeping an eye out for your posts.
Nice! The link above is misleading as it pertains to removing aftermarket alarm, to cliff note it:
There's a pic showing where the relay is, details explaining how to remove it AND further more tells you how to repair the existing relay with a re-solder technique (we've seen that already with 4WS Ecu and Climate control).
Good link Indylude! Just showed us how to repair this notorious problem for free!
Thanks, I'll have to try that. Sorry for taking so long to post back I've been really busy lately. I do hear the click and it seems that it starts better when it sits for awhile. If I turn my car off and go to school it'll start up fine afterwards but if I walk into a restaurant and come back out about 20 minutes later it won't start up again and then it slowly starts to sound weaker if I try to keep starting it up.
Edit: Late and school's in the morning but I'm gonna try to solder the main relay really quick. BB with some updates in about a half hour or so
Edit edit: my dad lost his soldering kit so I'll post up when I find it and get it done.
Last edited by sccrwolf1310; 08-21-2009 at 01:31 PM.
My dad ended up buying a brand new relay because he was worried that I would screw up on my soldering job. After I get the new relay though I'll still try to solder and see if it works for me.
Well I pulled the relay out of its casing and never got around to replacing or soldering it. Ever since I pulled it out though she has been starting up fine for me but we're still ordering a new relay just in case. Thanks for all the help!!
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