Hi all,

My girlfriend has a 1990 Honda Accord, and it has been having a sporadic starting problem. It will start in the morning when she goes to work, but after her shift, it does not. If we go back later at night to try again... it starts.

We started by replacing the wires, distributor cap, rotor, and plugs. When we went to pull out the old wires out of the valve cover, we found a considerable amount of oil in the plug wells. We also found oil under the cap. We suspected a bad valve cover gasket, as we could see evidence of oil leaking where the valve cover meets the engine. That has now been replaced.

We hoped that replacing the gasket would solve our starting problem -- but no such luck. A mechanic hooked the car up to a computer and the results were that we have a bad distributor.

Question: How confident should I be that this indeed is the issue? How difficult is it to replace the distributor? Could I easily do this myself?

Thanks in advance,

M. Clark

Based on your description, it sounds like the problem could be the main relay, which is located under dash, left of the steering column (hidden by silver cruise control box, which needs to be removed). Bad (cold) solder joints on Honda main relays tend to prevent startup, when the outside temperature increases during the day. See if this sounds like what is happening.

If you still suspect the distributor needs replacing, here's how to do it yourself:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-trucks/faq-how-troubleshoot-repair-maintain-hondas-46563-4.html#post288473

It's an easy job.

Txgreasemonkey...

I'm not much of a mechanic... I just know the basics. One thing I do not know, however, is what the relay is and what it does.

Can you point me in the right direction?

Never mind...

Honda Main Relays (http://autorepair.about.com/cs/troubleshooting/l/aa010301b.htm)

It may look something like this:

While we find your parts, please enter your ZIP Code at PartsAmerica.com (http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=NIE&MfrPartNumber=RL36971&PartType=607&PTSet=A)

Do a search on Main Relays on this site. It's a common problem and you will find a lot of information about this problematic component.

Difficult to replace? Looks pretty easy.

I called NAPA, and they were saying that the relay either works or it doesn't... it rarely "kinda works". Does it seem plausible that the relay would fail 50% of the time?

Answer to my own question:

WikiAnswers - If a 1990 Honda Accord LX is hard to start when hot and you know there is some engine oil in a couple of spark plugs would that be the reason (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/If_a_1990_Honda_Accord_LX_is_hard_to_start_when_ho t_and_you_know_there_is_some_engine_oil_in_a_coupl e_of_spark_plugs_would_that_be_the_reason)

To reduce heat generated by the PGM-FI Main Relay, drill numerous small ventilation holes in the cover. This may help extend the relay's life.

NAPA's advice is wrong, when it comes to this component. Main Relays working only part of the time is common for Hondas. Revisit this site in July or August and see for yourself.

If the problem persists, after changing the Main Relay, and your focus is back to the distributor, consider replacing the Ignition Control Module and coil. Contact the mechanic, who checked the car out on his computer, and see if his worked indicated the ICM or coil was bad. If his tests indicated internal sensors were bad, then the distributor needs replacing, since they are unserviceable.