Honda Civic
Year 94, Manual Transmission
100,000 miles

The car has been giving me starting problems the last few days but it runs well once started. It stops starting if I keep the car parked for a day (it starts if I try starting it within an hour or so after I stop). It starts when I jumpstart it though. So initially I thought it should be the battery and got it replaced but it still gives me the same problem. The engine cranks but will not fire. The thing that is confusing me is that it starts if I give it a jumpstart so I guess it is not due to the spark plugs... could anyone help me out with this problem

Thanks

If the engine cranks, your battery must be okay. Being able to start with a jump may only indicate you have some electrical problem.

I suggest you check for spark and fuel when you have the no-start problem. The results will direct you closer to the problem source.

With a jump or the engine running, you are going to have a little higher voltage. That could make just enough difference if the coil or fuel pump are weak. A weak fuel pump might show up if you give it the gas in a low gear going up hill. If it bogs down, the fuel pump may be bad or at least have a bad connection feeding it. Another test would be to turn the ignition on and off a couple of times before starting it. As soon as the you turn on the key, the fuel pump starts, but quickly shuts off if the engine isn't turning. You can build pressure each time the key is turned on, and finally maybe have enough pressure to start the car.

A weak coil is harder to check without a scope. Sometimes a timing light can show weak spark. Even disconnecting and cleaning the contacts on all the connections in both circuits might help.

Thanks for your suggestions. I took the car the day before to a mechanic and he replaced the main relay and it still gave me the intermittent starting problem. This time he says it is the fuel pump (which makes sense to me since the pump might not squirt out fluid sometimes when I start the car and so maybe the pump is unreliable). I am waiting on him to replace it and hoping that it works this time.

Do a quick scan of your computer's error codes. If you disconnected the negative battery terminal recently, assuming you did when you installed your new main relay, the error codes may have been erased. You should scan the computer following a no-start.

Since you now have a new main relay, you should check your igniter. See you repair manual for the igniter error code or just count the number of blinks when you turn the ignition on and post it here. Checking for spark will also reveal a possible igniter problem.

Appreciate the help... the car is running fine now and it was the fuel pump which was not pumping gas consistently (wierd I guess, which makes it difficult to diagnose).

My honda wouldn't start, too and after working on it and trying to find the connection or wiring problem (since alternator and the battery are just fine), turned out that it was the corrosion on the thing that connects to the battery, which I cleaned, but it still wouldn't work, so I just had to replace it.

I have a 1993 honda civic EX with the same starting problem. It is intermittent though, sometimes it start sometimes it doesn't. One thing I noticed was when the weather is hot, that is when I'm having the problem.

. Replace the main relay.

. Replace the Ignition Control Module, if the problem persists.