Elijah J

As the title says, I engage the clutch, turn the key and all it does is crank. It should be noted that first attempts result in a partial start with rpms almost reaching idle level, but after the first sputter~die the rpms don't move.

My battery is golden and this has been happening on a off for sometime. It has gotten progressively worse but I have been putting it off. Now it seems I'm in trouble. It did this exact same thing last week and eventually started sometime later. Im at a lose and don't want to bring it in to a dealership without having a clue as what the problem might be. I've done a few searches (and will hit it hard after posting this) and see some similar signs to the IAC Valve failure that has been discussed (Idle dropping and stalling).

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

richardparker

iTrader: (7)

Have you check anything yet?
Are you getting fuel,spark ?
Have you took a look under the manifold cover to see if the manifold ports clogged ?
I thought a bad IACV would cause the rpms increase at idle.

Epiphany

Main fuel relay?

PANAMARED

main fuel pump relay by steering column would be my guess

CH46ESeaKnight

X3. Fuel pump relay is common.

Do you notice it happens when the inside of the car gets real hot? Let the interior cool off and see if it starts. At least thats what heppend to me. When the interior got hot it would not start. I'd roll down the windows for about 20 min and it was good to go. Changed the fuel pump relay and the problem was gone.

PANAMARED

I made sure it was the relay by powering fuel pump directly from battery when problem appeared. Just removed relay and re-soldered contacts... faulty connection acts up in hot weather.

CL-S progression 01

iTrader: (2)

if not the main fuel pump relay then might be the ignition switch.

happened to my bro's 97 prelude. it was a weird one. but thankfully some forum surfing and I found the culprit and was covered under warranty (in his case)

Elijah J

God idea. Ill look into that. After searching it looks like the relay is a god bet.

DRO916

How do you replace the fuel relay? I'm about to try to replace mine tomorrow morning. A DIY guide would help! Thanks all

PANAMARED

search, there is a post with pictures and all