Car will not start-Fix method that may work for you!

My 2001 Acura CL Type S had been refusing to start intermittently about once a month or so for the last several months. It would crank but not fire. It would later start if I let it sit about 5 minutes, and then no worries till the next no start.

Someone told me it could be the immobilizer or imobi that was defective, or the related antenna/sender, or the ECU, or it could be as simple as having the keys reprogrammed.

Reading various threads indicated the cost for this from the dealer depending upon which parts it needed would be at least $600 up to $1200 depending upon the expertise of the dealership in determining the cause or how they handle this type of case.

This weekend, the car would not start at all. I tried several times at various intervals and nothing helped. I disconnected the battery thinking that may reset something. I checked appropriate fuses and that did not help as the fuses were all good.

One way indicated of telling if the cause is the imobi unit is that the green key symbol dash light will blink several times if the unit does not recognize the key chip. I referred to the owner’s manual for information about this. One time I tried, the light did blink a few times then went off. The car still did not start after waiting a while. Then, the green light did not come on at all. I figured this was a sure sign that the immobi unit was fried. I had the car towed in and was prepared for the worst. I had the car towed to an independent Honda/Acura repair shop referred by a friend rather than try the dealership. This was a tough call as the dealership has state of the art diagnostic equipment and should quickly be able to determine the problem, but the dealership can be quite expensive and I have had bad luck at dealerships other than Acura dealerships. My limited experiences with the local Acura dealership has been exceptional, but I went the other way this time hoping to save a few hundreds just in case.

This is a long story, but it turned out to be the main fuel relay. Apparently the independent has a similar diagnostic analyzer. When they finally had a chance to check it, they knew immediately that it was the relay, told me my tab would be $145, and come and get the car in ˝ hour. The part was about $40, the rest tax and labor.

I am going through this as I did internet searches for hours trying to come up with the problem and none mentioned the possibility of a bad fuel relay. I hope this helps someone else out. According to the independent, they rarely run across bad imobi units in Acuras, but various posts would make you think it is a relatively common problem. Anyway, good luck if you have a similar issue. My car is a 2001 CL-S with 79,000 miles.

 

It's great you figured it out. I had an issue starting my car 6 years ago and had to tow it to the dealer. It turned out to be a faulty TDC sensor. The dealer indicated it was a $35 part but the labor to get to it was around $300-$400 (I can't remember exactly). He did say the sensor was working fine by the time they messed with the car and it would be wise to just take it home and see what happens. Six years later I have had no problems! Knock on wood ......

 

i have the exact same problem. my car wouldnt start last friday. it happens about once a month. the only thing i could think of is the heat. whenever my car is baking in the sun for a long time it wont start. so i guess thats not the problem? im gona have my mech check out the fuel relay or whatever it is you said. hope thats the problem. thanks

 

Another problem could also be the ignition switch. They will wear out in time and create a 'hard start' problem. Regarding the main relay, Honda should throw a spare one next to the jack...

 

I have a 2001 Acura CL, which has the same problem during hot summer days. I heard a lot of Hondas have the same problem. Gonna replace the fuel relay as soon as possible

 

Although I haven't experienced this with my Acura my GF's Accord has. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Im having the same issue and assumed the same! Please post your findings!!

 

definitely the fuel pump relay. same exact thing happened to me. car won't start if sitting in hot sun.

switched out the relay for around $40 bucks, no problems since.

 

I had the same problem...replaced the relay and all is well.

 

aquaholic, email me please. tommystyle86@yahoo.com

 

Another useful thread. My nav unit in my 03 Type-S sometimes boots with errors, so I will turn off the car and restart if I am on a long road trip / in an unfamiliar city and want the GPS to work. After multiple quick on/offs, the car wouldn't turn over. I've also noticed it when sitting out in the sun, so it seems like replacing the relay may help me out.

Thanks!

 

I live in vegas its almost always hot and/or sunny. And tes my '02 cls is not starting sometimes. I try jiggling key in ignition while turning. Using key fob lock unlock, even key in door lock unlock hold . none seem to do jack. Sure sounds like no fire, turns over fine. Well its been 5 mins lets see if the curse is lifted! Wtf started right up.

 

Save the old misbehaving PGM-FI relay (aka fuel pump relay) and reflow the big solder joints.
Mine ('01 CL-S) started acting up (at first, it didn't like hot restarts), so took it out and re-soldered the big joints, and it worked fine for many more years. My '90 Legend had same problem...