uhhjackumms

So I change my relay, but it's still doing it. Doesn't want to start at certain times

dante76

And you replaced it with a new one? Not sure what it could be...

uhhjackumms

Yea with a new one, sometimes it starts just fine and other times real rough

dante76

Have you ever change your spark plugs? Maybe that could be why it starts rough, possibly some misfires

Tosh

Rough start and idle might be dirty IACV. Follow the codes. Multiple misfires may be a bad ignition coil. May even be a bad ground...

migedymike69

I have a 2002 and i don't know where its located i took out two devices today and neither was the relay. can you please help/advise?

zac

For anyone that might need help, it's to the left of the steering column, to the right when your looking up from underneath it. Just try to match the new relay, with a brown connector. I just replaced mine after my car died on me several times on the highway, seems to have done the trick

Only thing is my fuel light is on even though I filled it up a quarter tank the other day, it may just be a glitch, ill fill her up and see if it stays on.

CL-S24

Just removed my relay. About to solder. You can see the one spot that's the issue. I was having warm start issues a couple months ago and never fixed it. But yesterday it died on the freeway twice. Little bit of a wakeup call.

mattcl-s

I had this same problem about a 4 days ago its was about 85 degrees out drove home from work then went to start it up about 30 min later....wouldn't start so I gave it another 30 min started just fine

stickgoat

Thankful for this thread today... My '03 CL-S randomly decided not to start and the symptoms were just that of what everyone said here. Took a little longer than 20 minutes for it to decide to finally start, but still. I'm about 90% sure it's this damn relay now and knowing is certainly half the battle.

I've got a buddy who works as an Acura tech and I'm having him price me a replacement. If it's ridiculous I'll just try the DIY fix first.

disgruntlednut

The relay is about $50 +/- $5. Regardless, it's worth trying the DIY first anyways. Worst case scenario, you end up buying the relay same relay you would have bought to begin with.

Scottman111

I'm thinking about finally replacing mine. I re-melted the solder a few months ago and it has worked okay, but occasionally I have to reach down and flick it for it to start working...only when starting the car though (outside temp doesn't seem to matter).

I first re-soldered it probably 6 years ago. I would rather it not stop working on me while driving down the road, like others have experienced.

Yousef

I recently had this problem and changed the relay and my CL ran for 1 day and then the relay burned out again. I got another relay yesterday and the car ran again and drove it for 1 day. Now, today it didn't run and I checked the relay at first which looked fine. Then, I checked the fuse box under the hood and the clip with the two wires coming down looks melted a bit.. I really don't know what's going on now.

Please help

Yousef

The car is a 2001 3.2CL Premium. I'm in California and it's been hot recently.

Yousef

http://postimg.org/image/kk80qndav/

Here's a pic of what I found in the fuse box under the hood.
Please, if anyone knows what's causing all this..like I said I had to replace the main fuel pump relay 2 times in the past 2 weeks before I found this.

EE4Life

See my comment in your other thread.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...6#post15095156

Yousef

I've changed the relay 3 times but that wasn't it. I just changed the fuel pump and that wasn't it. So where is the fuel filter on this car?

2001 Acura Cl 3.2

EE4Life

The fuel filter is part of the fuel tank unit. The fuel tank unit is accessed via the access panel located under the spare tire lid.

Per the service manual:
The fuel filter should be replaced whenever the fuel pressure drops below the specified value (280-330 kPa, 2.9-3.4 kgf/cm2, 41-48 psi with the fuel pressure regulator vacuum hose disconnected and pinched) after making sure that the fuel pump and the fuel pressure regulator are OK.

Yousef

Some mechanic I called said it's the starter since it starts up sometimes and explained that I had changed the fuel pump and relay. Is this a bad starter?

Tosh

It's not a bad starter if it's turning the engine over.

Yousef

Yeah just changed the starter yesterday. I went somewhere and came back home. This morning, car wouldn't start.

Starter is brand new, and sounds real good. But I'm back where I started. I guess I'm just really lucky that the car always makes it home before it has this "starting" issue.

So now I have a new fuel pump, starter, and main relay.

Does anyone else know what it could be?

Thanks in advance

EE4Life

Next time you have the starting issue, take note of the immobilizer system indicator (green key on the instrument panel).

If you insert a programmed ignition key (master or valet) into the ignition switch, and turn the switch to ON (II), the indicator comes on for 2 seconds and then goes off. When you turn the ignition switch to LOCK (0), the indicator blinks for 5 seconds and then goes off.

If you insert a non-programmed ignition key into the ignition switch and turn the switch to ON (II), the indicator comes on for 2 seconds and then starts to blink. The indicator keeps blinking until you turn the switch to LOCK (0). If you try to start the engine with a non-programmed ignition key, the engine cranks, but it will not start.

Hope this information is helpful.

Keep us posted.

Yousef

Yeah I thought about that before and the light comes on for 2 seconds and goes off at ON (II). Also blinks for 5 seconds at (0) Lock
Still no start though..

EE4Life

OK, then an immobilizer system issue can likely be ruled out.

Keep us posted.

Yousef

I called O'Reilly auto parts and they said the fuel filter is in tank on this 2001 3.2 CL. I'm thinking it's a clogged filter or line. So the fuel pump strainer is the fuel filter for this car is what the guy said. Is this true?

Yousef

Turns out it was a bad ground with corrosion on the battery terminals and main ground.
I cleaned them real good with WD 40 today and some foil laying around. Car has rust from PA weather before coming to CA.

Drove around today, feels good to have a new fuel pump and starter in there though

Tosh

Bad ground, huh? Should be the first thing to check. Mentioned in #85....

For everyone else, don't just throw parts at the car! Follow proper diagnostic sequence.

Yousef

Update:
I drove the car yesterday, but this morning car would not start again. Same exact symptoms as before. So still unsolved..

Tosh

Sorry to hear that!

Perhaps the corroded ground cable was so bad that cleaning it was not enough, and that you need a new one? You might test this by carefully pouring a small amount of tap water on the ground to see if it conducts again. Or better, just replace all the ground wires, and move on from there!

Yousef

My cousin, who works at a car audio shop, checked and tested my power and ground and said it's good after I put the new starter. Car started now even though it didn't start this morning.

Tosh

Are you getting any codes yet?

123456SPEED

Wow, seems exactly what mine is doing. Only scenario is when the car has heated up while parked several hours in the Texas sun. Has trouble firing up.
Took me 5-10 min today in the heat to get it started.. Has done this 3-4 times this summer, always after being parked in the hot sun. Always starts in the morning and all other times.. Today was the worst..
So helpful guys, thanks for pointers, I'll check the relay. I've had my cls since it was a year old..

Yousef

No check engine light yet. Could it be bad ICM?

Yousef

OK here's where it get weird: Turns out that my 2 other brothers, who drove the car before me, have had the same issue with it not starting with the same exact symptoms and randomness. Were talking about the past 3-4 years. After they spent endless time and $$ with no avail, they both gave up and moved on to different cars.

I've had it for more than a year and just started giving me trouble for past 2 months. No check engine or immobilizer light.

Yousef

I finally solved it. I changed the timing belt, which had slipped 2 teeth, and now the car has never done that again. Drives much better too!

Tosh

Great! What was the history on the old tb?

mike88se

This happened to me yesterday. I hope thats what it was anyway.
Thanks to this and other threads its a simple fix if that relay is the problem. If you remove the brake light switch its easy to get to the relay bracket 10m bolt and remove the whole thing. The relay comes apart easily if you've ever taken anything electrical apart.
The temp was in the high 80s here yesterday and all the symptoms matched. Crossing my fingers that this was the problem.

lcstyle

got hit with this yesterday, car started but immediately sputtered and died. I know it's either AIR, FUEL, or SPARK.

I had no reason to suspect AIR or SPARK, but I think I subconsciously noticed the missing whine of the fuel pump.

I found the youtube video posted earlier about resoldering the relay points, and I immediately suspected the relay.

I popped the cover off the relay and observed the relay while turning the ignition key to on. Both sides should energize, but only one side would.

I couldn't find any joints that looked outright cracked or cold on visual inspection, so I re-soldered all the points, feeding in some new rosin core solder to re-wet all the joints.

Works perfect now.

Oddly enough, it might actually be related to outside temperature, as it has been hitting 90 degree temperatures out here the past few weeks, and this past winter I had no issues whatsoever. Very odd but stranger things have happened.

Tosh

Good job re-flowing the solder connections!

It's not really that odd that large temp differences cause stress. And once there's a break in the solder, the local electrical resistance can go sky high, making more heat (and maybe even melting solder and 'healing' itself, so the cycle starts over).

I think I might have posted these useful links before:
How the Main Relay works
When the Main Relay goes bad

musiclevelz5

I read those links and its funny because I had a no start problem and banging on the relay would enable the car to start every time.

So I let the relay hang by taking it out of its holding bracket and never had the problem again. I did not solder the joints either.

I believe the guy is right when he thinks the relay cracks are caused by vibration and not heat. Heat is just a byproduct that makes you think the relay failed because of it.