It's no surprising this relay has problems w/ solder jts. I bench tested a MFR and found very high temps around one of the coils (140F I recollect). This heat is enough to damage solder jts and the coil itself. Bad design.

good luck

 

wow, 140F...that is shocking.

Is there a manufacturer that you have in mind that is better? Should I simply chuck what i have (without bothering to resolder) and buy a new one?

I have looked at Autozone, Napa and AAP (primarily price point) - not sure which one to buy. Any advise?

 

They all seem to be made by Mitsuba?, at least all I've pulled or purchased.

good luck

 

Wow, its been a month since my last visit - The Problem is still UNRESOLVED

Here is what i have done
-Had all contact points resoldered, an electrical engineer @work who can get his hands dirty pointed out the relay was good and maybe, the fuel pump was at fault. I reinstalled the resoldered relay. On warm afternoons, the car cranks but would not start.

-Last week, I figured, I'd small another $52 and ordered the OEM Mitsuba MFR from Tempe Honda(AZ). Part arrived, removed the connector from the old relay, stuck it into the new relay and let it sit on top of the old relay

Cool afternoon:
Luckily, the temperature outside was cool and overcast, I turned the car and it sprang to life. I took the car out for a spin. On atleast 3 occassions, the car jerked almost as if I hit a pocket of air and it chugged-ran-chugged-ran and picked up. I knew the new MFR had not really helped.

Warm afternoon:
An hour ago, i was at the wheel...crossing my fingers, I turned the key. crank but no start. I removed the gas-cap(and put it back on), removed the hood and let it air a bit(dont ask me why), checked the hoses on the Fuel pressure regulator. Checked the oil (my neighbor said he smelt gasoline in the engine oil, is this possible and he talked about a head-gasket which did not make any sense to me).

One odd thing, I saw the car is running low on engine oil, added some oil to it to ensure the level stayed between low and high. It is due for an oil change and I am taking it to a jiffy lube tomorrow morning(assuming it will start)

The car cranks but does not start.

I read TSB 00-024 but my VIN is not in range(mine is a 4DR - 4Cylinder (unlike 2000 coupes and V6's recalled).

Any ideas?

 

When no-start is occuring, do you hear the fuel pump come on and run for 3 secs, go off when keyswitch is turned to On?

If not, MFR may not be getting power (ignition keyswitch problem), or possibly fuel pump is sticking and intermittent.

I had this problem and had to rig a "tell-tale" light to power lead to fuel pump in rear w/ light rigged on pax seat where I could see. I finally confirmed power was available to pump (light on) and no pump action. New pump resolved problem.

good luck

 

I certainly hear whirring when I sit in the drivers seat and turn the key to ON position(II). The CEL lights blinks and goes OFF when I hear the CLICK of the MFR. I turn the key and crank but no start.

-The distributor was changed last year and I read somewhere that oil leaking into the distributor may be a problem?
-What about "oil pressure"? (perlman on youtube)
-There is a TSB for some Accord models 97(particularly) about the ignition switch replacement(very nice video by Bushougoma on youtube). This TSB does not address Accords from 2000. Mine is a Japanese make (Vin starts with JHM...). Also, when my key is in the II position, wiggling it does not make the console lights go on or off.

-I am still in denial wrt fuel pumps going bad - i read somewhere fuel pumps rarely go bad. Considering Ignition switch or fuel pump, i may have 2 candidates(still unsure). What about the Fuel Pressure Regulator Valve, anything to test there?

But here is what happened this morning. Around 630AM, i went outisde, turn the key - crank but no start. WTF! I let it sit for 5 minutes and turn the key again, it started. I put the car to reverse and was about to get out of the parking lot when my neighbor started checking on me. The car was in park and after 5 minutes, it dies. IT JUST WOULD NOT START again. I tried to go to position I and then to position II and turn the key...regardless, the car wouldnt start.

I opened the hood and did see one MORE odd thing - the ground wire (thick gauge copper strands) bolted to the chassis had come off. I dont know what its side-effect could be - the engine turned, all electronics worked like normal.

Frustrated I go back inside. After 2 hours, I come outside and turn the key (for kicks) and the damn car starts!

I have one question - apart from MFR, is there any electronics involved in starting the car? Should I check for any fuses or relays? Should I check for any other electrical part that is directly involved in starting the car but not so depending on outside temperature?

 

From your description, fuel is likely OK. You can crack the fuel rail banjo bolt and check for strong spray (40 psi or so) to confirm.

Lack of spark seems more likely with either ignition switch problem or intermittent ignition coil or ignitor as suspects.

Suggest checking for 12v on blk/yel wire at distributor when no-start condition is present. If missing 12V, then ignition switch assy is likely (bushugoma indeed has excellent video on replacement).

If 12V present, then ignition coil or ignitor is likely. See following link for diagnosis of loss of spark. Honda Acura ignition (no spark) troubleshooting tutorial - How to

good luck

 

Will check everything and report. An update though:

-This morning, again, cool temperature, the car started just fine. It hesitated and shut down a few minutes after. Luckily, it started again.
-I took the car and drove on backroads till coming to a stoplight 1.5 miles from my house. car died again in D4 with all the lights coming ON. Turned Hazard lights ON, Put the car to park, removed key from ignition and put it back in and started...started fine. That is when I noticed that the RPMs of the car may have had to do something with the car dying. At the next several lights, I kept the RPMS@1000 with my hand brake on and NOT a single STUMBLE until I reached work (around 7 miles from home).
-Put the car in Park and raised RPMS to 3000 and waited for the cooling fans to engage(didnt hear them). The smooth sound of the engine running was joy for the ears to hear...I couldnt proud of the car. After a good 5 minutes of running at 3000 RPM, i shut the car and walked into work.
===

Another very interesting artefact is - the car right from a cold start stumbles or staggers after a few minutes (like how it shut down at the lights). After that, it runs fine. Is it because the car has reached operating temperature (I have seen that in D4, the idle RPM is much lower than idle RPM after a cold start). Also, it tends to do this, when downshifting or during a turn.

I was hoping the cooling fans would engage and "idle training" would be complete. that didnt happen though

===

But, I guess you are right, it can be an ignition coil or ignitor issue.

The fact that the car has trouble starting sometimes and its drivability maybe 2 separate issues.

 

Wow, I may be onto something huge. I brought a colleague of mine who works on his cars/motorbike. We started with this webpage and followed instructions top down - Part 2 -How to Troubleshoot a No Start (Honda 2.2L, 2.3L)

In a no-start condition, we performed a simple test. Shocking, absolutely shocking, there was no spark. We wanted to check if there were 12V to the distributor and the multi-meter showed NO VOLTAGE on the yellow wire. We still wanted to test, pushed the connector back in and cranked the car. VOILA! the car started. When the distributor electrical connector was removed and reinserted, maybe the contact improved (corrosive crud or rust ?). I also found out that the backtab of the electrical connector had to be pressed on the way in and out(is this true?). I went round the block a few times and did not observe any "chug-run" or experience behavior like hitting air-pockets. I am elated with this latest development.

Yesterday, I went out during lunch time, it wasnt that hot. The car started on the first try.

It is raining/overcast here today. Will try and report. Thanks for all the help, it is much appreciated.

PS: Link you posted has been put in timeout because of over-traffic. I tried finding cached copies on archive.org and couldnt.

 

The distributor for 2000 shows as 4-wire connector and blk/yel (blk w/ yellow stripe) should be the power wire. However, wiring schematic shows 5 wires to distributor. I know earlier models had a 8-wire connector. Yellow wire is part CYP sensor and connects to ECM/PCM. It will generally have a 5V reference voltage from ECM.

Yes, plastic release must be depressed to release connector.

It is possible for a bad connection, but more likely an intermittent ignition switch will cause problem to return.

good luck