My daughter's 1991 Accord wouldn't start the other day. (It sits in the hot sun all day, but hadn't been run in 8 hours. We had it towed to the shop. They said that the alternator was overcharging and had blown all the fuses. They said they replaced the fuses, but recommended she replace the alternator. Cost of replacing the fuses was $180 and with alternator was to be $300+. I've never heard of this before, nor have I found anyone who has heard of this before. What are the chances they steered her right or gave her a bum steer...???

 

I saw a bad alternator blow an alternator fuse once. All of em? Sounds fishy.

 

car does not start when hot? That's easy....99.99% of time it is the main relay. you can do one of 2 things

replace for about $50

or

take apart and resolder all joints on printed circuit board and reassemble.

 

I agree with Yeu...too many times ive seen this misdiagnosed...do the main relay..should fix the problem!

 

forgot to add: Request the old fuses back to make sure that they are on the level.

 

Kerryg.........First off,.............WELCOME to HAF......

mmmmm.. that is a first .. alternator overcharged and BLEW ALL the fuses,,??? are these guys for real???
I would have to agree with the members that suggested the main relay problem ,,, Of course car needs to be properly diagnosed if it is not starting because of lack of fuel or spark,,
If lack of fuel most likely main relay
if lack of spark,, most likely ignitor, coil

 

One thing you can try yourself without any tech knowledge at all: next time it happens, open up the doors and let the car cool out a bit. See if it starts then. My main relay usually acts up about once or twice every summer. I just sit for a minute and cool the car out, and then it starts.

BTW, I didn't see it mentioned in any of the previous posts...did the car actually crank, just never started the engine? If ALL of the fuses were blown I don't think it would crank.

 

sounds fishy to me. The main relay comes to mind like others have pointed out due to the fact the car wouldn't operate after being in the hot sun. That's a tell tale symptom of a main relay gone bad.