1993 Accord LX with 259,860 miles on it. Stock Fuel pump.

Here is what happened. Usually when I turn the key to "ON" the fuel pump pressurizes the line and then I hear a click and CEL goes off. I then turn the key fully and start the car.

Yesterday and Today, there was no click and the CEL stayed on. When I started the car the CEL stayed on and the car ran very roughly, also the D4 was flashing. I then shut the car down and tried the start procedure again, this time there was a click the CEL went off and the car ran and drove fine. This has happened twice and I am getting worried.

My guess is the fuel pump might be going bad. What do you think?

 

A bad fuel pump will not cause that to happen. Since the CEL and the D4 light came on, codes were stored in the engine and trans computer. Check the codes and post them on here. Follow these instructions, but count the codes flashed by the D4 and CEL.

http://www.dhost.info/accordinfo/howto/cel.html

 

Two things.

Since I shut the car off and restarted it, the CEL went out and everything ran correctly, why would it do that?

Also, according to that chart it says something about OBDI and OBDII... Which one does my car have and will the codes in that link relate to OBDI or OBDII.

 

Yours is OBD-1, so places like AutoZone can't read it.
Use the procedure of shorting the SCS connector & watching the CEL flash.

 

Jim I won't be able to do that check until later today. Do the symptoms I described does it sound like a fuel pump issue or something else??

 

No, it doesn't sound like the fuel pump. Maybe more than one thing, tho....

- Non-clicking main relay (with non-start) suggests a bad main relay (or something else) is failing to send power to the fuel pump.

- Fuel pump won't set off the flashing D4 lamp.

- Tranny problem shouldn't prevent the fuel pump from running.

 

I called a local shop and they said something like you did but he called it a Fuel Relay. Is the Main Relay and the Fuel relay the same? Also, how do you change the Main relay??

 

Also, is there a way to check the main relay? Jim, I know you are a fan of checking before throwing parts at it.

 

Main relay = Fuel relay = Main MPFI relay. Same thing.

For ages, Honda has used 2 relays combined into one little plastic case. One relay switches power to the ECU & a large handful of sensors. The other relay switches power to the fuel pump, when triggered by the ECU.

It's located near the driver's left knee. Turn the car on, listen for it to click (fuel pump on) then after 2 seconds click again (fuel pump off).

The common way for the main relay to fail, is bad solder joints on it's circuit board. If you're OK with a soldering iron, open the case of the main relay & re-melt the joints.

 

Hmmm, I might try that. Will it be obvious which joint needs remelting? How many joints are in there?