I was getting ready to leave work today and turned the key in my 2000 Accord and it turned over for about half a second. I switched it off and back on and then it was only the starter that was turning over. I didn't hear the fuel pump priming up when I tried the key again. I was ready to call a tow truck and get it to the dealer when I thought about the possibility of vapor lock. I went and popped the gas cap and when I got back in the car the fuel pump primed right up and the car started. I did get to a phone and called my dealer and one of the guys suggested getting a factory gas cap which I didn't have on it but I've had the generic replacement for a couple of years with no problems. When I got over to the dealer I asked my regular service guy and he said that it was probably the pump control relay located around the steering column and probably it started engaging again once the cabin temp came down some. He said that fuel injected cars don't have vapor lock any more but the car is nearly twelve years old. Should I look into the relay or do you think that vapor lock is a possibility? It just seemed awful funny that it cranked right up right after I popped that cap and the pressure dropped. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

It must be spring again, because people's main fuel relays are starting to act up.

It is not vapor lock.

You narrowed down the problem to the fuel pump not turning on. The problem could be that you have no power going to the fuel pump (main relay not sending power or ignition switch) or the fuel pump is not turning on when getting power (fuel pump problem).

The way to test is to see if the yel/blk wire going to the fuel pump gets 12V when the pump is not priming.

If you know how to solder, you can pull the main relay and repair any cracked solder joints. Google viIZ8k60awY, and the video shows how to do this.

 

Thanks.