Honda No Start? POSSIBLE Main Relay - EricTheCarGuy
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 มิ.ย. 2009
- Honda No Start? POSSIBLE Main Relay - EricTheCarGuy
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Here is a GREAT website article about soldering these I strongly suggest you check this out before doing this repair.
techauto.awardspace.com/mainre...
The first of the "Quick Tips". I think I'm going to throw one of these in from time to time to keep things lively. So if you have a Honda or Acura that is not starting DUE TO LOSS OF FUEL PRESSURE this is a good place to start. You may be able to repair the main relay normally found under the dash on the drivers side. If this helps great remember me fondly and pass my name along because I just saved you at the very least about $80, at the most $200.
I will be upgrading my website very soon, in fact I will post a video when it is up. Cool new things on the horizon for ETCG and YOU the viewer. So if you want take a look at the old site because it's days are numbered.
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Till next time
Be Safe and Stay Dirty. Oh yea, and have fun too.
ETCG
Due to factors beyond the control of EricTheCarGuy, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. EricTheCarGuy assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. EricTheCarGuy recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of EricTheCarGuy, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not EricTheCarGuy. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
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Every time I have a problem and search it on TH-cam its always Eric the car to the rescue. I tell you Eric is the most valuable TH-camr in my opinion.
THANK YOU Eric the car guy for making all these wonderful helpful videos still providing assistance to people many years after you upload them.
Just wanted to send out a HUGE THANK YOU ERIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My Legend died a couple of years ago, so she has been parked in the garage under the car cover (she is my Sunday driver). Had a ot of medical issues, so she had just not been on the priority list. Decided it was time to figure out what was going on with her. Watched your video and voila! She started and we went and stretched her legs a little last night and going for a longer stretch today! Now to get her tags renewed and we are GOLDEN!!! You saved me a fortune and got my baby back to me!!! Thanks so much!!!!
Glad she back on her feet 🤣
My odyssey main relay decided to fail while driving to Alaska from New Jersey; We opened it, and sure enough, found the bad solder joint. Thank you Eric for getting us all the way to the Arctic Ocean and back!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I just walked to Auto zone to buy a fuel pump and trying to see how to install on TH-cam found this video. Not only did I save $100 bucks I fixed my ride. Hell ya..
You need to hold the soldering iron tip to the lead and the pad on the circuit board, heat it for a few seconds, apply FLUX CORED solder, should look like a hershey's kiss when done.
@Dillonj177 Unless it has an aftermarket fuel pump already in it it's probably not the fuel pump if it's not starting because of a lack of fuel pressure. Honda fuel pumps hardly ever go bad.
My '88 CRX w/ 225,000 miles refused to start at work, I came home and watched your video, had a friend drive me back, p/u the relay, did the repairs as on your vid, took the relay back, and boom, car started first time. A Big Thank you for posting this vid, it saved me a towing fee ! Thanks again !
@SuperDeluxe80 I realize I should have done a better job of soldering however I haven't had one come back yet. Thanks for your input.
The lead free solder used in electronics today doesn't work as well as the older tin/lead solder. The tin/lead solder can still be found where you can buy stained glass supplies, but I'm not sure if it has flux built in. You may need to buy that separately. Anyway, don't attempt to solder until the iron has reached maximum temperature or you get a joint like we saw in the video. You not only want the part hot, you also want the circuit board pad hot so the solder will bond tightly to it. It will actually wick to it. You'll know it when it happens. Waiting for the iron to get hot also minimizes the heat that goes into the surrounding circuit board or into the part because the job gets done quickly. It also helps to prevent the foil on the board from lifting. After soldering, you should also clean off the excess flux. Flux is acidic and over time, if it remains on the board, it can eat away at the circuit board foil. This is especially true for very thin foil traces. It can actually eat them in two. The key to a good solder joint is practice. Soldering is a skill that gets better with practice. Thanks for all the great videos. Keep up the good work.
Great video, thanks!! Found 3 cracked solder joints on mine, which was causing hard/no start when hot. A little re-soldering and she was fixed!
Eric, wonderful video! So grateful you showed the second kind of main relay at the end of the video as that was the kind I had on my 1991 Honda Accord. With a magnifying glass I was able to find the circumscribed crack on the solder joint you pointed out. More than 10 years after you posted the video it is still being a blessing to backyard mechanics. WIshing God's blessings back at ya! Thanks again!
@larafabilo I'm glad the video helped. You might consider removing the relay and trying to repair or replace it yourself if your sure that the no start is caused by a no fuel condition. I did a video on checking for fuel pressure if that helps.
PERFECT!
had a intimitant starting issues for years, yesterday the car flat out refused to start. found this video and some help on the del sol forum and less than 10 minites my car is working again.
awesome!
So four years of trying to figure out why my 95 Honda Accord would always start cold but fail to restart after a short stop (like at the gas station) any time the temperature got >75 degrees. Popped out the relay and one solder joint was definitely bad while 3 more were questionable. Cleaned up and resoldered all 4 joints and now IT IS FIXED!!! Thank you so much!
*****
which relay did you pop out? I have the same problem....did your s light (d4) flash when you tried to 'hot' start? mine does...
Kelly Myers when the starter goes it does the same thing. I mean if you still have your Honda, they're hard to kill :D
D4 Ignition Switch can cause that .. mine did freaked me out .. when it lit up D4 going down the highway. The Car quit when I was in rush hour at a traffic light and you know horns blasting and people screaming and me trying to get the thing off the road - tranny stuck in gear and I forgot all about the key press to get it out of gear to push the thing..
@dylanbertoni Thank you for that very enthusiastic endorsement. I'm glad the video helped as it is my mission in life to help people with these videos.
Just want to say thank you Eric. Took your advice, removed the main relay and I had 3 areas that needed resoldered, and that's what I did. Hopefully takes care of it.
I had this frustrating problem for several years. An Australian mechanic suggested the same fix - solder the contacts on the circuit board. Took less than ten minutes and solved the problem ... 6 years and counting! Thanks for sharing.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! This saved me $50 bucks since I didn't have to buy the new Relay!! 2000 Honda Odyssey was intermittently not starting, so I looked online and this was the first thing that came up. I re soldered the relay and boom!! BACK IN ACTION!! Thanks Eric!!
I wish I was this fortunte ):
So your Odyssey did start at times? I would think with a bad solder joint it would never start? I've got an odyssey that isn't always starting when I need it to.
jpetersen92020 up
@Zadonaicam I'm glad I was able to help, thanks for the comment.
@ericspda Thanks for the input and I'm sure your right about the solder job but after about 10 years of doing this I haven't had one return yet, perhaps I just got lucky. I do know that my soldering could use some work and thanks for pointing that out.
I really wish I saw this video. Ended up going to the mechanic and paying $200+ to fix this exact issue for my 1998 honda civic. Great videos!!
What the hell did they fix then that cost $200 ?!?!
vazdef He probably wont reply but mechanics usually charge $100 an hour, 1 hour min. plus parts.
Dude worked like a charm... took me 10 minutes to fix, 5 of it watching this video... mucho gracias
@TrickyNekro That's been mentioned more than once but thanks for your comment and for the tip.
Thank you Eric, your quick tip saved my 1991 Prelude from a no return trip to the wreckers. The main relay was a bit hard to locate RH drive Australia model but resoldered the circuit board and fixed the no start problem.
my 2001 odessy was acting crazy , stopping in traffic , would turn over but not start for about 10 minutes then it woulod start and run like new , sometimes for an hour or a week or several months then do it again , This fixed the problem. I re soldered all of the joints on the board. I tried to use a small pen iron like in the vid but it just didnt get things hot enough so I used an old 100 watt gun and it did the trick
Hope this is read as constructive criticism and not hating cause I really like Eric's vids and want to help him and all of you when soldering. When you solder, make sure the soldering iron is at full temp first, clean the tip of the iron thoroughly, then pre-tin it a bit so it shines. Hold tip of iron against the clad board and against the wire at the same time, hit with some solder till it surrounds the whole area, remove tip of iron, and walla, you will have a very solid, clean and professional solder joint that should not have any issues for many years. Balling it up might work for a while, but it won't last long. Thanks for the video Eric, you've helped me in the past and I hope this will help you in return.
I'd go for the "drench it in flux" technique.
dumass00072 A little extra flux can help sometimes, but it's more about technique assuming you are using good solder to start with.
Hope I am not coming off sound like a jerk cause I really don't mean to.
HostileHST Not at all. I totally agree with you. .
HostileHST I like your careful approach. I too wanted to share this info, but probably would have made some people upset.
I just want to say thank you very much. After a few hundred dollars attempting to fix a random shut offs and no starts, I came across this video and bam fixed. Pulled the relay out and the same pin was cracked all the way around it. Re soldered and no more issues. I'm sure the part companies hate you but you sir are a modern hero
@96AccordNoStart I agree, if it's a not crank then it has nothing to do with the main relay. Given the parts that you have already replaced I would be looking to the connections at the battery, starter, and ground for a possible cause. It would also be worth looking into the signal wire going to the starter to make sure it is sending the 12V to the solenoid when the no start occurs, if you don't have the 12V there then you might look into the ignition switch for a possible cause.
@rlenzen2 That is one of my favorite things, saving you cash. Thanks for the comment.
@MrGLENWOOD2 It sounds like you may have more than one issue. Start with any check engine lights you might have, if you don't have any look to the general things like tune up items and vacuum leaks. Good luck.
Hi Eric I have a 2013 Honda Civic SI and out of the blue it quit an I towed it home an it turns over perfect but don't start. Changed the fuel pump cause I didn't hear it come on an the new one which is good don't come on. I used starting fluid an it starts. Check all the fuses an some of the relays. Does a 2013 Civic have a main relay? Also I changed the 2 big battery fuses, which were fine. If you can help that would be so awesome I have been walking to work an just got K pro an want to drive her. Thank you in advance.
@Ericthecarguy also when I goto hook up flash pro to find out the check engine light it says it can't communicate. Tried a couple times, an yes my cig lighter/acc fuse is good. If you can solve this with those specs your a boss! An my fuel pump relay is good too. Checked them with a multimeter. Don't know an can't find if it has a main relay. If you can't help can you at least answer that? Thank you Eric I'll light them up for ya an tell her who fixed her! Haha
@salpta Yea they are up in there. Well done and thanks for the comment.
@booder0787 Send the fuel pump back and get the electrical portion of the ignition switch if you want to throw a part at it, much cheeper and easier to replace. Honda OE pumps hardly ever go bad.
14 years ago and still helping out today on 2024...
Yo same ima try this and see if my b20v come back to life
Just fixed my 99 Accord with this same issue. Thanks Eric! However, I strongly recommend re flowing all solder joints and adding solder as needed. A solder joint can be bad/weak even though it may visually appear good/strong. Since it takes mere seconds to re flow a single joint, you might as well do them all. Be careful not too let the joint heat up for too long or you can damage the resistors on the back side.
@mmpham28 Glad you liked it, thanks for the comment.
Hey thanks for the video I have been workin on my friends car for the past few days and this video really helped.
He had told me that he had replaced the main relay so I had just skipped over it a few time since he "just replaced" it. come to find out he had been swappin out the starter relay and i found that out after askin him to show me what he had done so far.
Oh the joys of working with people
I'll have to try this one this evening... my trusty Accord did not get me to my workplace this morning
Le Mecano Du Dimanche lol, I was cursing my 94 civ for exactly that but forgive me car you've been so very trusty up until now,
i replaced my cap/rotor/coil/plugs/wires/fuel filter and 3 rotted out grounds before finding the brilliance to pull the relay and conduct this free repair
well at least spark and fuel will continue to be delivered haha
was stalling intermittently and sometimes no start after engine was warmed
Wait till the ignition switch goes.. :-) just dont forget about that gear shift unlock to put into neutral - so you can push it out of traffic..
@MikesFitnessGoals Your welcome, thanks for the comment.
@brianwinpigler I'm glad I was able to help you with my video. Thanks for taking the time to comment and tell me about it, it's always nice to hear when I'm actually able to help someone. Thanks again.
@TheWyatt007 Next time just pull the 'guts' out instead of trying to unbolt it.
You have great video's but that solder joint is terrible. Being in electronics prior, you should remove the old solder then resolder. Other than that, great videos.
He is using the wrong technique to solder - that is why it is terrible. Sure he could clean it - your average DIY'er here probably will not have the tools to do that - I usually heat and sling it when I don't have my sucker or any braid.
Greetings from the UK Eric, thanks very much for taking the time and effort to show this problem on the Honda Civic I striped down the relay and found exactly what you have shown.
If people only knew how much time and effort it takes to put a video on TH-cam to help others there would never be any criticism, so thanks very much for sharing this information as you have saved me and many others hundreds of pounds, if I see you in my local pub I'll buy you a beer !!!! Thanks.
My Accord now starts like a charm!! After following the tutorial by @EricTheCarGuy everything just works perfect.
Thanks a lot man!!!
This issue has been troubling me since I got the car 8 years ago. I changed almost everything on the ignition system and every time I was amazed that the problem wasn't fixed. Now it starts with absolutely no problem!
Eric your not very good at soldering. Note that your soldering should have volcanic shape when done. Ball shape mean it doest adhere to the surface.
It is EricTheCarGuy and not the SolderGuy. His technique was correct, in that he applied the heat to the item needing soldering and the heat transfered to the solder causing it to flow, and not the to the solder of the joint directly, which creates as better bond and reduces the likely hood of a cold joint. He could have just heated the joint and let re-flow. The blob shape would not create problems here as it did not cross any other circuit path, it would just look neater and uniform if he had used less solder.
***** The correct way to solder properly is; to first heat the solder gun tip well, then touching the soldering joint with it in order to heat that properly, (it helps if putting just a little bit of new solder on that tip before hand, but not to solder with it but to be able to transfer heat to the solder joint faster..) and once the solder joint is finally hot enough, only then you touch the solder-joint with the soldering wire. NOT the soldering IRON, but Always the soldering-joint directly. This is due to the soldering paste which is in the soldering wire already, and it comes out once it's melted....
***** Also the joint to be resoldered was not cleaned properly with contact cleaner, Scotchbrite or fibreglass brush and a blast of high pressure air.
Soldering is hard, I think anyways, I suck at it, but i'm a comp. engineer :)
Electronics Technician here. I did board-level, through hole electronics repairs for many years in the 90's. The secret to good soldering is to heat the base of the circuit board with a hot iron, apply a little bit of solder, then move the soldering iron up the wire.
A good solder connection will appear shiny. A dull or solder connection that appears to form a ball is called a cold solder connection and will eventually fail. Use some soldering wick to remove the solder and try again. Make sure you do not overheat the circuit board too much or you will lift the copper trace off the circuit board.
@punkofdeath Glad I could help and that you liked the video. Thanks for your comment.
@abrahi I love comments like this, it means that I'm doing my job right. Thanks.
@TheABCWarrior Awesome. I've worked on a couple of Sterlings that were also Honda based, strange machines indeed. Thanks for the comment.
@playamis I'm happy to help, thanks for the comment.
@AirWingAce Thanks for the tips and for your comment.
@caamalrandy Glad you liked it, thanks for the comment.
@KuBurd1 You're most welcome, thanks for the comment.
@AshleyRocco First check to be sure it's spark you are missing when it won't start, it could just as easily be a fuel problem. Next you might also want to look into the electrical portion of the ignition switch. See of the car stalls if you jiggle the key while it's running, if it does replace the electrical portion of the ignition switch.
Thank you for posting this helpful video! It fixed my intermittent starting problem that had been going on for years. Always started eventually but had been getting increasingly worse. Solder joints looked ok but several were slightly discolored so I redid those. Boom! Can’t thank you enough.
I used to have a 1988 Prelude that had this exact issue as described. Very hot interior and the car wouldn't start. Cool interior, and it would start. It was super bizarre and through reading I found out this was the culprit. I resoldered the joints in the main relay and that fixed it.
Good tip, ETCG. Your knowledge is pretty freakin extensive to know these little intricacies.
@KidInWhiteKlouds I'm happy to help, thanks for your comment.
@Jimiec Thanks for watching and the great comment.
@luismorgas I love it when a plan comes together.
@ncarter124 Yea, I was happy to learn this one too. Thanks for the comment.
@1daniray I'm very happy to have saved you from buying a fuel pump, Honda fuel pumps hardly ever go bad and the aftermarket replacements aren't nearly as good. Thanks for the comment.
@carlosfernand07 I think the first thing I would check is to see if the timing was correct, I'd start by checking the marks on the cam and crank and then I would check the ignition timing.
@grullonbb You're most welcome. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks a bunch Eric!
Because of this, I could help fix my neighbors 2003 Odyssey. It was stalling after 45min of driving. Van would start back up after a 5 min rest.
the main relay was just like you showed, one solder point was bady corroded, and another was cracked.
@dseries16 Thanks for the comment. This is why I always say to gather evidence before you replace parts because as you stated you don't always get accurate information.
@jk111977 Not may people know about those leads but they sure are handy. Good luck and thanks for the comments.
@jcb1972 Part of it is, it also powers up the computer circuit if I'm not mistaken. It's called a main relay because it controls more than just the fuel pump.
@rollingbunny I did do a video on how to check the fuel pressure quickly, I recommend you watch that first and verify that a lack of fuel pressure is what is causing the no start. I just used regular solder, in fact you could probably just remelt the stuff that is already there.
Do you have the link to the lack of fuel pressure video?
One month ago I repaired the relay on my 2000 Accord. It went out again yesterday. I removed the relay and found a half dozen cracked (cold) solder joints. I removed and reflowed the solder on all the solder joints. It works like a champ. Thanks again Eric!
@ltigre2031 Glad it worked out, thanks for the comment.
@TrickyNekro Your most welcome, sorry I just get a bit worn out sometimes but your right it could have been a better job especially if I replaced the tip on my soldering gun, it's been overdue for some time. Thanks again for your comments I really appreciate it.
@z4muli12 Awesome, helping people in other countries is the coolest thing ever. Thanks for the comment.
@1236984 I love it when a plan comes together. Thanks for the comment.
@davegt27 Thanks for your input and for your comment.
@aseglkj Yes it is a problem on those cars as well. Well done on fixing it yourself, thanks for the comment.
Hey Eric I just wanted to take the time to tell you that you're the man! Thanks for everything.
@QuistLogic Your welcome, thanks for the comment.
@wjsj69 Your absolutely right, in fact I'm just going to replace it. Thanks for the comment.
@PLSOCCER I think the best course of action is to check to see what is missing when the car isn't starting, spark or fuel. If you don't have fuel pressure when you try to start it the main relay is a great place to start. Don't rule out an ignition problem however as it also has the potential for a no start. Gather evidence and it will save you some money.
@icemangixxer The main relay is located under the dash on the drivers side normally, just make sure you don't have fuel pressure when your trying to start it, if you have fuel pressure the main relay is not the problem.
@tonzilla2010 The best test for the starter in that situation is to tap on it with a hammer or blunt object, if it starts then it's probably the starter. When you took it in to be tested the connection was probably fine but when you put it back on the car the connection was week, the 'tapping' helps restore the connection in the starter solenoid thus confirming that is the problem.
@lensmanic Well in order for a car to start and run it needs 3 things, spark, fuel, and mechanical integrity. If you have spark and fuel make sure it has compression and that the engine is in time. The quickest way to check for a broken timing belt is to remove the distributor cap and crank the engine, if the rotor doesn't move then it is likely they timing belt is broken. Let me know what you find.
@MindzEnt I've done a video on it Quick Check For Fuel Pressure, as well as a video on how to diagnose a no start condition.
@levonhomer IDK about being a god but I'm happy I was able to help you. Thanks for the comment.
@djblisir It sounds like it flooded, you may have lost spark momentarily so you might want to check out the ignition system.
@smoot96 If you have spark, fuel, and you know the engine is in time then it's tough to say what's going on. You might try holding the key almost to the crank position after it starts, if you let go of the key and it stalls it might be a bad electrical portion of the ignition switch. These sometimes go bad and cause an intermittent no start. Remember that all you have to replace is the electrical part and not the whole switch.
@barkaba The main relay is the fuel pump relay. I don't recall them having the same problem in 2004 as I think they changed the design somewhere around 2000. You want to check what is missing during the no start, spark or fuel, if it's spark the main relay is not likely to be involved in the failure.
Thanks for this video, the Honda starts like a champ now and saved me $50 that's what I was for to repair and they said was going to take 2 days, took me 20 minutes and I used the spare cash to buy a nice air filter... Awesome video.
A lot of thanks to you ... I have the same problem in the Honda Odyssey 99, a die and I'm on the road a dangerous situation .... followed the same steps and I hope that served before I decide to change the fuel pump
Thanks dude!!! This was exactly my problem. I sort of missed up. I took your advice and solider the funky looking spot on the board. I didn't put the circuit board inners back into the holder. It cranked right up and I tried to put it back into the housing while it was running and it must of shorted the whole board out. So I went to buy another one, started right up. This type of simple problem would be paradise to a dishonest mechanic.
@TBoneProTrainer Glad I could help.
@TheKenny0714 Check for spark and the engines mechanical condition as well such as the timing and perhaps a compression test. On those old carbureted cars you would also check the choke operation and for vacuum leaks.
@djblisir No, if you have fuel pressure the main relay is not the problem. Since you have spark and fuel the next thing to check is to see if the engine is in time or if there is some other mechanical issue.
@MrNik1001 They used this in several years, I didn't take it out of a car but rather out of a box of used ones that I keep in the shop. Check to see if you have fuel pressure first before condemning the relay.
@michhugh Yea, don't be afraid to throw parts at it, sooner or later you will replace the correct ones. :)
Hey Eric! I see you getting a lot of criticism for your soldering skills but not much help. As a thank you for all the you've provided keeping my many Hondas running over the years, I will share with you my decades of soldering experience as a certified micro-solder tech. Your tip is heavily oxidized, this prevents it from being able to maintain equal temperature throughout the tip, and from solder sticking to it well, it's time to throw that thing out, once you have a new one, after use clean any debris off with a wet sponge then take some solder and melt it to the tip in between uses, this will preserve the tip for much longer. Next, the reason for the ball and uneven joint is your using too much solder, on a repair like this you don't really even need any, as the appropriate amount is all ready there, instead you need Flux. I personally like no clean, but the things I work on are measured in nm and difficult to clean, water soluble Flux is cheap and "rinses" out any impurities during the process assuring you have a solid bond. You could use wire with a rosin core, but I prefer to Flux things myself. With a good tip, and a little bit of flux your iron should be able to heat the surfaces without solder, as it is now the tip is in such bad shape your are having to pour solder on it to spread the heat which isn't good, and never go "red hot" this could damage other components. Your joint is what we would call insufficient wetting of the pad, I can see the solder flow to one or two corners but not all, this is unreliable. Having too much solder doesn't hurt much, but it prevents you from being able to see that the contact pad and pin have both been sufficiently wetted. That is why you always see the nice 45 degree angle on pin thru, so that it can be easily inspected as a complete joint. I know this is 8 years old now, and maybe you've learned all this since then, hopefully you get to see it and hey, stay dirty my friend!
@7511fsm Thanks for the suggestion and the comment, I'll have to try that.
@longlove4u You should because what you did was in effect put a very large amp load on the ignition circuit and with a Honda that's not a good idea, or any car for that matter. Good luck and thanks for the comment.
@straydoggio If I were to guess I would say that the solder used is at fault since it seams to weaken with temperature changes. The no start associated with the relay is often temperature related either hot or cold.
@almanzaalejo I'm very glad my video was able to help. So day I'd like to take ETCG on the road and I would love to visit Columbia, seems like a very beautiful country from the pics I've seen. Thanks for the comment.
@boomerxbox Glad I could help, thanks for the comment.
@opsvideo2008 Other cars may use a different set up. Relays are used to control high amp circuits with low current switches, the fuel pump is a high amp circuit so it uses a relay to protect the low voltage side. It's function is to turn on the fuel pump but in addition it also powers other circuits during ignition run, hence the reason it's called a "Main Relay" and not "Fuel Pump Relay".