This car belongs to my Sister-in-Law but I'm the designated mechanic in the family now. Her car will crank strongly and not fire at all. I noticed that the fuel pump does not run when the ignition is switched to run. I'm looking at my manual for my 94 accord and I would suspect the PGM-FI Main relay (or fuse but we checked all of those). Assuming the 98 is not too much different than my 94 am I correct in assuming that the fuel pump must run immediately when the ignition is on just before cranking? My 2002 Odyssey runs the pump first as well. The reason I ask is that A mechanic at the local Honda Dealership told my Father-in-law that if there was no spark the fuel pump would not run. This makes no sense to me since the fuel pump is turned on first before the engine cranks, ie runs without any spark. I don't have a manual for the 98 and I don't want to fry anything, does anyone know if the PGM-FI main relay is the same as my 94 accord? I suppose I could just supply 12 V to the fuel pump terminal to see if it runs. I think also that I should be able to hear the relay pick up if I have it on the bench and energize the coil that pulls in the fuel pump contact.

Looking for advice, thanks.

 

So my Father-in-law had the car towed to Honda this morning first thing and he called me to fill me in on what they found. They said it was that the computer did not recognize the key any longer due to a weak battery. The mechanic said the car should be driven at least weekly to avoid this. Evidently the ECU was disabling the fuel pump and ignition, so I guess this is a question for Honda Engineers, but if that is the case then why bother with enabling the starter motor?

Can this be possible? the engine cranked strongly for several trys and never actually slowed. I did not measure the bat voltage with a meter but I'm guessing that it was good. I did see the bat terminals and they are tight and corrosion free. What's to prevent the computer from doing this if the battery is replaced? or during cranking when voltage plummets? (especiallly when it is below zero outside) I'm not sure I buy the mechanic's opinion here. I've never heard of a computer that would lose memory in it's non volatile rom if it was not run weekly. I'm also assuming that the key does not require a battery to retain its memory, should be burned on a flash memory hopefully.

Also is there a way to reset the computer and key if this happens again without spending $150 for a tow and $105 for Honda to wave their magic wand? I'm familiar with AutoTap but I'm hoping for a more economical alternative.

thanks.

 

I know that your ECU should not lose any information for simply sitting for a week. That seems like an absolutely horrible design if it were true. From what I have heard, youre right, honda accords seems to have some starting issues similar to yours pertaining to the main relay. Especially when it is hot out. Heat for some reason seems to affect the main relay causing it to want to start but failing. Also I imagine it is possible that it may be a bad fuel pump. I guess I would indeed try "jump starting" the fuel pump just to eliminate that as a cause. Good luck. If you figure it out, let us know!