Hi all,

Been having some problems.. hope someone can advise...

Starting the engine after just turned off a few minutes ago (gas station, air up the tires, etc.) sometimes the engine would start, then instantly die out. The S3 light would come on. If you turn the key on again, it wouldn't start. But if you wait a few minutes longer, it would start. Sometimes, I would turn the key and hit the gas really quick so the engine would not die.

I noticed that this occurs more frequently on warm/hot days. Sometimes when it dies out, I open the hood to cool it off.

Many shops have looked at the car, but everyone say it is in good condition, no problems. I read from other threads/boards from google searches that this is a main relay problem. If so, how much would it cost to fix this?

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

Search for 'main relay'. It's probably $50 for the part, only a little PITA to install yourself. It's located up above the hood-release lever. Gotta dig around in the wiring, so pull off your battery (-) cable.

While you're searching, look for ways to check if it's really a bad main relay, as opposed to a bad coil, ignitor, etc...

 

I thought the S3 light came on for transaxle problems?

 

the main realy can be taken out, taken apart, and the connections resoldered. when i did mine i fixed the dreaded hot-weather-start bug. it was real easy to do, just use a low powered soldering iron.

not too sure about the s3 light, but you can check out www.g2ic.com for all you 2nd generation integra needs!

Paz

 

Yes. But I think those *usually* don't prevent the engine from starting. So that might be a separate problem.

 

The S3 light blinks out trouble codes for the automatic transmission. Here's what my Helms manual says:

The Transmission Control Module (TCM) has a built-in self-diagnosis function. The S3 indicator light in the gauge cluster assembly and LED indicator on the TCM blink when the TCM senses an abnormality in the input or output systems. The number of blinks from the LED indicator varies according to the problem, which can be diagnosed by counting the number of blinks.

When the ignition switch is turned ON, the S3 indicator light comes on for about two seconds regardless of whether there is a problem. The S3 light will also come on in S3 mode.

If there is a system problem, the S3 indicator light will come on and continue to blink until the ignition key is turned OFF. When the ignition key is turned ON again, the S3 light will not blink again for the original problem. But if the TCM senses the original abnormality again with the ignition switch ON, the S3 indicator light will blink again for the original problem. Therefore, even though the S3 indicator light does not come on when turning the ignition key ON, check the LED display for automatic transmission problem diagnosis."

I can post the section on troubleshooting the TCM if you like.