I DONT KNOW IF THE RELAY IS SUPOSED TO SMELL BURNT OR LOOK MELTED IN SOME WAY THAT SHOWS ITS GONE BAD, BECAUSE WHEN MY CAR IS IN THE SUN FOR A WHILE WITH THE WINDOWS ROLLED UP IT GETS REALLY HOT IN THE CAR AND I THINK IT MESSES WITH THE MAIN RELAY SOME HOW, IM NOT SURE, I THOUGHT IT HAD SOMEHTING TO DO WITH MY FUEL PUMP SO I GOT THAT REPLACED, AND AS SOON AS I GOT HOME FROM THE REAPIR SHOP I LEFT THE CAR IN THE SUN FOR ABOUT 15 MIN THINKING THAT THE PROBLEM WAS GONE AND I WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE TO GET MY OIL CHANGE AND RIGHT AFTER I STARTED THE CAR IT JSUT DIED OUT, LIKE ALWAYS . DO U THINK ITS MY MAIN RELAY?

 

same thing happens to my car, im going to change the main relay sometime next week

 

The car started and died immediately because there is residual fuel pressure on the fuel rail. This means that the ignition worked but not the fuel supply.

You can always bang on the dashboard or listen for the hum to see if it is really the main relay before replacing it. But it does sound like it.


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but it always does it when its in the sun. it never dies on me or not start on me when its cold like the morning or night time. or jsut winter time. and today i got out of work and the sun was still hitting the car, and i tried to start it, but it would just turn over but not start, until i left it alone for about 5-10 min, then it started perfectly. so u think its not the main relay? i should change my fuel rails? or get them cleaned?

 

the main relay controls the fuel. A lot of the time if it's about to die, it will be affected by the heat. so if you leave your car in the hot sun for a while with the windows rolled up, this will cause it not to start properly.

there's not really any tell-tale signs of a bad relay, unless you really cook it.

Does it start up fine at night time when it's cooler? or when you open the doors/windows for a couple minutes?

 

yah it starts up perfect in the morning before the sun is out and at night. but it sometimes start fine when it in the hot hot sun, but rarely. somone said i can have residue or something in the fuel rails. but i dont know if it causes the car not to die out in the heat only.

i forgot to mension that the car cranks but does not start sometimes in the heat, but if i leave it alone for like 5 min it would start right up and not turn die on me

 

The opposite. The problem is the main relay. I was explaining how and why it's doing it in a confusing guru term.

Let's explain again. The residual fuel pressure (the quantity left over at the end of a process) (not residue) is still in the fuel rail the last time the main relay worked. (Keep in mind that the main relay controls all the fuel supply.) But if the main relay doesn't work anymore the car will start then quickly dies (like as in start then rpm shoots up to 1500 then dies.) This is a main relay symptom.

By tapping or banging on the main relay the vibrations will make the main relay work. This is your diagnose.


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ohh, i thought u meant my fuel injectors needed to get cleaned, i hadd it all wrong, ok well thanks for the answer. i really appreciate it. one guy once told me that he had a clutch problem that sounded just like mine and it also had to do with the heat, do u know anything about that kind of problem?

 

I used to have the same problem with my Integra, replaced the main relay. And no starting trouble since 15 days
-R

 

i know theres two realys under the sterring wheel, theres a black and bigger brown one, and the brown one is the main relay right, or is it the black one?