AlbertaMary

Every month or two my legend sedan, which otherwise works fine, will not start. It happens if I run into a shop for a short while and then return. After a 10 minute wait, it works fine. Can anyone suggest a reason / solution?

thanks

bobbyl1966

i have the same problem with my 1990 legend. Today i change the starter the solenoid is bad and make my car no start some times. Check your starter solenoid too i think this is the fix for your car

spotted zebra

Hello, When you say "no start", do you mean no crank, or cranks with no start. If it's a crank with no start, it sounds like a main relay. When the car won't start, turn the key to on & listen for the click when the check engine goes out. If you don't hear the click, your relay is bad. Sometimes, a good swift whack with the palm of your hand on the panel right above your left knee, is enough to jolt the relay enough to start the car. Try hitting the panel while cranking the car. Give us some more details & I will try to help.

AbM

I posted the original question but have since forgotten my password. Thanks for the replies. The starting problem is very intermittant - about once or twice a month. It happened last week and I noted that it does crank but does not turn over. I tried to bang the side but nothing happened (but that could have been me). After 5 or 10 minutes, it started and has worked fine ever since.

When it was last at the mechanic's (head gaskette replacement - yikes:$$), I mentioned the possibility of a solinoid starter. He thought it plausable but said he would have to witness it not starting. Since he happens so rarely, this is not likely. (it seems to happen only when I least want it to).

I appreciate the advice. Thanks again, Mary

ACURAmechanic

if it was the starter solenoid the engine would not crank. It is almost definitely the 'main relay'. The part will cost about $75 and is only availible at an Acura dealership. On your Legend it is located under the dash near the steering column. Of all the Legends and RL's yours is the easiest to access.

AbM

Hello Again, I took your advice - or tried to -

The no-start problem occurred again, I followed your advice and banged the dash by my left leg and it started. This confirmed your diagnoses so I took the car to my mechanic, of course it started for him but I gave him a copy of this thread and highlighted your diagnoses and asked him to go ahead and get a main relay.

I asked him to replace the main relay, He got confused and assumed that it did not crank and replaced a relay that had to do with cranking. ONce this was done another problem occurred, the car would no longer crank with either the new or the old relay. The then spend hours tracing this problem to a fault in the security system, the disabler - they cut off that wire and called me that my car was fixed. I then paid $868 only to find that the original problem remained.

After a lengthy discussioin - he blamed me for confusing him - he said he would take the time to diagnose the problem himself and not charge me diagnosis time. I really cannot afford to put so much money into an old car and don't really know how to handle the situation.

Do you know is there a specific name for the defective relay? Do you have any advice on what to say to these guys?

thanks and sorry for the lenghty message. Mary

k_elliot

good idea, having it checked.. bad news that your mechanic got confused, though.

Markhel

I have been whacking the dashboard for awhile (hey, different strokes for different folks, right?) for quite awhile after an Acura dealer told me it enables the car to start if there's a main relay problem. It was a revelation at first because it allowed me to drive the car without going to the trouble of actually fixing the problem. Now, however, the whacking isn't as effective and i nearly broke my hand trying to get the car started this morning when i was trying to get my son to school. Finally, it started, but then stalled twice on the drive to his school. How long before this palm whack on the trim panel below the steering wheel won't work at all? Or will it more or less work indefinitely even though it's not working as quickly as it once did?

A-series

If it's a relay issue, it would be the Main Relay, also known as the Fuel Relay or Fuel Injector Relay.

Here's a pic of what it should look like:



Here's what it happens to look like in my civic(not my pic), I recently removed it to re-flow the solder. It's easier than it looks from that pic, though I did cut my hand on the dash h: Yours is in a different spot, but this should give you an idea of what to look for.



There's more info and larger pics at http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/mainrelay.html and that site links to others, though no pics for your specific car that I'm aware of.

It's possible that those symptoms could be caused by other things, such as the ignitor, ignition coil, and others. There are ways to test most all likely causes, most of which are fairly easy if you've got a repair manual and a volt/ohm meter.

ari_one

It WILL stop working, you have two options and I would recommend taking one soon. Buy a new main relay or have your old one re-soldered. The main relay is a square box about 3" x 2 1/2", not like the pics above.