dacheat
..is grounded.
before i say anything else, i'm curious how many other CRXers have had to replace the main relay or the ignition module in their ride? and if you have, how many times?
my poll answer: my 89CRXSi went through two ignition modules and two main relays in 14 years (not bad, i guess...but it still feels chronic - read on). my new-to-me 91CRX has just impolitely asked for a new main relay two weeks after car purchase; not sure what its previous history included.
sidenote: btw again, thanks to the tuner in AR (arimports forum find) that swapped relays for me with one of his project cars in his driveway back in 2004. you warned me it'd happen again...and again
you knew your shit.
why i'm writing this:
i felt like there should be a thread somewhere that gives a heads up on what you can expect when either of these items is failing, because i'm about ready to have 2-3 on hand of each of these parts just waiting for the next time one flakes out, and my guess is there are a few other die-hard CRXers out there that feel the same way. for anyone trying to troubleshoot that hasn't heard of these issues, i hope this helps. for anyone this is new to, hope to save you lots of frustration and sparkie-yanking.
main relay
most recently, my 91CRX has decided that if it is parked in the sun on a 90+ day it won't send the signal to ignite...but give it some shade and it'll think about it; or a drop to 80 ambient+parked in sun and it's good to go again. that'd be the main relay. i saw another thread on here about another CRX that decided it was too cold to start and again the culprit was the main relay. my 89CRXSi didn't like the heat+humidity of arkansas summers and it wouldn't kick over on the muggiest days. then when i moved to ohio a couple years later, the replaced relay decided that the snow days sucked (i agreed) and it wouldn't kick over. good news on that one though: when i moved to minnesota the replacedx2 relay handled the extreme cold juuuuuust fine. in fact i pulled it from my now-wrecked 89 and swapped it into the 91 this evening.
so net learned: if you live somewhere you can expect extreme temperatures or humidity and you drive a CRX, you will probably run into this 'car won't start but it did just fine yesterday' phenomenon eventually. and you will probably find yourself frustratingly stranded until the weather clears up or the sun goes down. so freaking weird, this one.
ignition module
ever had your rpms drop out on you when you're boogying down the highway? there's nothing like 78mph and 3400rpm and then your needle bounces down to zero for a second or two--and then back up like nothing happened--to stop your heart. you feel a little lurch in the giddyup, but you're not sure if it was just you freaking out or what, so you keep driving. or maybe the needle buries itself in the red--they do that, too. maybe 10 minutes later you get a little 200rpm fluctuation intermittently, and you think 'damn, i better check my plugs when i get home' because the only other thing you can think is 'wtf there is a gremlin in my car!'
if you're reaaaallly lucky you'll figure out sooner than later that it's the ignition module causing the problem, and not your 4 little friends. i've replaced two of these (both on the 89CRXSi) and the first time it took about 4 months (and a crapload of other new parts) to figure out what the problem wasn't. it took a $500 tow+emergency service tech in Podunk, OK on a friday night in the middle of a roadtrip to educate me. it seems so obvious now.. the second time it didn't take more than 5 seconds to know i'd better order one asap.
net learned: if you start experiencing what i like to call 'rpm oddness' or stalling, first check in on your sparks, 2nd, get a hold of a new ignition module. if you ignore the rpm fluctuations you will find that the ignition module will *not* sort itself out, but continues to fail more spectacularly over time and will eventually quit working and leave you stranded in Oklahoma. even if you're nowhere near Oklahoma.
to end: even the perfect car has its moments. just be prepared for them.
my poll answer: my 89CRXSi went through two ignition modules and two main relays in 14 years (not bad, i guess...but it still feels chronic - read on). my new-to-me 91CRX has just impolitely asked for a new main relay two weeks after car purchase; not sure what its previous history included.
sidenote: btw again, thanks to the tuner in AR (arimports forum find) that swapped relays for me with one of his project cars in his driveway back in 2004. you warned me it'd happen again...and again
you knew your shit.why i'm writing this:
i felt like there should be a thread somewhere that gives a heads up on what you can expect when either of these items is failing, because i'm about ready to have 2-3 on hand of each of these parts just waiting for the next time one flakes out, and my guess is there are a few other die-hard CRXers out there that feel the same way. for anyone trying to troubleshoot that hasn't heard of these issues, i hope this helps. for anyone this is new to, hope to save you lots of frustration and sparkie-yanking.
main relay
most recently, my 91CRX has decided that if it is parked in the sun on a 90+ day it won't send the signal to ignite...but give it some shade and it'll think about it; or a drop to 80 ambient+parked in sun and it's good to go again. that'd be the main relay. i saw another thread on here about another CRX that decided it was too cold to start and again the culprit was the main relay. my 89CRXSi didn't like the heat+humidity of arkansas summers and it wouldn't kick over on the muggiest days. then when i moved to ohio a couple years later, the replaced relay decided that the snow days sucked (i agreed) and it wouldn't kick over. good news on that one though: when i moved to minnesota the replacedx2 relay handled the extreme cold juuuuuust fine. in fact i pulled it from my now-wrecked 89 and swapped it into the 91 this evening.
so net learned: if you live somewhere you can expect extreme temperatures or humidity and you drive a CRX, you will probably run into this 'car won't start but it did just fine yesterday' phenomenon eventually. and you will probably find yourself frustratingly stranded until the weather clears up or the sun goes down. so freaking weird, this one.
ignition module
ever had your rpms drop out on you when you're boogying down the highway? there's nothing like 78mph and 3400rpm and then your needle bounces down to zero for a second or two--and then back up like nothing happened--to stop your heart. you feel a little lurch in the giddyup, but you're not sure if it was just you freaking out or what, so you keep driving. or maybe the needle buries itself in the red--they do that, too. maybe 10 minutes later you get a little 200rpm fluctuation intermittently, and you think 'damn, i better check my plugs when i get home' because the only other thing you can think is 'wtf there is a gremlin in my car!'
if you're reaaaallly lucky you'll figure out sooner than later that it's the ignition module causing the problem, and not your 4 little friends. i've replaced two of these (both on the 89CRXSi) and the first time it took about 4 months (and a crapload of other new parts) to figure out what the problem wasn't. it took a $500 tow+emergency service tech in Podunk, OK on a friday night in the middle of a roadtrip to educate me. it seems so obvious now.. the second time it didn't take more than 5 seconds to know i'd better order one asap.
net learned: if you start experiencing what i like to call 'rpm oddness' or stalling, first check in on your sparks, 2nd, get a hold of a new ignition module. if you ignore the rpm fluctuations you will find that the ignition module will *not* sort itself out, but continues to fail more spectacularly over time and will eventually quit working and leave you stranded in Oklahoma. even if you're nowhere near Oklahoma.
to end: even the perfect car has its moments. just be prepared for them.
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