Warm Start Problems

I have a 1992 Civic with 165K miles. Starts fine when its cold. But when I drive it for an errand, let it sit for 5-15 minutes, and come back to the car, it cranks, but won’t turn over, or just barely turns over and then dies. So, I wait for it to cool, and then start it.



Two mechanics have run electrical system diagnostics and couldn’t find anything. Bad coil? Bad igniter? Bad main relay?

Start by removing both ends of each battery cable and make sure all the contact areas are clean and reattach so they are making good contact.

Since the starter is not moving it fast enough, it likely means the starter is not getting enough power or the starter is heat soaked.

Someone is going to have to determine whether the no-start problem is fuel or spark.

Since it starts fine when cold, I’d also consider testing the coolant temperature sender. If the sender is bad the computer could be getting an incorrect signal and not adjusting the fuel mixture and/or ignition timing correctly.

Main fuel relay problems are common on Hondas of this vintage. Usually they manifest themselves as failure to start when the vehicle interior is hot.