Car occasionally cranks and won't start

[anderjbn]

Ok guys, here's a tough one. I have a 93 Integra LS with 183xxx miles on it. I bought it 14 months ago, and it had this occasional problem where it cranks and doesn't start. It would do it every other week or so, and had no spark. I changed the ICM and coil and it worked perfectly for a year.
Last week it started doing it again, but this time it wouldn't start for anything. I checked all of the grounds, tried a whole new distributor, cap, and rotor. I checked the plugs and wires, but they're fine. My dad is a mechanic, and he helped me check all the wires out and made sure the timing was correct.

The distributor gets power, and our guess is the ECU is sending the wrong code to the dizzy. Unless anyone has any suggestions, I plan on ordering a new ECU soon.

The old ECU looks flawless, and every wire seems to have power. The tricky thing is when the car starts, it will run flawlessly until you shut it off. It hasn't had any issues with dying or running funny at all.

Anything helps, thanks guys!!

 

[xxBLOOD88SHOTxx]

have you checked the connector from the ignition switch to the starter?


NVM, I read it wrong. Disregard.

 

[Muckman]

Main relay or ignition switch.

 

[yeeyo36]

Have u check your sensors? I'm having the exact issue?? I have 96 integra ls w/ starting issues too. my distributor is flawless but I'm wondering if the sensors could causing issues which could the car to not turn over properly right?


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[anderjbn]

The car turns over just fine, never had a single issue with that. I looked up a wiring diagram of the main relay and messed with the grounds, it's starting every time at the moment. Not sure if this is a permanent fix or if it is just going into remission like it has before. I also checked for power to my ignition switch and it seems to be working fine.

Hopefully it's as easy as the main relay, I'll keep this thread updated either way! And thanks for your help guys, it's a great car and I would hate to see her go.

 

[Muckman]

Heat usually causes main relays to fail as the old cracked solder expands. See if it does it after baking in the sun before you call it a victory.

 

[anderjbn]

Alright guys, here's the final verdict in case anyone else has this same problem. My buddy had an extra ecu, so I tried it out first since it was free. It didn't fix the problem, so I put the stock one back in. Messing with the ground on the main relay was working, so I tried a new one. It seems to have fixed the problem!

Muckman, you were right. It would usually only happen when it was hot out. The new main relay works in both heat and sunlight. Thanks for your help guys, fixing the car for $55 was awesome!