"Andrew" <andrew@nats.edu> wrote
> Elle <honda.lioness@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > From my reading and experience, this is the classic
symptom
> > of a bad ignition coil. As they age and and near death,
they
> > get very persnickety with temperature cycles, like the
one
> > you describe below.
> >
> > There are a few checks you can do of the coil. See
> > www.autozone.com 's free online manuals for your car.
> >
> > Igniters tend to fail all or nothing.
> >
> > Main relays don't cause shutdown while running.
>
> The main relay on my 1993 Accord sure did cause my car to
> stop running. I was typically able to restart it in a few
> attempts after coasting to the side of the road. The
problem
> went away after my mechanic resoldered the main relay. The
> problem more commonly manifested itself as the inablilty
to
> start the hot car after stopping for a few minutes.

Noted, though my 91 Civic's main relay never failed while I
drove the car. For a few months, I put up with the
"non-start after driving a hot car and stopping for a few
minutes" deal. A new main relay fixed it right up. (Though
re-soldering is said to be just as effective.)

Tegger's site (which often, but not always, denotes some
group consensus) notes: "Once the car does start and run,
the relay seems to be able to maintain the connection even
with cracked solder, and keep the car running. I'm not sure
why."

Yours may have been a perfectly probablistic exception,
though.