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Hi Everyone,

I am a very new (and proud) owner of a 1991 Honda Civic hatchback with the 1.5 liter engine. I am running into an issue that I thought was the Main Relay.

I was driving about three days ago, when I noticed that the car started sputtering while in lower RPMs. The other day, it was sitting and sputtering in idle. When I went to drive off, it died. I tried to start it again, but it just cranked and cranked until the battery ran low.

I did some looking and I thought it was the typical Main Relay assembly issue, and so I switched it out. But now it does the same thing. The only thing that is confusing is that the car will fire right up when it is jump started. It will sputter, but it will continue to run, until I try to give it gas.

I would greatly appreciate any insights as to what this could be..

Thanks!

 
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It's not likely to be the relay. That would prevent it from starting but not make it run funny at idle/low rpm. First are there any error codes? the computer has a LED that flashes anywhere from 1 to 16 times corresponding to specific error codes. It is under the carpet in the passenger foot area. It will flash once when you turn the car On and then flash an error code if it has stored any.

beyond that you should verify that the fuel pump works, you can hear it turn on before you start the car when the "check engine" light is on. Check the choke flap under the cover on the top part of the injector/throttle assembly. Make sure it rotates freely and is not stuck. It could be the idle air control located on the intake manifold. it can be removed and cleaned out w/ carb or electronics cleaner (something that does not leave reside/oil when dry) Could be a vacuum leak...
Let me know when you have more info.