Honda Accord, 91 - no start on rare occasion
 

I have a 91 Honda Accord (EX, I think, but I don't know at the moment.) The
other day it refused to start for my wife at her parents' place. I go over,
and while checking for spark (it was there), the car decides to start, and
we drive home.

A couple of days later she has to drive it to work, so I follow a few
minutes later in my car. She says everything was OK except it did lose power
to the point of bringing her to the side of the road, but the engine
recovered and the rest of the trip was fine. (I did not see this as I was
10-15 minutes behind her.) Further trips have produced no problems, but she
does say it acts "strange" sometimes; since I am not present, I can't
describe this. It may or may not be her perception.

I have read that the main relay (controlling the fuel pump) is notorious for
this kind of behavior. The last time we had the problem, it had been sitting
under a hot sun all day. Also, it has done this about a year ago, on another
hot day. (Heat = bad connection on solder joints in relay.)

The problem is not the car breaking down, it's the lack of trust. I don't
want to repair something when it's still working, since I am not sure 100%
what the problem is when the car runs fine! :)

Does anyone know a method for finding this problem? Or am I just stuck
either hoping the problem never comes back, or comes back for good?

Thanks, and I apologize if the small x-posting bothers anyone.

-- R Flowers