Fuzzy and temporal reasoning can effectively improve the accuracy of fault diagnosis methods. However, there are challenges in practical applications, such as missing alarm messages, temporal reasoning with complex calculations, and complex modeling processes. Therefore, this study proposes an improved temporal fuzzy reasoning spiking neural P (ITFRSNP) system for power system fault diagnosis. First, the ITFRSNP system and its reasoning method are proposed to perform association reasoning between confidence degrees and temporal constraints. Second, a general fault diagnosis model and process are developed based on the ITFRSNP system to diagnose various faulty components and simplify the modeling process. In addition, a search method is provided for identifying suspected faulty components, considering the missing alarm message of the circuit breaker. Simulation results of fault cases demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits high accuracy and fault tolerance. It can precisely identify faulty components despite incorrect operations or inaccurate alarm messages of protective relays and circuit breakers. Moreover, the search method effectively narrows down the diagnostic scope without missing suspected faulty components in scenarios where alarms from boundary circuit breakers are missing, thereby enhancing the fault diagnosis efficiency. The fault diagnosis model features a straightforward structure and reasoning process with minimal computational complexity, making it suitable for real-time diagnosis of complex faults within power systems.