'98 Honda Accord - SputtersTo A Stop

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My daughter's '98 Accord with 192k miles 2.3L LX

I noticed once or twice since '09 that while driving, the car would simply stall.

I'd throw it into Neutral, turn the key and go on my merry way. I think it only happened to me 2 times and mentioned this to my daughter and told what to do in case it happned to her.

Not a peep until the last few months when she told me it happened twice on a trip to Atlantic City... same deal. She simply put the car in Neutral, turned the key and then lost a lot of money on the slots

I just changed her oil today and when I tried to start it, it sputtered to a stall. Would start but as soon as I released the key, would sputter to a stall. That's odd, I thought.. so I turned the key again - same thing. 4th attempt it started like normal and I drove up to local gas station, filled the tank and headed home

Took me over 30 minutes to get drive 1.5 miles... every hundred feet or so, the car would just die. Took quite a while to get it started, would drive a couple hundred feet, then it would die. Did that the entire way home

Of course now it's the onset of rush hour and all the roads here are narrowed because of the volumes of snow that wasn't removed... suffice it to say I didn't make a lot of friends

I researched this somewhat on an accord forum and, although not quite the same symptoms, a few said it could be the Ignition Switch that needs to be replaced....?

I'm fine with this if I could be sure that was the problem, but the darned things cost $150+ and, being electrical, you can't return them

Anyone have any thoughts as to whether or not I'm o the right track?

Any other ideas?

To repeat - all I did was change the oil... nothing else
 
It could be that the idle air control valve is plugged.

Does it stall while driving or when coming to a stop?
 
While driving... doesn't matter how fast or slow

Where is Idle Air control valve located?
 
pcv could be causing a vacuum leak. check the hose and make sure it doesnt have a hole in it. look for any vaccuum lines broken or disconnected.
 
Originally Posted By: Finz
I noticed once or twice since '09 that while driving, the car would simply stall.

When the engine stalls, do the dashboard idiot lights come on?

If they DO NOT come on when the engine stalls, then the ignition switch is likely the culprit.

If they DO come on, then something else is likely the matter.
 
There is a relay burried under the dash of this gen of Accord that can cause exactly this problem.
The engine runs great until it doesn't.
We had exactly this problem with our '99 Accord some years ago.
It then started and drove just fine.
I took it to my favorite Honda indie who knew exactly what the problem was.
A couple of hundred bucks well spent, since I would have lost what little mind I have figuring this out.
 
I think the lights DO come on but to be honest, I'm not 100% sure - reason being that when it would happen, I was in a line of car and would turn the key off and on as quickly as I could trying to get the thing started... because of this quick key turning, I can't be certain if I saw the lights after turning the key or not.

As for jiggling - I was messing it with the keyanyway I could.. take it out and turn it around... Jiggle a bit while starting..
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
There is a relay burried under the dash of this gen of Accord that can cause exactly this problem.
The engine runs great until it doesn't.
We had exactly this problem with our '99 Accord some years ago.
It then started and drove just fine.
I took it to my favorite Honda indie who knew exactly what the problem was.
A couple of hundred bucks well spent, since I would have lost what little mind I have figuring this out.


I just noticed someone mentioned a relay in the accord forum..

With your Accord, do you recall if it JUST happened or was it progressive?

As mentioned, very very few occurrences over the last 4 or 5 years... Today - happened about 5+ times in a row

As if someone flicked a switch - it was that sudden
 
Like previously stated, The Main Relay can cause this issue, It's 2 relays built together, ECM & Fuel pump.

If the Check Engine Light does not illuminate when the engine stalls....Suspect the Main Relay.
 
Originally Posted By: clinebarger
If the Check Engine Light does not illuminate when the engine stalls....Suspect the Main Relay.


So if the light does NOT come on, check the relay?

And it light DOES come on...? Ignition wiring?

Is it possible to actually check a relay? With a multi-tester or something?
 
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
My old Civic wagon would have a similar problem, ended up being a fuel pump-but it usually would have trouble restarting when it did it.


Unlike the earlier times this happened, today is most certainly acted as if it were running out of gas, in act when it first started, my immediate reaction was that I was out of gas... I wasn't but that's why I shot up to the gas station

LOL.. I need this like a hole in the head. Why is it the cars only act up when it's sub zero or [censored] weather?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Finz
I think the lights DO come on but to be honest, I'm not 100% sure

Then you'd better make sure. Otherwise you may end up chasing an expensive wild goose, replacing relays and other potentially unnecessary items.
 
Go to Hondas owner link and plug the vin into the system. See if the recall was done for the ignition switch. Have it performed if it hasn't been done for free. It does sound like the main relay though.
 
I once encountered this on an old Honda. The fuel filter was clogged up.

Another problem is the distributor in Honda engines. Sometimes they fail intermittently. If this is the case, get a replacement from Honda or Denso, because every generic rebuilt unit I have ever worked with would fail after 1 year.
 
Most likely the infamous cold solder joint problem with the main relay manufactured by Mitsuba for Honda. It will quit intermittently and shut off the fuel pump, which mimics running out of gas. Try this trick the next time it fails to start: spray carburetor cleaner (e.g., Gumout or Berryman's) into the air filter intake snorkel next to the battery for about 5 seconds and immediately crank the engine. If it runs for ~20 seconds and stalls, you confirmed it has spark but not fuel. At this point, it is either a bad main relay or fuel pump. However, most fuel pump fail 100% or won't restart instantly. Odds are good the culprit is the $65 main relay which is located under the dash above the driver's left shin.

If it doesn't run on the carb cleaner, you don't have spark, which indicates a bad igniter module inside the distributor. That is a $90 part which isn't too difficult to replace without removing the distributor.
 
Originally Posted By: Nukeman7
Most likely the infamous cold solder joint problem with the main relay manufactured by Mitsuba for Honda. It will quit intermittently and shut off the fuel pump, which mimics running out of gas. Try this trick the next time it fails to start: spray carburetor cleaner (e.g., Gumout or Berryman's) into the air filter intake snorkel next to the battery for about 5 seconds and immediately crank the engine. If it runs for ~20 seconds and stalls, you confirmed it has spark but not fuel. At this point, it is either a bad main relay or fuel pump. However, most fuel pump fail 100% or won't restart instantly. Odds are good the culprit is the $65 main relay which is located under the dash above the driver's left shin.

If it doesn't run on the carb cleaner, you don't have spark, which indicates a bad igniter module inside the distributor. That is a $90 part which isn't too difficult to replace without removing the distributor.


Been all over the net searching and, like you and others have mentioned, this does seem to be the best place to start... At less than half the price of the replacement ignition, it would be foolish for me to disregard.

Up until today, this happened maybe... 4 or 5 times in as many years. Today all heck broke loose. Started the car about 90 minutes ago - no problems at all. Didn't drive it and no temperature changes so it's not a fair test but it was running fine - I mention this because if a solder is poor, I didn't subject the car to any bumps that might cause a disconnect nor did the relay board get exposed to any heat which might cause some expansion and create a gap at the solder point

My only concern is that this happens (happened) so sporadically that I may not know whether it's fixed or not...

Is there a way to check the relay or just bite the bullet and replace?

Regardless, many thanks to you all for your input.
 
It just happened one day when my wife had the car.
After that, it started and ran normally.
I took it to my Honda guy who diagnosed it in about eighteen seconds and fixed it.
Had we just continued using the car, the problem would have persisted and maybe gotten more frequent.
It just came out of the blue with no prior indication of any failure.
Had I thought the car had a problem, I would have been using it that day, not my wife.
 
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