oldschool_250

Hello.

I am looking for some answers, and would appreciate any help I can get.

I have a 1994 Honda Accord LX 4cyl.

The problem I have been having lately is that I will be driving, whether on the freeway or side street, and the car will just die on me and shut off.

After several attempts to strart back up, it will.

The motor cranks, so it's holding a charge, I just don't know why the car just dies while driving.

The lights, radio and everything works after this happens as well.

I have a car alarm that was originally installed by the factory when the vehicle was purchased.

About a month ago I did a full tune up on the car, so all plugs, wires, etc. are new.

Just this morning, as I was getting ready to park @ work, the car dies again. This time, not only does the checke engine light and battery lights go on, but the oil light comes on and the car made a weird sound just before it died. Sounded like a moan w/ puttering coming from inside the motor.

This all probably sounds weird, trust me, it is.

Thank you for reading.

Any help would be appreciated!

kjmoy

Most likely it is your igniter inside the distributor. It is an elctronic chip. Do a search on some recent topics similar to your problem. That would be the top suspect.

oldschool_250

Thanks kjmoy!

steerh67

have you checked the oil in the car since the light came on. The fact that the light came on and the engine is making a strange noise could be a problem with oil pressure.

frisbie21789

defiantly sounds like something inside your distributor

oldschool_250

Thanks for the responses.

I have checked the oild level and it's spot on.

That crazy puttering sound w/ the oil light, that's just weird. I asked people and they are stumped by that one.

Last night I was reading my Haynes manual and it said in there that if the car shuts off, it looks to be a problem w/ the distributor.

I read on and there was a section to replace the ICM (Ignition Control Module).

I went to Autozone.com and found the replacement part for $64.95

I'm going to try that on Saturday and see what happens.

I'll let you guys know.

Thanks again!

j6shin

I had a similar problem as yours with my 97 accord. Still haven't figured out the problem, but does your oil light and the other lights on your dash come on when you try to restart your car after it dies? Mine doesn't appear... I was wondering if yours appeared or if it didn't

Good luck, let us know how it goes

jim109

Is there a way to check igniter ? Jim

oldschool_250

Yes, there's a way to check the ICM by using a multimeter.
I'll probably connect the diodes as shown in the Hayne's manual just to see what it says before I actually buy the part.

About the lights on the dash:

When the car first shuts off, everything on the dash goes dark.

I take the key out of the ignition, then put it back in.
When I turn the key half way before it cranks, all the lights on the dash come on like normal. When I turned to start the motor, it made that weird sound and the check oil light came on then shut down again.

I would wait a few seconds, then try again and the motor would start.

GrantD

The new ICM was only $65????? mine was $165 My car was doing the same thing and the ICM change fixed it. I ended up changing the entire distributor, for some reason it was a couple bucks cheaper but more importantly it got my car on the road a couple days sooner. Hope this helps...that problem frustrated me to no end, actually i joined this site because of it.

Grant

oldschool_250

I just wanted to thank everyone who helped w/ info. on this topic.

This past weekend, I changed the ICM in the distributor. The cost was $64.95 from autozone.

I tried to uninstall the factory ICM, but I ended up stripping the screws. Adter a good hacksawing, I took out the old ICM and replaced it w/ the new one. I purchaed some new screws w/ bolt heads this time, and put the Distibutor Rotor & Cap back on.

The car fired right up very fast. It used to take a couple of seconds to start in the past, but now fired up quickly. I have been driving it around now for a couple of days, and the problem has gone away.

For some reason, it seems the car is driving waaaaay better now. I don't know, maybe I'm trippin', but I'll tell you one thing, the motor's not dieing anymore!!!!
Whoooooooohooooooo!!!!!!

m1ndless

Is your car overheating at all? I have a 95 lx that had similar problems, it would just randomly die on me.

After a week of having no idea what was wrong, I figured out that one of my fan motors was not workuing, so my AC motor/condensor/wahtever was heating up and somehow it caused my car to die, at least that is what my mechanic told me.

Bricks471123

Hi I have a 94 accord lx and I've been having stalling problems, I can be driving any speed and the chk engine light will come on and it dies mid drive, had a new distributer put in tried the replacing the main relay, now the car will run good for 2 days but on the third day it won't even stay started, it starts but not even a second later the chk engine light comes on and it dies!! Someone plz help me thanks chris

holmesnmanny

Pull the check engine code. It could tell you what the problem is. That's what it's designed to do, tell you what the problem is.

banksonl

I have had same problem on my 94 honda. Have had distributor, main relay, ignition switch etc. replaced. Read somewhere might be ground wire. Any help would be greatly appreciated. as I don't know what else to do. 3 different mechanics have worked on it. Think I should try a honda dealership as next step? I am not a mechanic. TIA