highnmighty99

the wiring for ur key ignition might be jacked up/worn out... it used to happen to me in my 98ek.... if u jiggle the the wiring behind the key it will temporarily fix it until a bump gets it loose again... dealer only sells the whole ignition switch with key... u only need the electrical that connects to the fuse box under the steering column....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9010176@N06/2506591411/

u can replace just the electrical part (the part circled in red) and keep ur original switch so u wont have 2 diff keys...

this fixed the problem in my car... before u go spend $150 from the dealer, start ur car and try to wiggle the wires behind the switch... if it dies, thats ur problem.... hopefully this helps

z6hatchboy

The ect (engine coolant temp) sensor might be worth your time to replace. I know if its bad it will cause problems with starting the car in hot weather, but im not sure about it killing the motor, just a thought though.

SOHC_civic_si

thanks for the help im going to try jiggling the wire behind the key. to get at it is there just a panel underneath the steering wheel kinda thing you take off? i thought it could be the ect too but i asked some guys about it and they also think that even if its bad they don't think it could kill the motor just make it run pretty crappy in different weather conditions and make it hard to start like you said

sku3397

it only happens at low rpm's? have you checked your compression man? if your engine has some age on it it could be the piston rings.. idle air control valve.. ?

check your seals.. gaskets and such too.

SOHC_civic_si

it happens at any rpm because its completely random and there is no patterns. i haven't checked my compression, and my engine is old but not very old. (175 000 kilometers not miles [i live in Canada not the US]) my engine does not leak any oil whatsoever its completely dry but it does burn some oil. it can burn a decent amount when i bag it or drive it real hard but when i drive it normally it barely burns a drop. i hope that its just the valve seals that need to be replaced and not the piston rings because i cannot afford a engine overhaul/rebuild let alone the labour. i'm trying not to sound rude but how could the piston rings have anything to do with the motor randomly dying? it always has synthetic oil in it so its not being starved. and what could the idle air control valve have to do with it since it doesn't just stall at idle? thanks again for the help

SOHC_civic_si

bump..

SOHC_civic_si

...

Blk00EJ8

It's most likely either your distributor or your fuel pump. No way it's the ignition switch... that's only relevant when starting the car, not keeping it running. You're right, the piston rings have nothing to do with your problem either. It's either not getting fuel or not igniting the fuel.

SOHC_civic_si

Ok thanks man. I was thinking how it could be the ignition switch when it only has to deal with starting the car like you said. Is replacing the distributer a hard thing to do? Would it be worth my while to say replace it with a better unit like an MSD distributer? and how much effort is it to replace the fuel pump?

civicdriverzero1

Replacing a distributor is something you can definately do on your own. My dad's car was doing the same thing not to long ago and he replaced all things in the fuel system and then it turned out to be the distributor. Plugs and wires are kinda pointless if your dizzy isn't kicking out consistent spark you know?

rSol93

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Romo Pyro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does the car virbrate unusually at idle? (ie unusually low rpms?)</TD></TR></TABLE>

Mine does, can you please explain the problem? My car never dies yet, it constantly drops to like 500 rpm then back up 1500 on idle. This only happens when the car has been sitting in the sun for awhile.

SOHC_civic_si

Yeah thats a good point i guess since the spark starts with the dizzy. Would it be worth my while to replace is with an after market one like an MSD distributer? rSol93 just go to page one and read my first post i don't feel like explaining it all again