98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

I have a 1998 civic lx 1998 manual and This happened 3 days ago and since then i've been trying to figure out whats wrong with it myself and i thought about the fuel pump, main relay, ignition module and i don't know which one it is.

I Drive about 10 mins with it and it turns off middle of the road.. So i have no clue what it is.. someone help me out?

and I have to wait for it to cool down before i turn it back on..

Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

BUMP

Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

Any check engine lights? Sounds like it could be the ICM/ignitor. You can test the ignition system rather easily:

http://www.team-integra.net/forum/bl...eshooting.html

Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

Thanks for the response, So after I try to test if it has power, it should have 12volts right?

Do any lights come on? Possible fuel pump sock if not


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Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

I mean all of my lights on cluster are working. The CEL is on, and it gives a catylic converter problem which i had that problem for months now.

Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

Igition switch?

Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

cat could be clogged..

mine did this and it was the pump, replaced with a walbro and fixed it

Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

Will a universal work on this?

Im going to take it to a mechanic tomorrow or the next day to check it out and see if this is really hte problem..

I hope that its not the CAT because it can be a lot of money... and I love the car, it gives me good gas mileage and its a easy drive from a to b.

Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

has the ignition switch recall been done? there is a recall for these cars for this very reason, the car would shut off at bad times, such as passing a tractor trailer on the interstate,converter probably might be a bad secondary O2 sensor,very common issue on these

Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

either call the dealer or g by there,give them your vin and see if you are included in the recall,dont let them BS you. If you are and it hasn't been fixed they have to fix it.


Press release posted on Honda Owner Link


American Honda Recalls Vehicles to Replace Ignition Switches
Certain 1997 to 2000 Honda and Acura Vehicles Affected

TORRANCE, Calif., May 23, 2002 -- American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today
announced a voluntary recall of certain Honda and Acura models to
replace an ignition switch which may cause the engine to stall. The recall
involves about 1.3 million of certain 1997 to 2000 models of the Honda
Accord, Civic, Prelude, CR-V and Odyssey. Also included in the recall are
some 1999 Acura TL sedans and certain 1997 to 1999 CL coupes.

The situation is created by electrical contacts within the ignition switch that
wear prematurely causing the switch to malfunction. An affected vehicle
will likely experience difficulty in starting for a period of time prior to
experiencing any engine stall. Normally, the vehicle can be restarted
immediately.

Most customers will not experience problems with their ignition switch
prior to repair -- less than 3/10ths of one percent of affected vehicles have
experienced switch problems.

Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by American Honda and
asked to take their vehicle to an authorized dealer to be repaired free of
charge. The repair involves the replacement of the electrical contact
portion of the ignition switch while retaining the original lock and key
assemblies.

Owners will be notified by mail when parts are available for their model.
Because of the large number of vehicles involved, it may take several
months to make the replacement parts available for all vehicles. Mailings
will begin in June and should be completed by September.

Details regarding mailing dates and affected vehicles will be available on
the Honda and Acura Web sites today. Owners will be able to access this
information by logging in to the Owner Link section of www.honda.com or
www.acura.com and entering the 17-digit vehicle identification number
found on their dash. Customers may also contact their Honda or Acura
dealer with questions.

There have been no accidents or injuries reported to American Honda
related to this issue.

Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

i've called the dealer, and they said that its been fixed, but my car is salvage, and I don't know if they can fix it.

EDIT: They said its been fixed when i called them, i forgot to mention it.

Re: Car Just shuts off when driving..
 

I would call the American Honda customer relations number in Cali and run it by them, they tried to tell me my seatbelts had been replaced under recall,when it still had the recall brand in the car,which was discontinued after the recall, They are really good at giving you bullshit when it comes to this stuff, the customer relations office is better to deal with

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

Yea but my question is, will they take recalls even if cars are salvage?

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

Ok so far i took the car to the mechanic and hevsaid its either the distributor or the relay, and he said to check the distributor first, so i opened it, took the igniter and the coil out and took it to autozone and the guy checked both of them and it was good.
Any suggestions?

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

first I wouldn't trust having anything electrical tested at autozone and dont buy anything electric from them, the igniter if it's bad is failing under heat stress,find a shop who knows what they are doing and have then test it while heating the unit up with a hairdryer, a bad igniter will often fail when hot then when it cols off it starts working

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

When the engine shuts off, does your clocks drop to zero instantly?

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

I havent tried that, but I was driving it for 3 DAYS now w/o having it run out on me, and today when i was comming from school, It turned off on me on the road, i was going about 50-55 mph down hill, on 4th gear and with rev of sounding like 3-4 because I dont have a rev reader on my cluster, and as it was turning off on me, I downshifted to 2, and it made a big noise in the bottom of my car, like a big bang, and it shut off on me after i stopped, and when i looked in the bottom of my car i saw these black oily stuff, but I thought it was the smoke that was comming out the engine and It was all clogged up or something, so it blow it out.

And I do have a check engine liight on for a CATALYTIC Converter, but when i went to the dealer like 3 months ago, he said that it wouldnt go bad so soon...

Any suggestions?

can it be my cat ?
I don't have a clock, but my radio or cd song that it was on, it was on it, so nothing was erased.


//
Im not trying to run into conclusion, but just to be ready if that is my problem, the cat,
will this be fit?
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...6695_314695_0_

Just chekcing.

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

Well I'd get a new cat or oxygen sensor, hope you figure this out.

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

yea but do you know if that will fit on it?

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

not sure what your asking. you will probably have to take it to a muffler shop unless you get oem parts and its not rusted out. Your cat could be clogged and besides you can sell a used cat for big monie$!

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

Sounds like multiple issues to me.

Damien is from Ireland according to his avatar, so clock = speedometer. Do your gauges cut out? Does the car act as if you just turned the key back one notch to the accessory position? Honda had issues with the ignition switches in multiple models long before that recall, I stopped working for them in '02 (before the recall) and I had replaced dozens of them on a range of models. They are not hard to replace. Sometimes they just get to the point where the detents while not hold the switch in the run position, and it simply "falls" back into the accessory position.

See if, while the car is running, you can wiggle the switch a little and get it to fall back into the accessory position. You should have to deliberately turn the car off. If it fails on you while driving, try to turn the key ever so slightly toward the the run position and clutch-start the car. You can also restart the car with the key and hold the key in the run position. If either of these gets the car to run, replace the switch.

If you have a MIL for cat issues, you at worst have a clogged/non-functioning cat and at best need a new secondary HO2S. That cat will fit your car fine. Make sure to go ahead and get both sensors as well, the primary one most likely will strip coming out and the secondary one is most likely trashed.

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

I've tested that, I let the car run in my driveway for 20 mins straight w/o going inside the car, and it turned off on its own.

and i did it like numerous times, what i don't get like how is it i can turn it on if its clogged up..

but today i am going to take the cat off and see what happens.

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

If it still has the stock y7 manifold you can't just pull the cat of, it's a one piece deal. If you try to start the motor with no manifold on it it will ruin it, if it even starts.

Re: 98 Civic LX shuts off when driving
 

I took the kat out with the 4 holes i think its called the manifold rihgt?

so everything is out, and I opened the CAT and It was like melted or something..

the wholes that were suppose to be there were looked like melted plastic.

and the sensor that was in the bottom, It was like really dark and idk it looked bad.

And I wonder if this was the problem because the hole looked like it was open for air to flow..

but what about that long tank on the exhaust thats going to the back?
can that be filled up?

Thanks for answering.