93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

93 Honda Accord EX 105,000 miles. Automatic Transmission.


So today I was doing about 60 and coming around a curve, I let off the gas for the curve and then as I pressed down again on the accelerator the car instantly died. I put it in neutral and tried to start it again as I was coasting at about 50. I tried that a few times to no avail so I pulled over.

I tried several times to get the car to start and nothing worked. Gas gauge shows about half full and has been working and showing accurate gas levels.

It was 8* out today and the car started up just fine this morning. Other that I don't know what other kind of information you'll want.

I towed the car home w/ the truck and now its just sitting there.


Where to start?

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

Did you try to jump start the car? It could be the alternator, which would cause the battery to lose charge, since the alternator wouldn't have been charging the battery anymore.

Or, it could be something else.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

Main Relay?

From what I understand these can have bad solder joints that fail when hot and cuts signal to the fuel pump and/or injectors. If 8* was, 8 degress F then perhaps the joint was sufficient when cold to start.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

Broken timing belt?

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

most likely it is the fuel pump main relay. i had the same problem with my 91 EX and iv heard its a common problem with accords. its a black box under the dash on the drivers side. you can resoder the conections or just replace the whole thing like i did and now its starts up every time even in hot weather

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

My main relay is brown so there may be one of a couple colors to look for

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

maybe not "most likely" because it's common. suggestions are good, but be carefull not to lead away from other possibilities before all the info is known.

OP: ignitors can fail while you're going down the road causing a no start condition. you'll want to check for spark.

if the timing belt is broken it'll sound funny when you are trying to start it. it'll be less rhythmic sounding and faster spinning than normal when starting. you can confirm this by removing the distributor cap and watching to see if the rotor turns while a friend trys to crank it. (unplug the dist. connector for safety when doing this) no spin-> broken belt-> bad news!

for you're sake i hope it's just the ignitor or main relay

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

when my car died while driving, it was due to a connector on alternator that was loose, check alternator first.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

This is exactly what the car sounds like when I try to start it. It'll crank and crank and crank and the car won't start. Sounds different than when it used to crank normally and then turn over and start.

How much am I looking at?

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

This is exactly what the car sounds like when I try to start it. It'll crank and crank and crank and the car won't start. Sounds different than when it used to crank normally and then turn over and start.

How much am I looking at for repairs?

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

well if the belt is broken the head will need to be removed to see how many valves are bent and so forth in addition now the timing belt will need to be replaced so now's the time to replace the water pump and balance shaft belt and the seals including the oil pump o ring. might be looking around 1200 depend on your area and shop labor rate.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

the same thing happened to me but i was at a stop light check to see if your batt. terminls are tight on your battery cause if not then that could be your main problem

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

Bent valves? How? It died instantly. And there is no reason to replace things that are working fine. I'm selling the car anyway. It was a winter beater car and I have no need for it. Its getting to be nice enough that I can drive the M3 again.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

Engines don't just stopping turning instantaneously.

You car has an interference engine. When the camshaft stopped turning, some of the valves were likely open. With the pistons still moving for a period of time, the liklihood that a piston impacted a valve and bent it is significant.

It's not unheard of to escape with no bent valves, but I'm not sure that includes broke timing belt at 60 mph.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

Well whatever the case may happen to be, I'm just hoping that this isn't going to be a huge pain in the ass to do myself.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

you may get lucky but humor us on here after you replace the belt.don't be shocked if the car has a miss after starting up.
have fun =)
or don't start since it has no compression.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

Comedy.

More comedy.

A broken timing belt on an F22 or F23 almost guarantees bent valves.

If you want the car to run normally again, you'll be pulling the head to replace some valves. I hope you don't think that you shouldn't replace the head gasket too because "it was working fine." :crook:

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

Yea no kidding this guy just don't know. some guys on here don't think with reason and logic.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

LOL@YOURhonda

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

i would not pull the head to look at bad valves or anything like that unless i just wanted to see the inside of the motor. if you know the belt has broken consider it a parts motor...

these motors are pretty inexpensive for a good, low-mileage used. IMO it's easier to swap a motor than to fix a broken one. you'll spend more in labor charges having a motor like that fixed than you would buying a motor to drop in over a weekend.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

might be a distributor and the car isnt getting spark... are the fuel injectors firing?

pull a plug wire off, hold it close to the terminal and see if it sparks

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

You won't get any spark if the timing belt is broken either.

The first thing to do in this situation is to remove the oil cap and have someone crank the engine while you look inside to see if the rocker arms are moving. No movement = broken timing belt.

If the rocker arms are moving, then you're going to want to progress further - check for spark, fuel, compression, timing, etc.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

if the coil or ignitor is bad, it'll still spark, just wont be strong enough. ive had mine die on me doing that speed before. turned out to be the external coil. with your case it might be that or the ignitor inside of the dizzy. both are known for going bad in the '90-93 accords.

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

That's why I bought it. So I can laugh every time I drive it. What a soulless car

Re: 93 EX died while Driving , then won't start
 

I'm considering pulling the valve cover and checking to see what, if anything moves when I turn it over. Its got that sound described earlier like it has no rhythm to it, so if the timing belt is broken then I'll be able to see when I crank it with the valve cover off.

If so, I'll probably sell it as a whole parts car