I have a 99 Accord LX 4cylinder. All of the sudden the car just died on the way home from work...no warning what so ever. the odometer, tach, and gear indicator went out as if the key had been turned off but the headlights and dashlights stayed on. Car will not start immediatly yet consistently within 30-35 seconds will start and idle or drive fine for approx. another 30-35 seconds. Then the whole process starts all over again. once i made it home i checked the batt and alternator. The batt shows 12.98 vdc while the engine is off and the alternator shows 14.32 vdc while running. I've wiggled every wire i can find and i can't seem to find a bad connection. Also when the engine dies while the key is in the "on" posistion the dash looks as if the key is off. I tried several different scenarios. If i start the car and when it dies i just don't touch anything after 30 seconds the dash will light up and the car will start again just fine...until after 30 seconds of running the engine dies again. over and over and over... Sorry for such a long description i just haven't ever heard of anything like this.

 

did you try your vacuum hose...it might be loose or it could have came off. check that. the vacuum hose is connected to the intake incase you dont know. i had that happen to a old car of mine.

 

I doubt a vacuum line would cause the car to just die .

BUT I would check your terminals going to your battery, possibly a loose ground. Check all fuses and connections under the hood.

Also I would get your alternator checked free at vatozone and also check to see if there is any buildup of any sort on the battery terminals, clean with wire brush and also pour 4 parts water and 1 part baking soda on the battery to neutralize the acid on the battery. This should help.

And make sure if you have a non-maintanence free battery to check the water levels in the battery (pop off the 2 covers on the battery and pour in distilled (non tap) water )

 

I also have a 99 4 cylinder Honda Accord. Mine has also died but not consistently. Just yesterday I replaced the battery but that didn't affect anything.

Mine delays when I go to heavily accelerate. When I pull to a stop it threatens and sometimes stalls.

I'm thinking it feels like the idle is too low, but it doesn't seem that way since it is idling steady at 1K.

 

The 99 accords had a re-call for the ignition switch, witch can cause that. Call the dealer and give them your VIN number they can check it to see if there are any open re-calls. Worth a shot.

 

i have checked the batt and all hoses and elec connections. the problem is still very consistent. i noticed while i was under the hood that it even does the same thing while the key is on but the engine isn't running. its the same routine turn the key to the on positoin and approx 30 seconds later the idiot lights go out as if the key has been turned off...then 30 seconds later it comes back on again no matter if the engine is running or not...help!!!

 

i agree with turbowa... ignition switch would be my first guess.

 

I called the dealer said that it would be tuesday before they could look at it...the dealership did say that there was a recall for the ignition switch when i gave him the vin #. thanks for the tips. I'll let ya'll know what happens.

 

thx for the tip! I'll do that right away.