I have a 92 Honda accord EX with 138000 miles. It stalls when I stop, if the fuel level is below ½ tank. If I pump the brake 2 times the engine recovers and stays at 800 rpm. If I don't pump the brake engine will stop. Then I need to wait 4 to 5 minutes before I could start it. This started happening after a fuel pump failure around 100000 miles and replacement of the pump by a local mechanic. I accidentally found that I could recover from the stall by pumping the brake. Could anyone help me on this?
Regards, KK

 

Hmmmm, apples and oranges here, the fuel level should not have any effect on the problem...meanwhile, back at the posse, when you step on the brake the vacum booster is using engine vacum, so this might indicate the engine is running too rich at idle, when the car stalls does it smell like it is flooding? If you could try to provide some more info like hot or cold?..after a long high speed run, or around town?....

 

Wow ... you have been putting up with this issue for 38k miles ?? why did you not take it back if it started to happen soon after ??

So there is no problem if fuel tank is more than 1/2 full ???,,
I was going to say maybe he put the wrong pump in . that the pick up was too high but you say that if you hit the brakes 2 times it will stay running ,,,mmmm,,,,
if the engine were running too rich , you should still have the problem when tank is full , the fuel level should make no difference how a car runs ..,I was thinking maybe too much pressure being put out by the pump thus flooding the engine ,,but still why only when it is below 1/2 ,,,,.you might want to chk fuel pressure ...
Like dude says we might have to have a bit more infos on this one ..

 

You might have a lazy / dirty Idle Air Control Motor (Valve) (IACV).

What's happening is when you pump the p/brakes is that you (in effect) cause a vacuum leak as the Boosters internal valving cycles several times. Introducing air into the manifold. On some vehicles you could actually induce an engine skip if you pumped the brakes enough.
Try cleaning the Throttle Body at the Throttle Plate and the IACV also.

P

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by P_Adams &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You might have a lazy / dirty Idle Air Control Motor (Valve) (IACV).

What's happening is when you pump the p/brakes is that you (in effect) cause a vacuum leak as the Boosters internal valving cycles several times. Introducing air into the manifold. On some vehicles you could actually induce an engine skip if you pumped the brakes enough.
Try cleaning the Throttle Body at the Throttle Plate and the IACV also.

P</TD></TR></TABLE>

Mr P sir .... good suggestions ..but what puzzles me ,,is # 1 why only when tank is 1/2 full or less .. # 2 it takes 4 -5 minutes to restart ,,,,,,,,a dirty iacv or throttle body wil cause a rough idle ,, but only with 1/2 tank ???&gt;&gt;&gt; and i have never seen a car die because of that and not able to restart for 4-5- minutes ...

 

Actually it's acting like it's got several problems
1) A lack of idle air
and
2) reduced fuel pressure

I still stick by the Throttle body service recommendation; but now after thinking more about it, I suspect he's going to have to pull the tank (again) and give a close look at the pump/pickup assembly. I've the feeling one of the hoses which join the pump to the pickup may be leaking and when uncovered (!/2 tank mark) it starts sucking air.

It's unfortunate My fuel pressure tester won't reach that far, so really I'm just guessing.

P

 

I loaned the car to my brother for few weeks and that's when the fuel pump failed. He took the car to his mechanic and changed the fuel pump. It cost us around $400+. When I got the car back I found the pump making lots of noise. Went back to the mechanic and he replaced the pump with another one. Noise went down, but not to my satisfaction and the current problems started. Talked to my friend at an auto wreck place. He got me a pump from a 93 accord ex (65000 miles). We replaced the pump and the noise went away. We also found that the pump installed by the mechanic was short by 3". Currently the car is with Honda pump.
When the engine is cold and fuel is half or less it will stall and stop unless I pump the brake. Nowadays I fill up as soon its half tank or the first time the stall happens. This is going on for the past 3 years.
regards, KK

 

We have 3 Accords (92, 93 & 94). Any time I go to Honda dealer I end up with an Invoice of $1000 or more. Currently I avoid them if possible except for parts. I use the 92 and in case anybody else need to use it I make sure it's filled up.

 

It keeps going back to the "under half full" thing.
This is one of those cases where I'd mount either a mechanical or electric remote fuel pressure gauge to the fuel rail and watch what the pump's doing when this happens.
It's not a blockage, that would occure any time BUT at idle

let's see what 6hrs of sleep has to say about this...

P

 

I have a 90 accord and it does the same thing when the tank is almost empty if I come to a sudden stop it will just die.Unless I let off the brake at the right time or manualy shift it into neutral.So theres probably something going on with your fuel pickup in the tank.

 

In reply to your post. I have a 92 Honda Accord LX that is not working right. The engine would start before with the EACV (IAC) plugged in and idle until warm but after the car gets anywhere near warm it struggles and shuts off. Now the car doesn't start with the EACV plugged in PERIOD. It fires then dies. I also get a jumping tachometer. I have replaced the distributor and button, eacv(IAC), and Ignitor Coil, all of which are apparently working. The car will not start with the EACV plugged in, or if started without plugging in the valve causes the car to stall. I have been trying to figure out what to do for about 2-3 weeks now. Somebody give me some ideas if cleaning the Throttle Body is an option I need to know where to look to find instructions. But, I have new fuel equipment and main relay so the problems with the car staying started or stopping when low don't happen. Thanks!