Was driving my car yesterday out of no where it just shut off.

After stopping, I was able to start the car again. This happend twice and the second time it took 2 cranks to start.

After the second time it was fine for about an hour or so straight driving on the freeway.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Running off obd2 p73 jdm itr ecu everything stock.

Last thing done to the car was installing a gs-r tranny since my other tranny went bad.

 

check all your grounds.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by clip the apex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">check all your grounds.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the reply.

I know the one going to the motor is good, and also the one on the tranny is good. Am I missing any other ones?

 

battery

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IVI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know the one going to the motor is good, and also the one on the tranny is good. Am I missing any other ones?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Which "one going to the motor"?

Check the grounds on the trans to chassis, valve cover to chassis, and thermostat to chassis.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by clip the apex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">battery</TD></TR></TABLE>

battery connection is good.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Reid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Which "one going to the motor"?

Check the grounds on the trans to chassis, valve cover to chassis, and thermostat to chassis. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I was referring to the one going to the valve cover. I will check the one going to the thermostat chassis. Trans one is good also.

Would a bad ground sound like an intermittent problem? Because it shut off randomly and after I coasted to a stop I was able to start the motor again. Had 3/4 gas, belts okay. After it started it didn't stutter or bog at all was running fine again.

 

Just checked all the grounds, all are good, tight and clean.

distributor cap had some white flakes in it that i cleaned up and spring had some corrosion which i cleaned.

i will buy a new cap and screws since 1 screw was damaged also.

anything else that could cause this?

 

Ignitor/coil

 

any steps for troubleshooting those?

 

main relay maybe?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by clip the apex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">main relay maybe?</TD></TR></TABLE>

how would i go about troubleshooting that?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IVI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

how would i go about troubleshooting that?
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I think it really just needs a visual inspection to make sure none of the soldered pins are corroded. But Im not sure if that would cause the car to just die randomly. Usually they are associated with starting problems.

have you tried a USDM ECU?

 

no i havent tried a usdm ecu. i do have a p28 with a conversion harness i could try but rather not because that ecu has an issue with it.

i dont think it is the ecu because it starts up with no problem and drives no problem, i didnt get a cel.

i was driving in 5th gear normally on the highway then it just shut off rpms to zero, and all warning/accessory lights on like the oil light, cel like you were ready to start the car.

i can visually inspect the main relay, its located under the dash? any more details to where it is?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by walker111 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ignitor/coil</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm with you on this one. Also, check your plug wire connections at the plugs. As for the main relay, like Ryan pointed out it's mostly associated with startup issues.

 

Thanks guys for the replies.

Plug wires are okay.

How do I go about checking the Ignitor/Coil?

Thanks again.

 

icm/coil would be my guess besides the main relay :-p

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IVI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks guys for the replies.

Plug wires are okay.

How do I go about checking the Ignitor/Coil?

Thanks again.
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Do you have a friend with a B-series Honda? If so, and he's willing to let you, you can pull it out of his dizzy and put it in yours.

 

Does the car go completely dead, as in motor cuts off, and rpm and speedo drop to zero even if you are moving? If the cluster dies with the motor it is ignition related and probably ignition wiring.

Do you have an alarm? If so, check the alarms connections to the battery and ignition wires. Start the car up, and jiggle the alarms wires connected to the battery, then jiggle the alarm wires connected to the ignition (probably from ignition switch).

If you don't have an alarm, check the igntion switch and wiring.

I had a problem like this. The motor and cluster would die once in a while on the highway, and then turn back on after a few seconds. The cause was a bad alarm connection with the battery. When the alarm would lose power, it would break the alarms ignition circuit, effectively like cutting the ignition wire from the ignition switch. I repaired the connection and have not had a problem since . Good luck and I hope this helps.

 

today the car was having trouble starting.

i think its related to the distributor, coil, ignition.

going to check it out after work today, will post what i find out.

 

Just go out and buy igniter for civic (it is much cheaper) and replace it.

Even if it turns out not to be the igniter they go bad so often that it is certain to fail on you. I get fresh one every 3 years or so, since I had few of them pack up in the worst time possible (in the middle of the road).

Anyway last Civic one I got was less then $100 and they are located inside the distributor...

As far as testing them goes, I do not think you can do it without an oscilloscope...

 

any civic one will do?

ill try and replace it and see, but since the problem is intermittent i wanted to try and find the root cause of the problem to prevent getting stranded somewhere.

 

Electrical portion of the Ignition Switch?

 

The electrical part of the ignition switch inside the car itself? I don't think thats at fault, it seems to function normally. Cranks the car as normal.

When it was cranking it almost seemed as if it were not getting a sufficient spark. So im leaning towards the ignition system, coil or ignitor as mentioned above.

If there are any troubleshooting steps for anything I would love to try them out if you can give me instructions.

 

The Electrical portion of the Ignition switch seems to be a very common problem amongst Hondas. Legends for example will crank up fine the all of a sudden shut off. Often customers have to hold the ignition switch to the cranking position to keep the car running.

Another well known issue is the main relay. Unlike the Ignition Switch, a main relay will not exhibit the symptoms consistently until it no longer works. Ambient temperature has an affect on "dying" main relays.

If ground connections and all wires are secured, I would advise you check those two items.

 

I can check the main relay.

The ignition switch cranks fine and once it starts I don't have to hold it. I can check over the wiring or remove the piece from the ignition and try.

Thanks for the assistance, any more feedback is appreciated.