My wife's 97 Civic LX with the SOHC stalled today. I could not get it restarted, even with spraying starter fluid (ether) into the throttle plates. I let it sit for a bit and after a few hours, it restarted and ran for about 25 seconds before it just quit. It didn't stumble or anything, it just stopped dead.

I was wondering if it is possibly the ICM? How do I test for it? I think it is the module because it seems electrical, something gets hot and just quits.

Any suggestions?

 

did you check for spark, fuel pressure etc.

 

could be a number of things..
1. ignitor (ICM) The next time it stalls open the hood and pull out a spark plug wire from the distributor just about a half inch. Have someone crank while you look at the wire to watch for the spark jumping across to the wire. If you do NOT have spark jumping, you need an ignitor. Most people replace the ignitor and the coil at the same time, even if only one fails.
2. Fuel pump Relay (Main Relay) Next time it stalls, turn the key to the No. 2 Position and listen for the fuel pump priming (like a humming noise) from the tank. If the relay has gone bad this will be the first symptom.
3. Ignition Switch. If the other 2 things i mentioned are not the culprit we will go further into depth. Check those out first and good luck

 

I will try to look for a spark next time. I do hear the fuel pump so I even on no-starts, so I think it is getting fuel. The engine does crank, it just doesn't catch.

I figured it might of been the ignition because even the starting fluid didn't catch. Wouldn't that catch for a second even if there was no gas in the combustion chamber?

 

ur right about the starter fluid.if u had a spark it wud run on the ether for a second.would say ur problem is in or arond the distributor.BTW be careful with the ether,that **** can kill your engine if u use too much.