I posted this on another site 3 months ago:
I have a 1999 accord 77,000 miles. Just had a 90,000 mile maintenance. I was driving on the interstate about 20 minutes and it just shut down. It has done this randomly about once a week for about 6 weeks. It cranks right up after it shuts down. It also might take 1-3 tries to crank the first time. I have taken it to the dealer and they can't find the problem. What could it be?

Someone suggested it was the PGFMI relay, so I took it to the dealer and they agreed it might be, so they changed the main relay. That seemed to work for about 2 months, no problems.

About 1 month ago it started happening again. Just shuts off 1-3 times per week while driving, always in the afternoon. Never in the morning. Sometimes it cranks back up immediately, but it has taken 10-12 tries on one occasion. The dash lights come on and the radio still works when it happens.

It has been at a mechanics shop for two days trying to replicate the problem, but to no avail. Any thoughts?

 

Wow this was totally the situation on my 94 Accord. Never an issue when it was cold outside at first, only shut off on me on the way home from work in the heat of the afternoon. Trust me eventually it won't matter when, it will just shut off randomly. This is both annoying and dangerous as hell! I had a soldered main relay, new ignition switch and new coil pack, all while this issue was happening. Well turns out the culprit was the damn ignitor inside the distributor. I was told they don't just sometimes work and sometimes not, ignitors simply fail but this seems to not be the case in all situations. The reason your mechanic can't find the issue is because its not happening when he is checking the car. I can almost guarantee the car throws a code 15 ignition failure when it dies. The check engine light will not stay on after it shuts off, you need to jump the plug under the glovebox right after and read the flash sequence.

Hope you get it all fixed, as I know first hand how much of a pain in the *** this is to deal with.

Adam

 

2nd the ignitor, plus have them check your battery terminals and grounds

 

Thanks guys. The mechanic mentioned it could be the distributor ocassionally not sparking, which would cause it to shut down. This just seconds the motion.

 

Ignition switch failure can cause random stalling.

 

X2.. Mine was doing the exact thing. It would stall pulling into traffic and all sorts of dangerous stuff. Went from once a week to daily and I changed the ignition switch and no more problems.

 

It shut off again last night while driving home, but it did something different. All of the warning lights on the dashboard lit up, including the 4 doors ajar and the trunk open light. It started up, but shut again about 10 seconds later and would not stay cranked, so had to tow it home. So, is it an electrical problem?

 

WOW, I didn't scroll down in the forum until now, but I just posted the exact same thing for my 98' Accord. Same problem, always happens in the afternoon.

 

Check it out, just found this recall on ignition switches from back in 2002:

http://www.driveaccord.net/PDF/ignition_switch.pdf

 

How much did this cost you guys? Since my 1999 accord started happening.

 

There is a ignition switch recall for 99 hondas. I would check with the dealership and also get your vin number. I had mine replaced back when they had the recall. I had this same problem with my 99 Honda recently. The car would die in the middle of driving on the freeway. It was crazy!!!! I had it towed to the mechanic and they could not find out what was wrong with it. They could not make the car die again. This happened off and on for another month and finally the car just stopped starting. It was turning over but seemed like it was not getting any fuel. I also notice the main relay was not clicking anymore and finally changed it. It was the grey box Siemens VRM-0022, right next to the sterring column. It was a pain to get out and put back in. . I tried to resolder the old one but it still did not work so i finally bought a new one. I would check the main relay again, listen for the clicks.

 

ignition for sure,,, happaned in my 99

 

sweet! thanks for the info i have been having this exact same problem, going to go to Honda and check out the recall to see if they can still change it out.

 

Very Scary Situation, I just got that 99 Accord EX V6 a few weeks ago. How can I find out the previous owner had the ignition switch recall fixed? Sometimes I asked the owner a question about that car, she always said "don't know, all my dad taken care of it!"

Thanks

Danny