Engine dies suddenly and while cruising usually at light throttle.

All my electronics work. Lights, gauges, radio.

Usually i can get it to start back up right away, but sometimes, i'll have to coast to a stop. Wait a few minutes and it will start back up.

No CEL's. No sputtering. No Stalling at idle. No mis-fire. The engine just cuts out while driving.

It's not speed dependent because its happened to me on the highway and city. And its not temp. dependent because it will happen when the car is cold or warmed up.

I've done a full tune-up just to make sure its not that. New spark plugs, wires, rotor, cap and fresh oil-change.

Any ideas?
Thanks

 

I would test the ignitor and/or the main relay. Does the battery have full voltage? Do any of the lights flicker or go out when it dies that you know of?

Several possibilities...
Coil
Ignition switch
Ignitor
Low battery voltage
Main relay
fuel filter
probably some more....

 

Battery is fairly new. No lights go out, no flickering. Engine just dies. How do i test the igniter and/or main relay?

 

Check all your grounds.

 

When the engine stalls, do the warning lights in the gauge cluster turn on and stay on?

 

Heh, as silly as this sounds.
Make sure your battery terminals are nice and secure...
< voice of experience.

 

I think so. The Oil Pressure and battery light turns on and stay on. Not sure about the SRS. No CEL or Brake lights.

 

This^ rules out an ignition switch problem.

Ohm test the coil and have AutoZone test the ICM. Both are located inside the distributor.

 

A good AutoZone will do these both for you.
Don't call and ask if they do (three locally told me they couldn't anymore) just take them in and ask for them to be tested.

 

This is going to sound ridiculous but my buddy had this problem for almost 2 months, We replaced the spark plugs and the Dist. Cap and all is well.

 

Ok, so its either the ICM [Ignition Control Module] and/or the Ignition Coil.

The honda part# for the Ignition coil is 30510-PT2-006 which is about $92.00
The honda part# for the ICM is 06300-P2E-305 [but its actually a whole ignition kit] which is about $184.00

These prices seem steep. Are there aftermarket/cheaper alternatives? And where can I get JUST the ICM instead of the whole kit.

Thanks

 

Don't throw parts at the problem - do some basic diagnostic tests.

Check for spark and listen for whether the fuel pump primes when the engine won't start.

If there's no spark, then test the coil and ICM.

 

The car starts in the morning no problem. It just won't start right away ONLY after the car stalls out. It takes about 30 seconds of leaving it turned off, then it will start right back up.

Im thinking about going to a junkyard and getting these parts. ICM and Coil the same across all 6th gen civics? ex, lx, dx, hx?

 

I'm not 100%, but I'd imagine most ODB2b ones would be similar.

Easy way to check for yourself would be to hit up a website such as bkhondaparts majestichonda etc, and dig through their parts catalog and match PN's between the different models, if they're the same, score, if not, you saved yourself some time at a wrecker.

 

So do the diagnostics during this^ time when the engine won't start.

And if your chosen strategy is just to throw parts at the problem, then what's the point of creating a tech thread?

 

sounds like the main relay going bad and getting hot.

 

Sorry, i don't think i'm communicating my situation clearly. The engine dies ONLY WHILE DRIVING, usually at Cruise Throttle. Its never cut out while idle or just sitting there. I can't test it when it dies in the middle of the hwy or road.

My chosen strategy was to listen to the ideas in this thread.

 

The engine won't restart immediately, right? See your quote in post #15. This provides the opportunity for diagnostics.

 

MAIN RELAY! MAIN RELAY!!! MAIN RELAY!

yours is wearing out. and as the relay warms up the soldered contacts start to fail. that's why its will start up a little later and not right away. you can attempt to reader the connections. or its just a $50 new part.

 

Just to throw my fart in the wind, this happened to me on 2 different occasions:

1: I replaced my fuel pump with a walbro knockoff from a reputable dealer( I wont disclose) and all of a sudden, while driving, the engine would just cut off. Wait and wait, then it would crank up like nothings wrong. I replaced the pump with a walbro and that problem went away. (not to mention the engine ran lean and cracked a sleeve on my B20, but thats anothr story)

2: A few weeks back my engine cut off and I noticed my gauges were dying and acting crazy, I know this isnt your symptom, but posting this incase someone reads this.
It turned out I didnt put die electric grease on the Alt power nut and was corroded not supplying power and drained battery.

 

MY experiences with this issue:

1. Loose battery terminals
2. Main relay on its way out
3. Corroded key cylinder

Those three wil not yield a CEL.

 

Main Relay was the culprit. One of the solders had heat cracks. I bought a new one instead of trying to salvage the old one. 30 bucks, 10 mins of repair time..and done.

Thanks everyone