I am going to be getting my Step Dad's 6th Gen Accord. Every now and then, the car will shut off/stall. I looked up this problem, and came across two big ones that people have commonly had problems with. The car will be going, or even stopped, and the car will suddenly stall. During my research, I looked up how a faulty immobilizer can make it stall. A way I found how to check it, is to turn the car on and see if the engine shuts off before I turn the key all the way to off.

When doing the trial, the car shut off and I was not even 1/10th of the way to the off position (Just barely off the second (on) position)! To see if it did it in other cars, I tried it in the other two cars at my house, and I had to turn the key all the way to the off position (or the 1) for the engine to shut off.

What the symptoms are when the engine does stall, I have no idea. I have not been in the car when it stalls on us. I have however, been behind my step dad when it has occurred, and apparently it happens every so often. The car is also past due for a nice tune up, but wouldn't that just make the engine run like crap, and not stall when at a stop or all the way to 65 on the freeway? When the engine is going, I have driven it to try to make it stall, and flooring it (Yeah, I know, I floored it) did not make it stall. So before I go ahead and replace it for him, I want to make sure that my assumption is correct.

I went on Honda.com to see if the recall on the ignition switch had been changed (not meaning it still can't be the culprit), typed in the VIN, and no current recall is there for the car. It is a 1998 Honda Accord LX. However, I want to try one or the other first, and to m, it seems as if my research points towards a faulty/bad/old immobilizer.

My question is, am I right about this assumption? Is there something else I should try before replacing the immobilizer? Is there something else I can do to test things? According to my step dad, the check engine light comes on every so often, then shuts itself off, however the only light I have seen whenever I am in the car, is the maintenance light.

Thank you for reading, sorry if it is a bit wordy.

 

If the CEL is coming on while driving, check for any stored codes. It may simply be a dying or intermittant connection for the ignition or crank sensor circuits.
If the ignition switch is sloppy from having too many keys or trinkets hanging on the key chain, then it is possible the igntion switch is worn out. Pull it off and inspect the contacts for excessive wear.

 

Alright, well I tried bringing the car to O'reiley's to see if they could pull the code, but they said the CEL needs to be on at the moment I bring it to them.

And for checking the contacts, you mean remove the cylinder from the steering column and see how the inside is fairing? (New enough to cars to not know everything, but experienced enough to do things as instructed or am taught.) I wish I had my multi-meter, because I would just check the ignition switch right now, but I have misplaced it, so trial and error is kind of my thing right now

 

That's someone who doesn't understand how the PCM works.
There are active and hard fault codes which cause the CEL to illuminate. Intermittent faults/codes will be stored in the PCM to be retrieved via a code reader.
The plastic igntion switch is attached to the back of the key tumbler.
You will need to remove the lower column cover to gain access to the switch will be the plastic part on the opposite end of where the key inserts.

If the plastic wears, or the contacts inside the drum are worn you may get intermittent contact or the contact breaks electrical contact and the car shuts off.
If there was a problem with the immobilizer, i would think the security warning lamp would illuminate.