ok, the title says it all....first and foremost, this is an intermittent problem, meaning said vehicle will run PERFECT for weeks on end and then rarely when first started in the morning (a clue here, or extreme co-incidence) it runs incredibly rough, stalls, and then will not start....tries to (engine stumbles, buy wont quite start) ...like a timing issue of sorts...talking about a 2000 honda accord F23A4 engine...does not throw an OBD code typically but the last time it did (good 'ol 1399) I see all sorts of things to check like compression, blah blah blah, but again- it goes from good mode to bad mode like a switch....first suspected contaminated fuel, so I pulled the pump and peered down into the tank and it *looks* fine...perhaps fuel pump? hmmm don't think so... if i loosen the banjo connector at fuel rail it squirts like crazy, so....so I get another clue...of course the battery was ran down while going thru all of this, happened to have a new one which i popped in, tried to start, stumbled differently for a bit (flooded?)and then happily started right up..ran great for another month...other day, here we go again...reviewed in my mind past clues (p.s. I am an electronic engineer by trade and am very used to dealing with intermittents, so I'm used to this game) ...the battery thing kept on coming back to me... knowing disconnecting the batt resets the ECM to default values...ok I say, lets try this: unplugging/re-attaching the computer inside the car and see what that does....sure enough, the friggin' thing started right up! now wondering if the computer is hosed up or if an intermittent sensor is causing it to make real bad timing/ignition decisions...1st I'm going to change the ignition control module (ignitor, Honda's goofy name) in the distributor, as the poor thing bakes it's whole life and I've had them go before w/ similar consequences) crankshaft position sensor? that other sensor that lives in the distributor? hell, maybe even the coil ....dunno... this scenairo only happened 4 times and now it's running again and will not die...I actually bought another car as this is too unreliable...love it though- it's a 5 speed stick and fun to drive by the way, did I mention it has 273,000 miles on it body mint, I want to get it past 300,000 plus I just put a new clutch in it!

 

I suspected no one would touch this one...

 

Take this how you want......when you make it so hard to read and understand. Well, I just move on to the next thread I can read and follow.

 

Same here.

Please clean up your post and we'll have at it.

 

OK I tend to ramble on, and give too much info....it's what I do for a living...let's start over

(1) I own a car, a Honda, and it has an odd intermittent problem....

(2) It's pissing me off

(3) seems to be an ignition related issue, see my 1st post

(4) being intermittent, I am highly aware that "You cant fix what 'aint broke"

(5) All i need to know, is, what it is NOT... lets say, you tell me,it will never be the crankshaft sensor, they never go intermittent, when they die, it's permanent...or something like that...

(6) Come 'on Ya'all throw me a bone here I changed the Ignition Control Module (aka ignitor, stupid f'ing name) comprised of a couple of transistors and a semi-high power output stage...and a cap for ringing (bigger spark)

works fine so far....any thoughts? (and don"t tell me to see how it goes

looking for any history of similar issues...

simple enough?

 

ok, just in case... car suddenly runs rough/stalls/ will not restart after said episode...never...until I unplug computer/battery...then perfect for months...only happened 4 times, so the certainty of "fix" (meaning power interruption) is questionable....but the 4 times I did it corrected it...Hmmmmmm....