My 96 Honda Accord recently starting stalling at random times. Sometimes after driving and pulling into parking space it would die, other times while driving or idling. It progressively became more frequent and became harder to start after it stalled. The last time it took a while to restart and then I had to keep giving it gas to limp it home. The next day it started and would die right afterwards, so I ended up having it towed to independent shop. The next day they said it looked like ECU and dealer would have to replace. Since I had problem with ECU several years ago, I had a spare one that had some problems with CYP code. I swapped it out and was able to limp it home after it stalled once while driving. I ordered another ECU and replaced it today....it started up fine but after running for a bit in the driveway, it stalled out. Restarted okay and pulled into garage and it stalled again. Looks like something else besides ECU. No check engine light codes. Any other ideas on troubleshooting? I assumed the shop checked fuel pressure, spark, etc but now I think they just punted since the car is so old they didn't want to mess with it. When it dies, it doesn't run rough struggling to stay up, it's more like flipping a switch as it cuts off instantly. Main relay? Ignition control module? Any suggestions on what to check next? Thanks for the help

EDIT: I just started it up and tried jiggling the key around to see if it might be related to ignition switch, but that didn't cause it to stall out. While it was running in park, I noticed when switching to reverse, neutral, etc that each time it dropped to very low rpm almost stalling but didn't stall. Any ideas on what to check next?

 

I cleaned throttle body today but it made no difference. The car started up with no problems, ran for a while in park until the engine warmed up and then it died. Restarted with no issue but died again within a minute. Now I'm thinking it's something related to temperature. At cold start, it idles at 1200 RPM and then drops to 750 RPM when warm. I also noticed as the car warmed up, I never saw the radiator fan cut on unless I turned on the A/C and then both fans come on. Any ideas?

 

The startup procedure you describe is normal. High idle at first, and then settles to about 750rpm once warm.

If I were you, I'd make sure the spark coming from the Ignition Control Module (Ignitor) inside the distributor is strong and consistent. Lack of adequate spark can cause stalling. The engine may start back up, even run fine for a bit, and then stall again.

 

To test this, do I connect spark tester to output of distributor? Does spark tester just indicate if there is spark or does it indicate strength of the spark?

 

To test the actual ignitor, you'd have to remove it from the distributor and run the tests. You should get a shop manual or book for your vehicle to see the step by step procedure.

I have learned to diagnose weak spark at the plug wire by pulling the wire and then arcing the spark to a ground, such as the head gasket, and looking at the color of the spark. A weak spark might be bluish-orange in color, but he spark required to keep ignition going is white hot.

One of the problems with figuring out if the ignitor isn't producing the right spark is that sometimes it does, and sometimes not. That is why after a stall due to spark, a few minutes later it might start up fine, and run fine for a while, before stalling again.

It's not the best thing to do-- to leave the key in the run position after the engine stalls-- and then check the spark that is continuing to flow, but I have done it before and saw the weak spark that was causing my stalling with my own eyes.

You have to decide how you want to go. Arcing spark and all that involves serious voltage. Even weak spark coming out of the distributor is a lot of volts.

If you haven't done anything to your distributor in a lot of miles, perhaps it's time to replace it anyway.

Your 96 is a bit more sophisticated (OBD2) than my 93 (OBD1), so are you seeing a Check Engine Light, and if so, have you had the stored codes read?

 

Check the ECU, its possible you are having leaking capacitors. All you need do is pull it out from under the carpet on the passenger side and remove the 5 top screws. If it smells like rotting fish or you can see bulging capacitors it may be time to replace those before it gets worse.

 

No Check Engine codes show up. I have a spare distributor that I will try to swap out this weekend to rule out the ignitor and ignition coil in the distributor. If it still fails, then I'm guessing main relay or ignition switch.

 

I did swap the ECU as part of my troubleshooting, but there was no change. The ECU was used from eBay so I guess it's possible it could be bad too. If after swapping distributor, I still have the issue I will pull out ECU and open it up to inspect for leaking capacitors or weird smells.

 

I couldn't find my spare distributor....hope it didn't get thrown away during a garage cleanup! So instead today I removed the ignition coil which on my engine is external to the distributor. It tested okay as far as the resistance specs and continuity, so I'm guessing that is not the problem. Are there any resistance or continuity checks I can do on the ignition control module within the distributor?

 

Sounds like you're handy with a multimeter and have some technical procedures for your Accord in hand..

The ignitor is about the size of a book of matches and is placed in the distributor in a way that all of its terminals are not readily accessible, but I think I have heard of people probing it without taking it out of distributor, but it requires poking through some wire insulation a little bit. You'll see what you've got once you get in there and look at it. If your multimeter has the pin type probes and not clips, you might be able to poke in to get contact and check the specs on the different terminals. I used a T-Pin thing like is used to pin stuff to office cubicle walls to probe wires on my Honda before. I think I did the TPS and something else with that method. Done right, the test will tell you if the ignitor is up to snuff.

 

I haven't had much time to work on this last week, but today I fired it up in the driveway again. It started up right away and left idling in park for over 10 mins until engine warmed up to operating temperature. I then notice the engine sounds like it slows down a bit and noticed rpm dip low before it stalled. Restarted and noticed the rpm needle jumping all over the place between 0 and 1500 but the engine itself was not revving up or down. Then shortly after it stalls again and then it's harder to start. When it was harder to start, I turned key to on and could hear the fuel pump kick on so now I'm guessing I could rule out the main relay. Sounds like spark issue when engine warms up but I haven't been able to test it further yet. I wish I could locate my spare distributor I had so I could swap ignitor out or the whole unit. Do you think based on this repeatable scenario that it probably is NOT the main relay but more likely ignitor or distributor related? I read some other posts stating a bad ground could cause the jumpy tachometer too, so I will try to check those as well. I appreciate the input I've received and promise to respond when this gets resolved (either by getting fixed or sent to salvage yard!). It irritates me to read forums where the original poster never posts the resolution, so I won't be that guy!

 

UPDATE - I finally got back to working on this again. I had trouble getting to the ignitor because of a stripped rotor screw, so I finally just decided to replace the entire distributor. The stalling when warm issue seems to have been resolved, so it most likely was the ignitor inside the distributor. One thing I noticed after replacing the distributor is my idle is now lower (cold startup idle is now a bit below 750 when it used to be around 1200, warm idle is below 750 when it used to be right at 750. If my timing is a bit off with the distributor swap, would this cause the idle change?

 

Possibly, but more likely, it wouldn't idle as smoothly if the timing was off. The slight choppiness might not be serious, but you would notice it if you pay careful attention.. If you put in the new distributor by "feel," you should set your timing to factory spec., which should be on a sticker somewhere under the hood. If you have a timing light that lets you target how many degrees before/after Top-Dead-Center you want it be, you can easily nail the timing perfectly, particularly if you have a helper to work the light while you move the distributor.

I don't know about yours, but on mine, I take the computer out of the loop with a jump wire so it won't try to undo the timing adjustment while I'm working on it. If you get it right, when the computer is plugged back in, it will be happy. Speaking of the computer, before you do anything else, you should clear it by pulling the fuse, or taking off the negative battery cable for a minute or so. It might even smooth things out for you itself when plugged back in.

Also, while searching for the trouble, if you turned the so called "air screw" in the throttle body that is designed to allow the right amount of air for proper idle, you should put it back where it was, but do it while setting the idle, which is an easy procedure you can find on this site. It really is the only foolproof way to set the idle on these cars.