I was driving home in traffic when all of a sudden at a stop on the freeway the car stalled. I had to throw the tranny into N and restart the car. When I bought the car I noticed I had to pump the gas in order to start the car and sometimes the car chooses not to turn on at all!!
Has anyone had this problem?
I just did an oil change & replaced the starter.
I bought the Accord for $1,800 with 141k miles.

 

Have you checked the main relay for cold solder joints?

 

I haven’t, Is that located under the steering wheel?

 

Yeah, it should be under the dash around the footwell, it'll be easier to get to if you take off the plastic trim piece hiding all the wires. IIRC you just pull out the ashtray and remove 2 screws, then it should just be clips holding the rest in.


I had similar issues with my Accord (pumping gas to start/no warm start) and for me it was the main relay solder joints. You can try fixing it before you replace it to save a few bucks if the relay contacts internally are still good.
https://techauto.tripod.com/mainrelay.htm

 

Awesome so once I access the main relay how would I fix it? How much does a new one cost & where could I get one?

 

Sorry, I just saw your attached link!

 

This indeed fixed my issue, thank you!!

 

Glad to hear it!

 

What else could be the problem?
My Honda stalled earlier when I tried throwing it in Reverse. At this point I’ve replaced the starter & main relay!

 

Does it only happen when the car is warmed up?

 

It seems as though yes, I need to give it gas & sometimes it’ll start in the first time but often times after 2-3x starting

 

Maybe check if the IACV is stuck or dirty? Is there anything else weird besides the stalling?

You can check if you still have fuel and spark when it dies again and try to narrow it down that way

 

The only weird things to note are:
•check engine light
•having to pump gas on start
•random stalling in gear change

 

OK, you should probably check the code that’s triggering the CEL, might help you narrow it down

 

I’ll get the code & report back. I believe it’s OB1

 

96 should be OBD2

 

Where would it be located because I didn’t see it under the dash?

 

This is the code I got on my OBD2:
P1381

 

Nice! Do you have the shop manual downloaded?

Section 11-42/43 has a troubleshooting flowchart you can try to go through, hopefully that brings you a bit closer

 

I think I’ve narrowed it down to the distributor

 

Wow that was a quick reply LOL, yeah if the resistance is out of spec it might be the sensor in the distributor, otherwise it might be a loose connection/shot ECU

 

you think it’s best to replace the distributor as a whole or just the sensor?

 

If you can find a replacement sensor I don't see why not, but you might just end up cannibalizing another one since I don't think the sensor is usually sold separately as a part

What resistance are you reading from the sensor with everything disconnected?

 

I got the Distributor installed and now my Accord is starting on it’s first try!
The only weird thing is when I try to clear the CEL code, it will clear but then come back mid drive with the same code P1381?

 

Yeah you should measure the resistance at the sensor and also at the connector from the harness that plugs into the ECU, if the resistance is good on both of them then it might be the ECU