Mike,

I replaced the ignitor and and took it out for a little ride around the
block, about 20 miles, and it ran
without stalling. However, I will need to take it for a couple of rides
since there were days when it wouldn't
stall out. But it is a good sign so far. The new ignitor was slightly
different as it had its own heat sink attatched
to it. I just added a few more lock washers to take up the extra space on
the screws so that they wouldn't
protrude out beyond the bottom of the heat sink. Also, when I opened the
distributor cap to get at the ignitor,
I noticed that there was oil inside the cap. Seems like the seal from the
distributor and the engine head is
leaking. This might have contributed to the problem also. Is this seal easy
to fix?

Thanks,

Mike


"Michael Pardee" <michaeltnull@cybertrails.com> wrote in message
news:cbudnTqX-vQSpd3ZnZ2dnUVZ_t6dnZ2d@sedona.net...
> " Mo Man" <mo_man@charter.net> wrote in message
> newsXU%f.34$VD5.17@fe02.lga...
> > The car is 93 Accord with 5 speed standard trans. I've had the coil
> > replaced twice during this time. The last time was 5 months ago so I'm
> > kind of leaving that part out of the equation. The car seems to stall
> > while
> > driving on the highway for about 15 minutes or 15 miles. It will stutter
> > real quick once or twice and then die. I'm able to push the clutch in
and
> > turn the key all the way off and then re-start it while still coasting
> > unpowered.
> > If I don't switch the key all the way off, it will not restart. Any
ideas?
> > Fuel pump? Since this happens 3/4 into my commute I'm unsure if it will
do
> > it
> > again after 15 more minutes.
> >
> > Thanks for any responce
> >
> > Mike
> >
> >
> Only a partial response here....
>
> Having to turn the key off and back on suggests the ECU is deciding the
> engine isn't running and shuts off the fuel pump as a safety measure
> (standard in modern cars). It may be deciding that because the engine
dies.
> Another possibility is that the engine is dying of fuel starvation and
with
> pressure bled from the fuel rail it won't figure out the right mixture in
> time. One more: the ignition switch may be failing and only moving it all
> the way back to off will patch it up again.
>
> The crucial question is whether the engine is dying because of fuel or
> ignition problems. The driver gets two good clues: if the tach drops like
a
> stone and the power disappears like you flipped a switch the ignition is
> going away. If the tach follows the engine speed as it fades, and the
power
> seems to sag to nothing instead of lurching, you have fuel delivery
> problems.
>
> One final thing: if it acts like ignition and the warning lights don't
come
> on until you turn the switch off and back on, you can bet it's a bad
switch.
> (Outside chance it's a cracked connection inside the battery, but the
switch
> is the way to bet.)
>
> Start by reading over http://tegger.com/hondafaq/faq.html#startrun and see
> if anything rings a bell. It is a very good bet the problem is one of
those
> mentioned; actual fuel pump failures are rare in Hondas, for example.
Since
> the coil has been replaced twice we can pretty much rule that out. That
> leaves you with three classic trouble areas: the Main Relay (fuel pump
> relay), the ignitor and the ignition switch. As the driver you probably
have
> enough clues now to decide on a course of action. Good luck!
>
> Mike
>
>

 

Mike,

I replaced the ignitor and and took it out for a little ride around the
block, about 20 miles, and it ran
without stalling. However, I will need to take it for a couple of rides
since there were days when it wouldn't
stall out. But it is a good sign so far. The new ignitor was slightly
different as it had its own heat sink attatched
to it. I just added a few more lock washers to take up the extra space on
the screws so that they wouldn't
protrude out beyond the bottom of the heat sink. Also, when I opened the
distributor cap to get at the ignitor,
I noticed that there was oil inside the cap. Seems like the seal from the
distributor and the engine head is
leaking. This might have contributed to the problem also. Is this seal easy
to fix?

Thanks,

Mike


"Michael Pardee" <michaeltnull@cybertrails.com> wrote in message
news:cbudnTqX-vQSpd3ZnZ2dnUVZ_t6dnZ2d@sedona.net...
> " Mo Man" <mo_man@charter.net> wrote in message
> newsXU%f.34$VD5.17@fe02.lga...
> > The car is 93 Accord with 5 speed standard trans. I've had the coil
> > replaced twice during this time. The last time was 5 months ago so I'm
> > kind of leaving that part out of the equation. The car seems to stall
> > while
> > driving on the highway for about 15 minutes or 15 miles. It will stutter
> > real quick once or twice and then die. I'm able to push the clutch in
and
> > turn the key all the way off and then re-start it while still coasting
> > unpowered.
> > If I don't switch the key all the way off, it will not restart. Any
ideas?
> > Fuel pump? Since this happens 3/4 into my commute I'm unsure if it will
do
> > it
> > again after 15 more minutes.
> >
> > Thanks for any responce
> >
> > Mike
> >
> >
> Only a partial response here....
>
> Having to turn the key off and back on suggests the ECU is deciding the
> engine isn't running and shuts off the fuel pump as a safety measure
> (standard in modern cars). It may be deciding that because the engine
dies.
> Another possibility is that the engine is dying of fuel starvation and
with
> pressure bled from the fuel rail it won't figure out the right mixture in
> time. One more: the ignition switch may be failing and only moving it all
> the way back to off will patch it up again.
>
> The crucial question is whether the engine is dying because of fuel or
> ignition problems. The driver gets two good clues: if the tach drops like
a
> stone and the power disappears like you flipped a switch the ignition is
> going away. If the tach follows the engine speed as it fades, and the
power
> seems to sag to nothing instead of lurching, you have fuel delivery
> problems.
>
> One final thing: if it acts like ignition and the warning lights don't
come
> on until you turn the switch off and back on, you can bet it's a bad
switch.
> (Outside chance it's a cracked connection inside the battery, but the
switch
> is the way to bet.)
>
> Start by reading over http://tegger.com/hondafaq/faq.html#startrun and see
> if anything rings a bell. It is a very good bet the problem is one of
those
> mentioned; actual fuel pump failures are rare in Hondas, for example.
Since
> the coil has been replaced twice we can pretty much rule that out. That
> leaves you with three classic trouble areas: the Main Relay (fuel pump
> relay), the ignitor and the ignition switch. As the driver you probably
have
> enough clues now to decide on a course of action. Good luck!
>
> Mike
>
>

 

" Mo Man" <mo_man@charter.net> wrote in message
news:Nlc0g.75$vi3.28@fe02.lga...
> Mike,
>
> I replaced the ignitor and and took it out for a little ride around the
> block, about 20 miles, and it ran
> without stalling. However, I will need to take it for a couple of rides
> since there were days when it wouldn't
> stall out. But it is a good sign so far. The new ignitor was slightly
> different as it had its own heat sink attatched
> to it. I just added a few more lock washers to take up the extra space on
> the screws so that they wouldn't
> protrude out beyond the bottom of the heat sink. Also, when I opened the
> distributor cap to get at the ignitor,
> I noticed that there was oil inside the cap. Seems like the seal from the
> distributor and the engine head is
> leaking. This might have contributed to the problem also. Is this seal
> easy
> to fix?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike
>

The ignitor is a good suspect, if only because it is fairly inexpensive and
is about at the end of its life expectancy. (I don't know why they often
seem to fail after a decade or so, but that seems to be the track record.)
If the problem returns I would focus on the ignition switch, especially with
the lights not coming on until the switch was cycled. Now your ignitor
should last the rest of your car's life and won't strand you somewhere by
failing altogether.

I haven't had direct experience with the distributor failing, but others
have. I will leave that part to them.

Mike

 

" Mo Man" <mo_man@charter.net> wrote in message
news:Nlc0g.75$vi3.28@fe02.lga...
> Mike,
>
> I replaced the ignitor and and took it out for a little ride around the
> block, about 20 miles, and it ran
> without stalling. However, I will need to take it for a couple of rides
> since there were days when it wouldn't
> stall out. But it is a good sign so far. The new ignitor was slightly
> different as it had its own heat sink attatched
> to it. I just added a few more lock washers to take up the extra space on
> the screws so that they wouldn't
> protrude out beyond the bottom of the heat sink. Also, when I opened the
> distributor cap to get at the ignitor,
> I noticed that there was oil inside the cap. Seems like the seal from the
> distributor and the engine head is
> leaking. This might have contributed to the problem also. Is this seal
> easy
> to fix?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike
>

The ignitor is a good suspect, if only because it is fairly inexpensive and
is about at the end of its life expectancy. (I don't know why they often
seem to fail after a decade or so, but that seems to be the track record.)
If the problem returns I would focus on the ignition switch, especially with
the lights not coming on until the switch was cycled. Now your ignitor
should last the rest of your car's life and won't strand you somewhere by
failing altogether.

I haven't had direct experience with the distributor failing, but others
have. I will leave that part to them.

Mike