1996 Honda Accord Engine stalls after idling

1996 HONDA ACCORD

192,000 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • MANUAL

CD5329

MEMBER
3 POSTS
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OK...first, i was driving and it kept stalling, fortunately i was able to park it. Started up just fine again and engine sounded normal, then "choked" out. all interior lights..even a/c turned on and off. I started with the fuel pump, dropped the tank and replaced the whole bracket. Started again, and it idled for a minute or so then choked out again, all interior lights working. Continuing to start over and over again led to engine not turning at all when cranked. A couple of hours later tried it again and it did the same thing. The battery and alternator are new..spark plugs are new, bays were cleaned out. wiring to the plugs are fairly new, fuel lines are looking good and replaced. There is not any noticeable damage to the vacuum lines. My initial guess was the distributor but i only know a little about a little bit when it comes to car repairs. My other guess would be the air/fuel mixture since it is "choking" without a sputter; however if that was the case, why would it run at all if there was no air meeting the fuel?
If i can pinpoint what is going on here it would be great!

Jul 15, 2009 at 5:07 AM

KHLOW2008

CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
41,814 POSTS

Hi cd5329,

Thank you for the donation.

Just need to confirm this with you. Does the dash indicator lights fllicker or goes OFF when ignition switch is slowly turned to ON? Do they flicker or goes off while cranking?

When engine stalled, did all the dash lights shows?

From your description of the AC tuning ON and OFF, I suspect the ignition switch to be the cause.

Jul 15, 2009 at 11:17 AM

CD5329

MEMBER
3 POSTS

the dashlights dont flicker, when they key is turned on you can hear the fuel pump going all of the dash lights turn on like normal. when the car dies, the batt light, check engine and all the caution lights come on in the car and dont flicker
the ignition switch is good, that was replaced about 6 months ago. Without going too far in depth, is there a strong likelihood it could be a bad distributor? The reason i ask is because when it does run, for the short time it does, it does not run rough, and when the engine is revved up to 3 or 4 grand it isnt missing or back firing at all, it sounds good. One of my buddies mentioned that he was having the same kind of issues and it was a faulty distributor
thanks for your help!! It is greatly appreciated!!

Jul 15, 2009 at 1:32 PM

KHLOW2008

CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
41,814 POSTS

The questions are for understanding the problem so that the correct diagnosis can be made.

Yes, the problem could be a bad ignition coil or ignition control module, both of which are located in the distributor.

When starting is not possible, testings would have to be carried out to determine if it is igniton, fuel or electrical that is missing.

Here is a link that provides testing procedures etc. If you require more information, let me know.

https://www.2carpros.com/kpages/first_things.htm

Jul 16, 2009 at 10:05 AM

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