I have a 1196 accord with just under 100k miles that stalls for no apparent reason. of course when I get it to the shop it runs perfectly. Last time I had the shop replace the distributor cap and rotor new plugs and wires, pretty much everything except the ignigtor. It ran fine for a couple of weeks but now stalls and once again when it gets to the shop it works fine. any suggestions on what could be the problem. both I and the shop are stumped? When it dies no lights or anything come on, it just quits.

 

What is 1196?

With the engine running, can you get the car to stall out by shaking the key?

 

A typo I meant 1993 honda accord

 

I will try that and see....what does that tell me if it does???

 

Thanks for explaining, I just wanted to make sure it was a typo.

If you can get the car to stall out by shaking the key, then the electrical part of the ignition switch is worn out and needs replaced. Shake the key in the direction that you normally turn the key.

If nothing happens when you shake the key, then it still could be the electrical part of the ignition switch among some other things.

Also, check for engine codes. In the DIY section, there is a writeup on this called how to check CEL codes.

 

Tried shaking the key as you suggested but could not get the car to stall Any other suggestions????

 

When it dies....does it start back up right away?

 

No it does not..... but after it sits or the next day starts up with no problem and runs great for a couple of days

 

....could still be the ign switch, or the ICM. Next time it does this can you test for spark at the plugs.

 

Does it stop only when you're at idle? If so, I had an issue that was almost identical to this.

Engine would display check engine light and then at the next idle the engine would stall out. I think it could keep going as long as I didn't stop but I'm not sure. For the times it's happened to me it never happened while I was rolling. Maybe I was lucky?

Engine would not start until I waited about five or seven minutes.

First mechanic thought it was a short, fixed it, nothing changed.
Then the mechanic thought it was oil in the spark plug wells or the distributor cap. Nothing changed after replacing those. Replacing the entire distributor fixed the issue but I had a strong suspicion it was the ICM inside the distributor in the first place because the car was throwing up a Code 15, Ignition Input/Output Signal.

Of course this was on a 1995 Accord but I don't think the similarities can be ignored as both models use a distributor with ICM.

As for actually replacing it, it seems like the only thing you didn't replace aside from the sensors in the distributor since you replaced the cap and rotor. But I heard if you're going to replace the ICM that you might as well replace the entire distributor so I went that route. Maybe if you already replaced the cap and rotor you're better off just replacing the ICM?

Needless to say after replacing the distributor the car worked like a charm and that was a couple of months ago, still going strong and hasn't stalled since. Good luck!