I'm driving my 1993 honda accord ex...5 speed this morning. I felt a thrust, then the check engine light came on, a couple seconds later a few red lights came on and then there was no power. Coasted to a stop, put on my flashers, waited a few minutes, the car started and then I went on my way. Several hours later...drove it for 10 minutes...same thing happened again only sooner...is it my alternator?

 

Since your Check Engine Light came on, you should check for any stored trouble codes. On the passenger dash side, there is a blue connector that you can jump with a wire or small paper clip to retrieve any trouble codes.

techauto.awardspace.com/ecu.html

Post the trouble code(s) on this forum or at least what you observed.

 

When no-start condition occurs, try following:

If Check Engine Light (CEL) is on, get the codes (Check DIY forum for OBD1 procedure) and post them.

First step w/ no-start is to understand whether fuel or ignition is source of the problem, no matter what you might think is the problem.

These checks must be done when No-start condition exists. It will do no good to check when car is starting.

1) Turn keyswitch to On. Does the CEL, Alt, and Oil light come on immediately. CEL should go off after 2-3 secs.
2) When keyswitch is turned Off to On, you should also hear a soft click from under the dash and fuel pump in fuel tank come on and run for 2-3 secs. Fuel pump will stop and CEL will go off at same time.

If above 2) checks show all lights are coming on correctly, and you hear the fuel pump run/cut-off, then fuel delivery is likely and ignition fault is likely.

If you're missing the Alt, Oil, and CEL coming on, then ignition switch assembly is likely faulty. Easy diy replacement. See DIY forum.

If ignition is indicated, suggest going to techautorepairs.com/ignition.html for guidance on diagnosing where igntion is failing.

good luck

 

Was the CEL still on when the engine went off? I had an experience where a CEL came on and stayed on even when engine shut off. Symptoms resembled yours where the car would shut off and not start until a few minutes had passed when the car would start but the same problem would occur again down the road.

1. As redbull said, pull the codes to see what the car says.
2. Follow the symptoms here to see what the FAQ thinks. Starting Problems

Don't throw money at this problem, do some testing, pull the codes and do some research to get a good educated guess and then go in that direction. Also don't be so willing to part with your money because a mechanic said so. It helps if the mechanic is ASE certified but some people have reported some nasty situations involving mechanics (which is unsurprising). If anything get multiple opinions. In some cases this may not help either as I've read an experience from one person involving a blinking D4 light which was reported to be three expensive and different possibilities by three different mechanics. A fourth mechanic found it was simply an unhooked solenoid connector which was reconnected for free and fixed the blinking D4 light on the spot.

In my case I follow the two steps and fixed the problem. Here's an explanation:
1. I pulled a code 15 from the car.
2. Then I went on the FAQ and found that my symptoms closely matched this:
"Car is fully warm, stalls suddenly while driving, then won't restart unless you let cool down for a while"
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ignit...ure/index.html

Then I checked the parts in the section likely to cause that problem. The igniter section was interesting as it matched my symptoms exactly (engine shuts off, CEL still on, code 15). Replaced the distributor which also replaces the igniter since the igniter is in the distributor and the problem was solved. It was a dumb idea on my part to replace the entire distributor, I should have replaced the igniter first.