The last couple weekends when I took the '98 Accord LX 4-door, 4-cyl out, I had a situation where the car would stall when I press the clutch, and when I tried to start, it would start, but immediately die. This was very intermittent, BTW (car mileage is about 186K)

So I purchased an OEM Hitachi ICM and OEM Hitachi coil and replaced them Friday night. I took it for a couple test drives, couldn't reproduce the problem.

Yesterday, I had the car out, and after it was warmed up, shut-off and started up, it would very often just stall (usually at relatively low speeds), and when you'd try to start it, it would "catch", but immediately stall. I would do this 4-5 times, then eventually it would stay running.

So I'm at a bit of a loss here. The distributor, plugs, and plug wires were replaced last winter, so I feel like it's not an ignition system problem.

I started to think this was a fuel pump problem, but it doesn't act like that either. I thought perhaps a fuel filter, but then it would happen all the time, right?

I checked the VIN and it was subject to the ignition switch recall, but it shows as having been done.

So where should I look next?

I'd really appreciate any help you might provide.

 

Just because the switch was replaced once before does not rule it out. Next time this happens....try holding the key "slightly" forward and see if stays running and then if you release the key it dies out.

Next, when this happens and you try to start it. Turn the key to on/pos II and listen for the fuel pump to prime.

 

Thanks for the tips. This morning, I tried jiggling the key to see if I could make it stall with no luck.

Also, I popped out the main (fuel) relay, and although it looked okay, I did a resolder of the joints.

I took it out for a quick run this morning, and no issues (as it was cold).

 

Wiggling the key is not a definitive test of the switch….so IMHO it is still “in play”. Another thing to look for, when it dies - what if any of the dash warning lights are on?

I'm hoping that the "touch up" of the main relay does the trick

 

No lights on (think). And what's weird is when the engine dies after trying to restart, the tach falls fast like all the power was cut.

I'll pay better attention when it happens again.

 

So I took it out for a ride (to the Honda Dealer, just for laughs), walked around the lot for 15 minutes, and sure enough it stalled coming out of their parking lot.

I looked at the dash, no light was on, like someone shut the key off.

I was still rolling so I let the clutch out to catch it in gear. It wouldn't catch.

So I pushed in the clutch and tried to start it, it stalled immediately. I took the key, and pushed it forward (like sliding the whole key), turned the key and it started and it was fine.

I think the ignition switch looks guilty at this point.

 

The part is ordered, and will arrive shortly, but I'm away for a couple of weeks. I will post a resolution when I return.

 

So 3 weeks later, the part arrived, I am back from travel, and I put the switch in. It takes about 45 minutes, and is pretty trivial.

I took it for two test drives, and I cannot provoke stalling. This looks pretty promising.

If you get a chance, take apart the old switch, and it's a part that should probably have been made from a better material than the white nylon plastic.