I have a 1999 Honda Accord EX 3.0L V-6 and it's acting up and I can't find the problem. When I drive it for some distance it will be like you just reach down and turn the key off. It will lose all power and start to decrease in speed then I can it will kick back in and be ok for awhile before it does it again. It gets so bad sometimes I'll pull over to the side of the road and it's running so rough; seems like it's running on 3 cylinders; I'll turn it off and restart it and it runs fine again for awhile till it acts up again. It doesn't do this all the time; just ever so often.. It runs like it has water in the gas but I've had the tank drained and wiped out. It did great for awhile then it started acting back-up again. I've put a new distributor on it, checked the crankshaft position sensor and throttle position sensor. Someone please give me some advice and help because this car is about to drive me crazy. Thanks in advance to anyone who replies to help me.

 

Flaky ignition switches are not uncommon. If you can make it happen by wiggling the key, then that's it.
Unfortunately, if you can't make it happen by wiggling the key, that does NOT prove the switch is OK.

Does the check-engine light come on? Get the error code(s) to see if there's anything there to help out.

 

The check engine light has never came on and it doesn't show any codes. That's what's so dang frustrating about this thing. I don't have a clue where to start to find the problem.

 

Does the check-engine light come on for 2 seconds when you first turn the key? (bulb-check)

 

Yes; it does that I'm 95% sure it does. What are you thinking if it doesn't come on? Thanks

 

JimBlake: the maintainence required light comes on for a couple seconds but the check engine light does not come on any.

 

Since the check engine light isn't turning on, the light may be out. Stop by a parts store and have them scan for codes. Cods will still be stored on the computer even when the light isn't working.

Post the actual code on here. They start with the letter P and have four numbers, like P1234.

 

I have a handheld Autel code scanner and it isn't showing any codes. It show a P0401 one time and I erased it out after running the scan.

 

When the car acts up, do the dash lights act like you just shut off the key and turned it back on?

P0401 is for a blocked egr passage. This could cause the engine to run poorly.

Try the fix in this video.

 

No the lights on the dash are unaffected when it acts up. I put a new EGR valve on it but it didn't help it so I returned it and got my money back. It can get expensive when you start buying parts to try and find the problem.