I have a 94 Honda Accord LX 2.2 5 speed (non VTEC) that I have driven over 100K miles with overall mileage unknown. I bought it second hand and the odometer had been replaced, with no record of the mileage at the time.


I have resolved many issues with this car over the years and had high confidence in driving it anywhere. I had issues with the main relay originally and after cleaning and resoldering every single joint, it has been flawless for years now.


So a few days ago I start out on a trip to meet a friend for lunch. About 15-16 miles from my house, it suddenly dies while I was driving at about 65-70mph. It was sudden, with no odd behavior prior to dying. The check engine light came on immediately. I pulled off the highway and restarted the engine. It did sputter some, but after a bit seemed to settle down. But when I tried to drive again, it just suddenly died the same way. I attempted to restart it, but it would fire up and then die, frequently in a second or less. Occasionally, it would run a bit, so I turned around to head back home. In just a very short time (maybe 15-30 seconds) it dies again and won't stay running more than a second or two.


I called the wife and had her tow me back to the house with our truck. When I got home, it still wouldn't stay running for more than a second or two, usually less.


After doing some research online, I decided to look at the ICM module inside the distributor. I have the external coil arrangement on this car. I found that the screw that secures the rotor to the distributor shaft had fallen out and was nestled by the ICM connections, although at that point, I couldn't really say it appeared to be shorting anything out.


I put it back in place, buttoned everything up, and the engine started immediately and continued to run. I realized I had left the air tube between the filter and the throttle body off, so I killed it and put it back on. The car started again immediately, and I left it running for awhile, and everything seemed fine. In fact the car seemed to idle better than before, although it was running fine prior, with just a hint of an occasional misfire at idle, but it has basically always done that. Nothing I would consider abnormal for this generation of vehicle.


I left the house to go to a nearby town to drop off some mail. After the slow drive to the highway (I live about .5-.7 miles for the paved highway, so driving the long driveway at around 15 mph. I got the mail from my box and started driving to the nearby town. After getting up to cruising speed, it suddenly died again and before it came to a stop, I turned around while I still had momentum. I tried several times to restart it, and like before, it would restart, but only for a second or two at most.


Called the wife again and towed it back home. This time after getting back, I was able to restart the engine and pull it back into the garage. Now it seems to run fine again. I left it running for at least 15-20 minutes with AC on and running around 1300-1500 rpm. It wouldn't die...


When I had the main relay issues previously, my usual symptom would be it would start just fine when cold, but after driving it a few miles and stopping somewhere, it would refuse to refire the engine. It would turn over just fine, but no restarting. I would just have to let it set for awhile and then it would restart at some point. Could be 5 minutes, could be 15 or so minutes. But after the repair work, I have never had this issue.


I have test meters, etc. and I'm fairly experienced working on this car, having replaced most major components of the drivetrain, both front axle/CV shafts (multiple times), converted to rotor over hub on the front brakes, distributor seals, timing belt, water pump, engine seals, cam seals, the O-rings under the rocker arm assembly, engine mounts, suspension bushings, alternator, oil gasket, O2 sensor, vehicle speed sensor, tie rod ends, wheel bearing, clutch master and slave cylinders, a complete clutch job when replacing the transaxle, AC evaporator coil, condenser coil, expansion valve, receiver/dryer, heater control valve, EGR valve, cleaned out the EGR manifold and passages, and probably other things I don't even remember anymore, all myself. I do most of the maintenance on all my vehicles, so not a novice by any means...


This one has be puzzled, and I'm looking for advice. Given the unknown mileage, I was initially suspicious of the fuel pump, but the fact that it wouldn't stay running more than a few seconds prior to working on the distributor, and then ran for considerable amounts of time after replacing the rotor screw, I am more inclined to think this is ignition related. I know if the injectors lose power, it will die immediately. A failing fuel pump would likely be a scenario where the engine would sputter a lot and run very poorly before dying. And other than the initial time I tried to restart it, it seems to run great, until it suddenly dies. Each time the CEL comes on, but after restarting, it never stays on. Do I have to check the codes while the light is on, the ignition switch still on?


Any suggestions on determining if the ICM is going bad?

 

Likely the CEL codes won't show anything. The CEL will come on if you stall the engine yourself (with the clutch) even when nothing is wrong. But check it anyway.

I think a proper test of the ICM is difficult at home, but some autozone-type stores can test them. Worth a couple phone calls to find a place that can do that. Search for "ignitor test" for something about a flashing test-lamp while cranking the starter.

 

Check for CEL codes.

One thing to try is to shake the key while the engine is running to see if you can get the car to stall out. If it stalls out, then electrical part of the ignition switch is confirmed. If it does not stall out, you can't rule out the ignition switch.

A better way is to back-probe the blk/yel wire at the distributor with a test light that is grounded to the other end. Make the light visible while driving. You can look to see if you lose power to the distributor when the engine cuts out.

 

I don't know if the igniter in your '94 is the same is in my previous gen Accord, but here's the test in my shop manual for my igniter (pic is a full page, so I just put a link to it):

http://i67.tinypic.com/dqn7o8.png