I have a 94 Accord with 143k miles. Recently, while I'm driving, the engine will suddenly shut off and the engine light comes on. I can pull over, turn off the car and usually start it up right away. It has even done this for a split second while driving - it will shut down then restart by itself. It can go for miles before it happens but it's happening every day now.

I asked a guy at a parts store and he seemed sure it was the ECM. I took it to a mechanic who said he's never had to replace an ECM. He tried to find out whats wrong but couldn't get it to stall - of course! But he did look up on some web site and the answer he got back was that it's a loose distributer shaft that's creating a magnetic field in the distributer and grounding it out. But he could'nt guarantee it.

I'm about to give up - any help is appreciated.

 

If the check engine light came on, then there is a code stored in the engine computer.

Get the code by shorting the service connector with a thin paper clip or a piece of wire.

See the site below with a good set of instructions and pics.

http://www.dhost.info/accordinfo/howto/cel.html

Post the code, then we can give you better information about your problem.

 

sounds like a electr part of the ignit switch to me...........but again to properly diagnose it car has to act up

when u say car shut off and engine lite comes on,, do you mean the chk engine lite is on even after car starts?? or do u mean lite comes on as soon as car dies ??

 

Can you make it stall by wiggling the key?

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll try to get the code. The care stalls when the check engine light comes on and will restart when the light goes off.

It did not stall when I jiggled the key.

Any other ideas are welcome - thank you.

 

I tried putting the paper clip in the ODB conection but the check engine light didn't blink. It just stayed on.

 

I was also going to suggest wiggling the key because it sounds ignition-related to me as well. Hmm... I'm stumped. Don't listen to the guy at the parts store. ECM - I highly doubt it. On this forum, I have never once heard of any problem actually being the ECM. Even though many so-called "mechanics" said it was. As far as the "loose distributor shaft creating a magnetic field" - sounds pretty lame to me. I've never heard of that before either.
It's probably something much simpler.
Have you checked to make sure the battery connections are clean and tight? That is one of the first things I check if any car ever suddenly turns off or won't start.
Does it do anything else when it shuts off?
Any other lights come on?
How often does this happen?
How long does it normally take to restart?
When you restart it, does it just fire right up like nothing is wrong?
Is the car automatic or manual transmission?
Do you have an aftermarket car alarm installed (or has one ever been installed that you know of)?

 

Sorry - It's not the ECM, it's the Ignition Control Module (ICM) that the store guy mentioned. Now that you mention it, the battery and oil lights both come on when it shuts down. Nothing else happens though, the radio and lights all still work and it just starts right back up. It's a manual trasnsmission and no alarm system.

 

ICM ("ignitor") can fail a lot more than engine controller. Still, there's thread in DIY about how to tell the difference between a bad ignitor vs. a bad coil.