I have an idea for an easy test for the entire fuel system.

Would the car be able to do110 mph (on level ground) with a faulty fuel-system component?

 

Just to clear up any possible confusion,my last question was not a joke.

 

The answer is no. By nature an intermittent problem comes and goes. Obviously, when going 110 mph, the problem was not present.

good luck

 

Actually, I haven't done this yet. I was proposing doing it to test the fuel-delivery system.

I figured that if the fuel pump wasn't pumping enough gas, or the fuel filter was partially plugged, thatthe fuel-delivery systemwould not be able to supply enough gas to the engine for it to run at high speed.

But I get your point.If the problem is truly "intermittent", that means that either the problem is there, or itisn't - like an on-off switch, fully on or fully off and no "in between".

 

It sounds more electrical to me.... you mentioned that when it died it just died, it didn't sputter or anything. A fuel issue would have caused it to act like it was out of gas. unless the fuel pump just died (like it wasn't getting power anymore)

 

My wife and I hopped into the car this moring, ready to troubleshoot any starting problem. (The car had not run since yesterday at around 3 pm. This morning it was very cool in the garage - around 55 F, and probably around 70% RH.)

The car started first time and ran perfectly, etc., etc., etc. I tapped on the master relay while the car was running and it continued to run just fine.

We made a ten-minute test drive and the car ran perfectly. (Nice job I didon the suspension, I must say.)

After the drive, we went back into the house to have some more coffee. (What else could "we" do?)

My wife mentioned that yesterday was more humid than today, so maybe that's got something to do with it.That's a better guess than my "I don't have a clue".

One thing's for sure, unlessthe problembecomes much more frequent,itis going to bevery difficultto diagnose its cause.

 

BTW, does this sound anything like itcould be the car's ECU malfunctioning?

 

Resecure all fuses/relays in the underhood fuse box and inside the cabin. Don't rule out the main relay just yet. This could be an "early warning" sign of impending main relay doom.

Possible fuel contamination that's now cleared out of the system (e.g. small amount of water in the gas?)

If this engine uses crank/cam position sensors that's another killer place to look, check wiring/connectors. Without any codes and no scan tool to watch the tach signal that's a hard one to diagnose online.

 

I Had the same problem in my 98 accord. It turned out to be the wire harness for the ignition switch. The mech.
told me that the contacts at the ignition switch would heat up and short-out to the point that as if the car was turned off. Then he gave me the old harness and I could clearly see the 1/2 melted contacts.
Cost of repair= $120

 

Thanks for the information.

I haveone question for you.

It's now been 5 days since that starting/stalling incident and since that time the car has run perfectly. Did you have a similar experience - where there would be long periods of time between these malfunctionincidents?