honda accord itermittent stalling/no-start

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RayV - 17 Aug 2006 15:46 GMT

Buddy of mine has a 1999 Accord V6 that stalls intermittently.
Sometimes wil restart right away other times will not. Has already had
the igniton switch replaced due to recall. Dealer and independent
mechanics have not been able to duplicate or solve problem.

Last time it was in no start mode he said the car had spark.

I'm going to look at it today and from his description I'm leaning
towards an igniton switch or relay. I DAGS and this seems to be a
prevelant problem with little agreement on the cause.

Anyone have any guidance on this problem?

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TeGGeR® - 17 Aug 2006 15:57 GMT

> Buddy of mine has a 1999 Accord V6 that stalls intermittently.
> Sometimes wil restart right away other times will not. Has already had
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Anyone have any guidance on this problem?

When the car won't start and you try to crank it, does the tach needle jump
up and down the tiniest bit? Or does the needle remain perfectly still?

Does the car ONLY stall while driving?

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The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
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RayV - 17 Aug 2006 16:06 GMT

> When the car won't start and you try to crank it, does the tach needle jump
> up and down the tiniest bit? Or does the needle remain perfectly still?
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

I haven't checked it out yet so can't say about the tach.

Sometimes the car won't start after being shut off. One check I found
in another forum was this:
"To make sure it's a bad main relay, do like this:

Turn the key to II, listen for a humming sound from behind you. It is a
fuel pump working. You should hear a click from under the dash after
it. It is a main relay click. If you do not hear a click, your car will
not start. If you do hear a click, your car will start.

Fix is to take the relay out, resolder the joints and put it back in."

Does that sound correct?

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TeGGeR® - 17 Aug 2006 19:39 GMT

>> When the car won't start and you try to crank it, does the tach
>> needle ju
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> I haven't checked it out yet so can't say about the tach.

That's pretty important. If the tach needle is perfectly still when the car
won't start, then the igniter is bad. If it jiggles a bit, then the problem
lies elsewhere. If there is in fact NO spark but the tach needle moves,
then it's your coil.

> Sometimes the car won't start after being shut off.

PLEASE, AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION! Does it fire up, then stall once you
release the key?

You need to be very precise about the EXACT details of the problem.

Help me help you.

> One check I found
> in another forum was this:
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Does that sound correct?

There are THREE clicks. The absence of ANY ONE is a sign of trouble.

A more accurate description is on my own site:
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/mainrelayoperation/index.html

In any case, the Main Relay is not the usual cause of stalling when the car
is already running. Once it's up and running, even a bad Main Relay will
allow it to keep running until you shut it off again.

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TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
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RayV - 19 Aug 2006 12:00 GMT

> That's pretty important. If the tach needle is perfectly still when the car
> won't start, then the igniter is bad. If it jiggles a bit, then the problem
> lies elsewhere. If there is in fact NO spark but the tach needle moves,
> then it's your coil.

Took me driving the car for twenty minutes then starting it up and
shutting it off about 20 times before it failed to start.
Still had the 3 clicks on the main relay
Power at the fuse box for fuel and ignition
Fuel pump still goes through priming cycle
No spark with a non-HEI spark gap tester( http://tinyurl.com/l394e )
Power to the center lead of the coil with ignition on (there are two
black w/yellow leads to the coil only the center one had power with the
ignition on, blue wire nothing)
Tach needle does not move when cranking

> PLEASE, AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION! Does it fire up, then stall once you
> release the key?

When it won't start, the position of the key has no effect. Tried
several times to find the 'sweet spot' and wouldn't even begin to
start.
When the problem began (months ago) it would stall out while driving
and usually start up right away, sometimes it would take a few minutes.
When it failed to start on Friday it took at least an hour before it
finally started again.

I had to go before checking it out further but I'm assuming it is the
ignition module, I want to make sure though since he was already soaked
by the dealer for $550 on this problem. Your site is very helpful and
I just looked over the section on testing the module. I've always just
replaced them but it was a no-brainer since most of my cars had HEI and
it was either a complete failure or failure when hot. The module for
the Accord has got to cost a lot.

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Fred - 20 Aug 2006 14:06 GMT

There has been a lot good info posted here on this topic.

I think Honda had several recalls of 1999 Accord's ignition system.
Check them out and make sure they have been done.

http://auto-recalls.justia.com/HONDA-ACCORD-1999.html

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derek - 21 Aug 2006 17:16 GMT

> There has been a lot good info posted here on this topic.
>
> I think Honda had several recalls of 1999 Accord's ignition system.
> Check them out and make sure they have been done.
>
> http://auto-recalls.justia.com/HONDA-ACCORD-1999.html

Hi Fred et al,

Having inherited a 1985 honda CRV I have had similar problems with the
starting or not starting..yes i too have heard the clicks and then
when there are no clicks there is no start..but up to an hour later it
starts fine.

Many thanks indeed for the very helpful diagrams and information posted
about this problem by others and like Fred I am very grateful for this
expertise and help

Cheers Derek

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TeGGeR® - 21 Aug 2006 01:20 GMT

> I had to go before checking it out further but I'm assuming it is the
> ignition module, I want to make sure though since he was already
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> my cars had HEI and it was either a complete failure or failure when
> hot. The module for the Accord has got to cost a lot.

Igniter is dead.

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The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
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Mark - 21 Aug 2006 03:39 GMT

> > I had to go before checking it out further but I'm assuming it is the
> > ignition module, I want to make sure though since he was already
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> > my cars had HEI and it was either a complete failure or failure when
> > hot. The module for the Accord has got to cost a lot.

Isn't this the standard "main relay" solder joint problem, there is
LOTs of info on the web about this.

Mark

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