I have an 88 accord DX Carbureted Sedan that was given to me this summer.
It now has some mysterious troubles which are beyond me so if anyone has impute PLEASE let me know. I will tell you all I know in the clearest way possible.

HISTORY- I was given this car but the giver warned me that it would 'run rough' and or suddenly die for no reason every so often. I know that he took VERY good car of the car evidenced by the mountain of maintenance records that came along with the car. ( we are talking oil every 3k and belts every 90k RELIGIOUSLY etc...) The car had 245k when I got it.

MY END -
Summer
I drove the car from CO to NH without any problem. As the summer moved on it died once or twice while driving down the road and at least three times while stopped at a light or in traffic. Each time it would start back up fine after about a 5-10 min rest. Also I noticed that the tachometer was starting to jump around seemingly independent from the engine.

Winter - I just started driving it again a few weeks ago and it seems to die almost every time I go out. And now I am stuck for 45 min to an hour before it starts back up. This last time it would not start at all so I had to call my bro to pic me up. When it is 'dead' it cranks over fine and occasionally starts for a few seconds but soon dies. Also I have been paying more attention to the tack issue and it seems to start acting up about 10 min before the car cuts out. What it looks like is that the tach is loosing touch with the engine- it will drop to 0 then jump up, then drop, then jump up to where is should be, then flutter, drop, jump up again, etc... Now to add to all of this once in a while it will not even fire when I try to start it up cold. One last symptom. Recently it has been idling at 3k or so. But in all this sometimes everything works 'fine'.

WHAT I HAVE TRIED-
Once when it was 'dead' we checked the spark and it seems fine. We pulled the fuel hose off and cranked. It would shoot a jet of fuel then stop. ( hence starting for a few seconds then cutting out). From that we concluded that it was a bad "fuel shut off relay" which was shutting off fuel for no good reason. I replaced that which seemed to fix the issue for a bout a week. Then it was all back to the same old.
I took it into a 'real' mechanic and they said it was the fuel pump and they wanted 250$ for parts and labor. Since I have 100$ to my name right now that was not an option. I was about to replace it myself but that is when I started doing research and asking around so that I would not replace parts in vain. It seems odd to me that a pump would work sometimes and not others. I am not the voice of experience but it certainly sounds electrical to me and so I have not yet replaced the pump.

WHAT I THINK- (or more like what others I have read/talked to think)
In looking through the manual there is a whole section devoted to the vacuum system so that seems highly plausible. But I have no idea how to check or test that.
I read in one place that the ICM ( ignition control module) was known to work sometimes and not others. But I do not want to pay 90$ for a 'maybe'.
It seems to me that it could be any of the sensors giving bad info so the computer it trying to compensate, or it could be a bad computer itself. Oh... I just read about the little light counting diagnostic device under the seat, so i popped open the little 1" square window but I could not see any lights blinking. ( does this mean all the sensors are ok? or does my car just not have this feature?)

BOTTOM LINE-
This is my only form of transportation, I am quite befuddled, fairly frustrated, but also quite determined to get this thing working. I do not have the money to be buying parts that 'might' fix it. So if anyone has two cents on some checks I could do to narrow things down. Or any advice at all. I will welcome it with much joy just knowing that someone out there knows about my problem.
Thanks a billion!!!!

 

Test the ICM and coil....tach acts up just before and when the issue happens. ??? If you were closer I'd let you try a spare ICM and coil I have. I'm leaning towards one of these-TEST them- I remember another member with the same gen that had the dist where the ICM was on the outside (TEC or Hitch-can't remember), they would have to "tap" on the ICM every now and then to get the car to run.

As far a fuel, there is a sight glass on the left/drivers side of the carb....check to be sure there is fuel in the bowl.

ECU-if you open the window, turn the key to the "on" position. If there are any codes the light will blink.

Not saying replace the pump, just giving advise on checking and or replacing. Inside the trunk, lift the carpet, left/drivers side there is a "panel" glued down (black, gummy stuff). Pry that panel up and you're looking right at the top of the pump. You can then easily get to the elec connection. The only one I have ever replaced (Carb or FI) was due to the car sitting for over a year-

Vac lines-just inspect them. I will say that while you have the air cleaner base off-check the #7 vac line on the back/base of the carb. It usually burns/melts just as it connects fo the base of the carb-won't cause your starting issue but does cause a skip in the engine.

 

My brother once had a carbed, 86 Accord that exhibited similar symptoms.

After trying a lot of other things, he finally replaced the fuel pump. He found a good bit of rust/debris in the fuel tank. Apparently, the rust/debris would eventually block the fuel pump inlet screen enough to prevent adequate fuel flow. After waiting for some time, the debris would drop off the screen and engine would start. His was highly intermittent, as yours seem to be. Since you saw the fuel stream interrupted, this has more validity.

On my 94 Accord, I had an intermittent fuel pump. It would refuse to start for no apparent reason. I found I could "hammer" the pump w/ repeated turning keyswitch off/on/off/on..., until pump would catch and engine would start immediately. You should be able to hear whether pump is running or not when no-start condition occurs.

The tach symptoms to suggest ignitor or coil issues however, so some testing is certainly in order.

good luck

 

If you are going with fuel, also note there are two fuel filters on this car and you should verify the lack of fuel by chacking the level inside the bowl of the carb-again there is a sight glass on the side to view this...Since getting to the pump, thru the trunk, is simple...you could always hook a fuel line directly to the pump, other end into to can and check the flow.

 

Wow,
Thank for the input. I have not touched it today, but tomorrow and Tues i will be working on it so I will let you know any new updates. I have a friend with a Vacuum gauge so we are going to run some tests on Tues night.

Question to PoorMan212-
How to I test the ICM? As for the coil, I have confirmed spark while it was "dead" so wouldn't that eliminate that option?
And to answer your question, yes The tach jumps around leading up to the issue, and when it finally starts back up and the tack does not respond it is a sure sign it will die again shortly.

To Texashonda- I will check the fuel pump to see how things look in there.

 

Do you have a volt meter? Also, if you don't have one already, search the DIY section for a manual you can download-

This is where the manual will give you "exact details", section 24-10 from the spoonertuner download-the following is just highlights.Check for continuity in both directions between A (BU1) and B (BLK/YL), note there are two Blue wires-blue1 is next to the BLK/YL wire.
Then you'll need to check the resistance between D (GRN) and ground-50,000 ohms. There is another test for the pickup and more for the coil.

I and maybe one or two others, have seen a weak coil fire a plug out of the head but not fire when installed-that is my story and I'm sticking to it.....which makes me want to ask another question-when was the last time the plugs were replaced and the cap and rotor inspected/replaced.

The reason I'm leaning towards testing the ICM and Coil first is because of the tach issue you describe...

Simple fuel test would be to spary a small amount of starting fluid/carb cleaner into the carb and see what happens. Or check the level thru the sight glass. Again, start with the source (the pump), test for flow, psi is only like 3~4 on a carb model. If you have decent flow then inspect/replace BOTH fuel filters (one under the hood by the brake booster, the other is behind the left/drivers side rear tire).

 

The plot thickens...
Last night I had two friends of over to check things out with me and we worked and poked around for over 3 hours. This is what we did.

We started off inspecting the vac lines. We found one completely broken and three others that most likely were leaking. We did a Vac test and it tested out nicely. So that is one item to check off the list.

I did replace he fuel filter ( first one in the back) And the front one seems to be fine.

We inspected the distributor cap and found that the stater seemed to be off in its spacing. It has two 'fins' on either side, one of which seemed almost to touch the spinning piece and the other showed a decent gap. We suspected that this could possibly be commanding the Tach in which case that would explain the tach problem. We set the spacing evenly ( as the manual instructed) and left it at that.

We searched all over for the ICM and could not find it. The other two guys concluded that by the set up of things that there must not be an ICM for this model. Is that Possible?

As for the fuel pump, we pulled it out- it looks clean, contacts are good, screen is free of debris. We also pulled off the gas line and cranked the car over, it had very good flow and filled up a 12oz bottle in a few seconds. So I don't think there is any issue with filters or pump.

With all that done we were feeling pretty good about it. I drove a few miles his morning it very cold weather and low and behold, same problems!

Tach fell out, (to 0) and car quit on me. Knowing that this might happen I brought a volt meter with me. While cranking the car in its 'dead' state, it was reading NO power at the pump connection. It would send just a split second pulse but that is all.

So same problem with a few issues checked off the list.
Some questions for you all. ( and especially poorman).
A. Is it possible that my car does not use an ICM?
B. Where would it be if there was one?
C. Does the coil directly control the fuel pump or Tach?
D. Where does the tach get its signal from?
C. How can I know exactly which engine I have? The honda manual refers to several engines and models but I dont know for sure which mine is.

Please do not limit your comments to these questions. Thanks a ton...
Junkers101

 

New thoughts,
Forget my questions about the ICM. I found it inside the distributor. I ran all the test that the manual had to offer and they all panned out alright.
The problem still lies in knowing what is killing the power to my fuel pump?

 

What were the spec's on the ICM and coil? Mainly BU2 in/out of the ICM and BU1 out/in the coil while this is/was happening..key on and or off.

Also, again, when this happens-what did the carb/starting fluid test tell you? What is the fuel level in the carb bowl (sight glass). Missed the answer to this.

When this happens, what lights are on or off on the dash-? elect part of ign switch.

and BTW- the BU1 from the coil feeds..............and the BU2 on ICM does what.......

 

You also never mentioned if there were error codes flashing on the ECU or TCU. Does the check engine light turn on or the D4 light start flashing when driving the car? Can you get the car to stall out by shaking the key?

O'Reillys near me can test ICMs. Just call your local one and ask them if they test them.