Hello all,

Iam new to the forum and looking for some help. a friend of mine has a 1993 Accord which shut down on him the other day on his way home from work, so he had it towed over to my house to help him out and work on it for him,
well heres the issue we are having the car will start and run for aprox. 30 seconds than shut down on its own, I checked and we are getting fuel at the fuel rail and the pump is running for a few seconds prior to starting the car as it should to build up pressure at the rail. after the car shuts its self off I try to start it again and it will not start... I checked for spark and found that there is no spark after it shuts down when cranking it over, So I started with the basics checked all wire's includeing the coil wire all are good, than after searching on here I checked and replaced the coil still the same result , proceeded to replace the cap and rotor, still no luck just starts for about 30 seconds the shuts down.. now mine you when it is running it is very smooth and steady. then just shuts down and spark is gone.
Bit the bullet tonight and replaced the entire distributor with a new one and low and behold still the same. Iam at a total loss right now Iam an old school motor head and now this is just over my head. Thanks you for any and all help you guys can offer me.

Phil

 

did you also check the battery? maybe its running out of juice??

 

I will be sure to check it out tommrow whenI get home from work. but it is cranking very good (strong). but its worth a look see.
Thanks

 

yeah just take a look...cuz im just thinking that maybe it starts up the first time because it has saved some energy to start it up and then when its started it already used its energy and then just shuts down, and then when you try to turn it back on it doesnt start anymore becuse you just used its saved energy...and try to save again....this is just my guess tho...im just trying to bring some idea..

 

When the car isn't starting, pull the plug to the distributor with the yel/blk wire. Grab a volt meter and see if the yel/blk wire to ground has 12V. If it doesn't, then the ignition switch is bad.

 

Good deal brother I will give this a shot when I get home thanks for the advice. As far as loosing power the battery is new and if was that low the car would not crank so I'll check it to be sure butI think its more than that . the ignition seems to be the next step to check . thanks again guys.

Phil

 

I forgot to mention that you need to turn the key to the II position when you test for 12V.

 

will do thanks

 

Most likely this could be the scenario ,,BUT what if there is a problem with the wiring or a poor connection from ign switch to coil connector??

If there is no power at the distr plug yel/blk , before you replace the ign switch do a continuity test on the wiring ( yel /blk ) from ign switch to distr ..

 

Try this first....Start the car and let it run until it stalls and then check and see if the check engine light is illuminated on the dash. Then turn the key off and then back to the on position. The check engine light should then come on and then go off after a few seconds (whether the engine is running or not).Do not tryto start the engine, just turn the key to the on position. Look very closely at that light. Look for the light to cycle off and immediately back on. This cycle takes between 6 an 8 seconds.

Unlike any other vehicle on the road, the check engine lightshould not come back on if the engine stalls...Unless you you have a problem in the electrical circuit. This could beworn ign. switch contacts, a faulty main relay or main relay ground, or the ECU fuse connections in the under hood and under-dash fuse blocks.


If the check engine light is not coming on after the engine stalls, check the ignitor. I know that you mentioned that you replaced the whole distributor, but the only ignitor that you can trust, will be a Genuine Honda replacement.

Ed Brian
Accurate Automotive, Inc.
www.accuratecars.com