98 accord le, automatic, 4cyl vtec, 160,000. recently experiencing an intermittent stalling problem, only when its hot outside (as it has been in the northeast), the car could be sitting off for hours in the daytime sun or off for a few minutes during the day to get gas. everytime it has stalled its within a mile of start up. never stalls under acceleration. saw the TSB about the ignition switch problem. i called honda and they said the switch was replaced in 2004 (i bought the car used since then) although i don't see the punch mark over the VIN in the engine compartment as the TSB indicates. tried jiggling the key to induce stall as i've read in other posts without success. When engine does stall while driving, tach and speedometer go to zero and odometer goes blank and no other idiot lights come on. car has always restarted after 1,2 or 3 tries within 0-2 minutes of stall. thought it might be a idle issue, that is when you decelerate that the engine can't maintain an idle. in the driveway, ran the engine to 3000 rpm's (when at operating temp), paused and released accelerator. got the engine to stall twice out of several tries but forgot to check if the odometer went blank (this idle thing may be a separate issue). saw some posts about the ICM, could this be it or the ignition switch that was supposedly replaced is have the same problem? i can't get the thing to stay failed long enough to troubleshoot. i need help and thanks for the forum.

 

sure sounds an electrical part of ignition switch.........As for the punch mark on the firewall a lot of techs do not follow procedures to the T ..some will do it some won't ..

 

does that mean you think i should try replacing the ignition switch?

 

The ignition switch replacement is just a replacement with an identical unit. It's not really re-designed or improved. So the replacement has been in there 6 years... what a coincidence - that's the same lifespan as the original.

 

i felt i needed to do something and given the circumstances of the failures the ignition switch seemed a cheap ($53) attempt at a fix. i took the old switch apart to see what things looked like. it's filled with grease so it was hard to tell what was old grease and what might be overheating stains. i did notice that one of the external solder connections on the switch had some melted plastic around it (maybe just from the original factory assembly and maybe not). i was also suprised that the dealer had the switch in stock for a 12 year old car, maybe because they are known to go bad? i'll wait to see if this is the fix.Thanks for the responses.

 

Probably in stock because it's a sorta-common failure and it's probably the same switch for MANY different model-years.

 

I have the same 98 LX. There was recall on the ignition switch. I was having the same problem as the OP - stalling. Received the recall notice by mail long time ago. Just sat on it till the problem occurs. Dealer fixed it - don't know if they replaced the whole ignition switch, but problem is gone. Even though you bought it used, you should have received the recall notice or the original owner should have received it but didn't give it to you.