Unexplained stalling!

JohnnyDingills · Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:01 pm Post subject:

I'm pretty sure the reason why your getting the check engine light, loss of power and stalling is because of the FUEL PUMP.

chrisintegra · Newbie Joined: Mar 06, 2004 Posts: 3

i have a 91 integra rs with 142k miles that is having some of the same symptoms that you guys are describing with your cars. This is the deal with mine. I will start it up whenever, hot, cold, raining, etc. and it will start up fine, i will drive it down the street or to school which is only 2 miles away, and at every stop sign or stop light the car will return to a VERY rough idle and then stall out. I can start it right back up again BUT i have to keep my foot on the throttle to make sure it doesn't drop too low in the rpms and stall again. It ONLY stalls however, when it is WARM, when the engine is cold it runs fine. This problem is KILLING ME, i've spend hundreds of dollars already trying to get this problem to go away but NO LUCK whatsoever. I read that one of the problems was the catylitic converter, with mine i have a high flow cat, but it acts as just more of a resonator, do you think this could be the problem? ANY suggestions at all would be helpful to me. THANKYOU.

JohnnyDingills · Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 12:33 pm Post subject:

The problem is definitly the fuel pump. The reason why it does not stall when it is cold is because the ECU tells the pump to send in more fuel until the engine warms up. Once it's warm it is supposed to idle at 700-1000rpm but since your fuel pump is dirty/clogged not enough fuel goes through to keep the engine running. Try this... if your check engine light comes on while your driving give it full throttle and you should see that you don't get far because you feel loss of power. If so then get a new fuel pump.
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*--The Driver Makes The Car, Not The Engine--*

chrisintegra · Newbie Joined: Mar 06, 2004 Posts: 3

Thanks for the reply. The only thing about the fuel pump problem is that the check engine light never has come on before when this problem has been occuring. The shop that i took it too thought that the fuel system might be the problem and that was my first guess as well. They checked the fuel pressure throughout and it was flowing properly, thus making it impossible for anything in the fuel system to be malfunctioning. Next was the battery, and alternator. Both parts were charged and charging properly so that could not be the problem. Today i recieved the information that they found the problem: the wire for the aftermarket tach was not mounted properly...I think it is a little shady because the problem was happening before the tach was installed. I pick the car up today, so we'll see what happens. Thanks for the response, any more ideas please write!

TommyF · All-Acura Enthusiast Joined: Mar 12, 2004 Posts: 29

i have a 95 integra rs approx 145K mi on it, i just bought the car, and after I cleaned the engine with some wd40, water, and some other cleaner, the car bogs-out and feels like its going to stall after about 10 min of warming up. any suggestions?

yippieguy · All-Acura Enthusiast Joined: Mar 17, 2004 Posts: 11

Once you let go of the key, it won't stay started? Ya.. I had the same issue with my 90 'teg. I had to replace the ignition assembly; the part BEHIND the key. It was $60 canadian and comes with cables that connect it under the fuse panel and dash, it's a 20 minute installation you can do yourself.

Also last summer the car woulnd't start in the heat when the cabin was hot. I replaced the main relay and all was well for that issue.

TommyF · All-Acura Enthusiast Joined: Mar 12, 2004 Posts: 29

Do you think it can be the Purge sensor since that only turns on after the engine reaches a certain temperature,head gaskets are not blown, no water in the oil and i have lots of power and no check engine lights are coming on, any suggestions, can it be the Purge sensor(canaster)?????

fortiesteg · Newbie Joined: Mar 28, 2004 Posts: 4

Hey got another guy to join cause of this thread right here!
So this past week has been hell... i drive a 91 LS special with 169,000 miles on it and it just started this stalling thing, especially on the highway, car stalls out and the check engine light comes on. car wont start right away but then will start after some time, and then its kinda pot luck, either it will run for a while (20 miles) or die in 5 feet. took the car in to a shop, they said it didnt shoot out any codes, which make sense cause the check engine light only comes on once the car is already stalled, and they found a litte junk in the fuel filter (it was old) they replaced that and sent me on my way, 100 miles later it stalled again, i gimped it to my acura dealer and they went to work on it, he drained most the tank, finding some dirt and water in it, and then replaced the fuel filter, ran it in their garage for an hour or so then tried to drive it and it died, he then checked the ignition module (distributor) and found a quite loose wire, tightened it up and checked the module telling me it was fine. no moisture or anything else seems to be wrong with it. so i drive it away from acura and this time 60 miles later its stalled!! its now at my friends shop cause i'm totally out of ideas... one thing i noticed was someone said their catalytic converter was the case, well my exhaust has been noisy and sounds like something is holey down there and 2 years ago when i replaced the midpipe the catalytic converter looked to be getting shot, could that be it? and also if it was a faulty ignition module wouldnt the acura tech have found it? any advice you got can help, cause the next thing they wanted to do was rip out the tank, which will be super expensive in a car that old! glad to be a member here now!

ozfactor00 · Newbie Joined: Jun 02, 2004 Posts: 1

Okay, I am a new member because of this thread. I am having very similar problems as many of you with my GSR and after a lot of money spent, it still stalls at idle, usually during the day. So here is the story....
I got the car up in Alaska and shortly after I got the car, winter hit and it would idle irradically in sub zero temps...so, I got it looked at and it was throwing a 505 code. (IAC) For some reason, the shop I took it to only replaced my thermostat and shortly there after, I ended up moving down to TX so the problem or codes never came back...unitl one day after running against a 2003 SI and a Mustang (beat them both) my car wouldn't start after I had gone home for about an hour. It was cranking, but not turning over. So I got it towed to a local shop and they found there wasn't any compression in the #1 Cylinder. So 1300 bucks later, the head is taken off and a screw was found holding an intake valve open. I have a pic of you want to see it, just ask and I'll email it to you. The mechanics never determined where the screw was from, said it was too small and weak to be part of any engine components. So they put the head back on and I took a trip up to Colorado which was about 10 hrs away. The day after I got there, that is when my car started stalling at idle. I took my car back and they couldn't find out what the problem was even though they had their computer/diagnostic hooked up to the ECU while the car was being driven and while it would stall. Everything looked good. Since they couldn't figure it out (honda dealership) I had to take my car to Dallas and have Acura look at it. Their mechanic swore it was an ignition problem and he found that the ignition coil was bad. So we changed that...the car didn't stall for 1 day. AFter I got back home and went to work the next day, the problem came back. So I lived with it for a while since money was getting tight. I just recently decided to get an IAC off ebay since that was the 1st code that I ever got and I just put it on yesterday. So far so good right? No, the car still stalled today and about 3 times so far. I am so out of ideas now and am very frustrated. Please help!!! The check engine light does not come on and there aren't any codes. The car stalls after it's ran hard most the time and usually only in the day. It takes more gas to start up but it will start......any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!

truckerclock · Newbie Joined: May 14, 2004 Posts: 2

It has been my experience after working on many Hondas/Acuras that a faulty igniter in the distributor is a common cause of intermitent stalling. Sometimes the igniter can be replaced, sometimes you have to replace the entire distributor, check with the dealer on this. If you can get it to stall and the crank/no start with a scan tool you can see if it shows a engine rpm while cranking. If no scan tool, the wire going from the igniter to the coil should show an alternating voltage while cranking. If not and you are getting power to the igniter with the key on, most likely it is bad. Hope this helps.
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Sekirnjak · Newbie Joined: Jul 19, 2004 Posts: 1

I had a similar stalling problem and I solved it by following advice from this forum! My 1989 Integra would suddenly lose power on the highway, stall when idling at intersections, and refuse to start for a day or two sitting in the driveway. Holding the key in 'start" position would keep the engine running, but not when I let go. Mechanics couldn't find anything wrong and replaced the distributor (ahhhh!), but within a day the problem was back. So I decided to check the ignition switch (the part behind the key) and sure enough, it had intermittent contact problems in the "on" position. I ordered an ignition switch online ($58), installed it, and had no more stalling problems since. Thank you, yippieguy!

Chris

yippieguy · All-Acura Enthusiast Joined: Mar 17, 2004 Posts: 11

Hi everyone.

Just remember this... Hondas are notorious , at least here in Canada, there was a recall on the 96 preludes for this issue... if your car stalls intermittently.. CHECK THE IGNITION SWITCH in the STEERING COLUMN. my buddy with a prelude went though SO MUCH diagnostic BULLS**T with honda and when I heard about this, I suggest the key assembly was to blame and BINGO. Fixed it. No more stalling, EVER.

Also, I should comment that I"ve seen, on the net, comments about how the weight of your keys might cause the contacts to wear pre-maturely.. this cannot be the case once you see the design of the part itself...there is no way for the key portion to apply pressure to the electical portion(the one you'd replace).

When your car stalls because of a crappy connection in this switch assembly, your ECU WILL NOT GIVE YOU ANY CODES.. it just thinks you've turned the key back to another position or removed it. SO.. if your honda is simply stalling out on you with no codes on the computer , or check engine light staying on, then CHECK THIS SWITCH. they part is less than 100$ and many of you can do the swap yourself with only a stubby phillips screwdriver, some cable ties and a good back when laying upside down under the steering wheel!

ALso.. I should RE-STATE this other issue that Hondas seem famous for.. the thing won't turn on at all in extreme heat... that is.. no power, no spark.. no cranking.. nothing. In this case, check the MAIN RELAY (in my 90 teg's case, near the fuses on the driver's left foot area). This main relay won't work right if it's worn out and gets very hot due to excessive cabin heat. This is another VERY EASY fix.. less than 10 mins and very cheap in terms of car repairs

PLEASE e-mail me to let me know if this advice helps you. it makes me happy to hear when it does

beta_one@hotmail(remove this part).com

peace out.
jaMEs

psianyde · Newbie Joined: Jul 25, 2004 Posts: 2

Here's one...

94 Integra, stalling after about 20 minutes of driving, even when in motion. It starts up again after 6-8 hours and will run just fine till it cuts out again. I let it idle about an hour after a stall and it cut out after 5 min or so. No sputtering, no coughing, it just stops. The check engine light is not coming on. It's been running great up till now, everything is in order I would just like to know if anyone has any ideas before a mechanic tries to replace half the engine.

-chris
cwalters@fusd(removethis).org

keithbreal · All-Acura Enthusiast Joined: Jan 24, 2004 Posts: 19

hey yea i have a 92 integra GS its am automatic but when i stop the idle drops way low and the car starts to shake i think its right on the edge of shutting off well thats been happening since i bought the car with 143 k on it but as of late after i tried my S gears my car will not start at all!!!! I think it was because it was staying in the S gear while trying to start well thats what gear lights up when it tries to come on anyways i press the shift unlock and the car will start right up. As for the low idle and shaking i took the car to a transmission place and they suggested that it might be the engine i dont kno what the hell it is so maybe you guys have some ideas

acintegkid21 · Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2004 4:48 am Post subject:

my 91 integra GS had similar problems a while back. It would start and run fine, and then at intermitant times the check engine light would come on, and it would hesitate to acclerate. So bad that when I would pull out onto a busy street and try to get going I would give it gas it would hesitate for about 5 seconds and then take off. It was getting annoying. It would hesitate almost all the time time but the check engine light would come on at different times (no pattern what so ever). I never really did anything about it cause when the light came i would turn off the engine off, turn it right back on and it would be off. However when it came time to replace my registration tags the car wouldn't pass DEQ. I took it to the shop, they replaced my cat, and my O2 sensor, and it passed DEQ and has worked flawlessly since. Its been about 1.5 years since its been fixed.

Geoff