Engine Turning Off Randomly

General engine questions/issues that aren't specific to the other categories
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Engine Turning Off Randomly

By pyang004
- Sat Mar 31, 2012 2:41 pm #300476 Engine Turning Off Randomly

***Possibly fixed!: Replaced main relay / fuel pump relay with used one from the junk. At the same time I replaced the ignition switch behind ignition lock. Where the key goes into the steering column. Waiting for results. Looking positive so far.***

****It's been months now and the problem has never occurred again. Most likely it was the ignition switch behind the ignition switch. From what I read when the main relay fails the car won't start at all.****

So I bought the car off my buddy who only had it for 6 months and it looks like he bought it from a guy who couldn't solve the problem. I knew of the problem before I bought the car. I figured I can find the issue, I figured wrong. Lol.

Car: 1995 Honda Civic DX 4 Door Automatic. Bone stock, no mods to anything.

Problem: I has happened to me 3 times as I came to a stop. Right when the car is gonna come to a complete stop the engine shuts off. It's not a shutter, then off. The RPMs drop to idle then to 0. It happened again last night, but this time while I was on the freeway. 70 MPH and the engine cuts out. Again, no shutter or anything. Just cuts out. I pull over. Every time it happens, I have to put the car in "park" in order to start it up again. And, it starts right up. It cranks up strong on the first turn. The engine runs strong. No stutter, miss fire, or CEL. My buddy said it has happened to him serval times and sometimes at parking lot idle too. I can't figure it out.

Attempts to Fix: Here's a list of all new parts.
Alternator
Belts all three
O2 sensor
Distributer
Distributer Cap
Distributer Rotor
Spark plugs
Plug wires
Fuel pump
Fuel pump relay
Seafoamed engine, intake manifold, and fuel tank
Battery
Ignitor in distributo
Module in distributor

Things I checked:
- Ignition switch where the key goes in. Turned the car on. Wiggled the key and banged around it. Car stayed on.
- All fuses under the steering wheel and under the hood. Good and fits firmly.
- Wiring under the steering wheel and behind the aftermarket cd player. All wires are stock, un-cut, and un-spliced. Except for the ones required for the CD player, which I checked and are wired correctly and taped off.
- Ground good. Unscrewed and clean all. Metal brush on Dremel to expose metal.

Things I plan to replace and/or check:
Fuel filter
Fuel pressure regulator
Injectors
ECU

That's all I can think of right now. Any ideas as to what the problem might be? If this has happened to you before and you fixed it with one of the parts I just listed, please let me know. At this point I'm willing to swap out the new parts just in case those were faulty out of the box.

Thanks.
Last edited by pyang004 on Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:08 am, edited 5 times in total.
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By SkunkDcivic
- Sat Mar 31, 2012 5:04 pm #300483 check your grounds my dad had this problem on his coupe he had a dirty ground wire and loose one cleaned both never had a problem and also check fuses one could be loose and causing it to work and what not
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By dbrooks
- Sat Mar 31, 2012 6:16 pm #300488 Check your alternator. The same thing happened with my car a couple of years ago

By EJ1_MK
- Sun Apr 01, 2012 2:49 am #300531 main relay? replaced

By pyang004
- Sun Apr 01, 2012 4:47 am #300549 updated with things i checked

alternator was changed out 2 days ago along with the 3 belts.

the car died on me again coming home from work. 60 mph. then again when i went out an hour ago, as i parked. again, both times the car started right back up with no hesitation. no shutter / stutter. engine cut and died. no electrical symptoms. lights didn't turn off, flicker, or flash. all lights stay lit like they usually do. its starting to happen more offend now, since after the sea foaming or that might have nothing to do with it.

I will check the main relay. plenty of friends with civics to swap out with.
** Swapping this out with my buddy's on Monday.

The ground off the battery is brand new. I will double check and clean the one from the engine to the core support. Is there any other ground wire to look at?
** Checked ground and cleaned them. Still happened yesterday coming home from work again.
Last edited by pyang004 on Mon Apr 02, 2012 1:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.

By bigpunn421
- Sun Apr 01, 2012 5:25 am #300553 i have these problems too. random stalling when i put my car in neutral only once its warm.

By bks84
- Mon Apr 02, 2012 6:33 pm #300671
EJ1_MK wrote:main relay? replaced


This.

Also, I just had an ECU take a shit on my DD. Would cause similar syptoms.

By pyang004
- Tue Apr 03, 2012 2:37 am #300742 is the "main relay" the same as the "fuel pump relay"?

i gonna switch the main relay out on wednesday with my friends. see if that helps.
*not the main relay. swapped it and car still died. was told that when this goes out it usually goes completely out. the car won't start at all.

i was thinking ecu too. just to eliminate it. waiting to find time to go to the junk to grab a few things.

*Keep throwing ideas at me. I willing to try anything at this point. Even if its already something I listed. I can always double check.

More and more research is leading me towards a bad ignition switch behind the key and lock switch on the steering column. Free recalls for 1997+ but nothing about anything older. Waiting to find time to go to the junk.
Last edited by pyang004 on Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

By bks84
- Tue Apr 03, 2012 5:17 am #300756 Yes

By pyang004
- Mon Apr 09, 2012 12:13 am #301298 Okay, so I finally went to the junk today. I replaced the Ignition Switch and Main Relay / Fuel Pump Relay.

The Main Relay / Fuel Pump Relay: Came off a 93-95 4dr Civic. Same head lights and tail lights as mine. But, the writing on the relay was labeled differently. The car started up and drove around the block just fine though.

Ignition Switch: I got one off of a EG Hatch. The wiring was a bit different. My car had 3 additional small wires on the plug that had the thick white wire and black wire. I didn't check to see where those 3 wires went, but the white wire and black wire were in the same location. So I was able to cut and solder the EG hatch ignition switch to the Sedan plug. The car started right up with no problems.
(So if you get a different ignition switch, keep your old one just in case you have to swap plugs. Difference could be based on 2dr coupe, 3dr hatch, 4dr sedan or even DX manual and EX power.

I will keep this updated to see if my car still keeps dying or not. It happens so randomly it can take anywhere from up to a month to verify if this fixed it.

By pyang004
- Sat Apr 14, 2012 1:15 pm #301826 It's been 1 week.

Car has not died on me going to work. I also took it out 1 hour on the freeway, 45 mins around town, and 1 hour back. Another day running around town to run errands as well. Looks like the problem has bee fixed. I will report back if the car dies again.

By pyang004
- Sat Apr 14, 2012 1:17 pm #301827 It's been 1 week.

Car has not died on me going to work. I also took it out 1 hour on the freeway, 45 mins around town, and 1 hour back. Another day running around town to run errands as well. Looks like the problem has bee fixed. I will report back if the car dies again.
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