My eg turns off randomly

[jdm_fanatic]

hey guys.. was on the M7 the other day going 100km and then my car just turned off.. before it died.. my rpm was just going up and down.. and then it all just died..

radio still working.. lights working.. red lights turned on..

I tried to start it the first time. didnt work..

Then second time worked.. managed to drive it home...

since then.. everyday it stalls atleast twice..

last time it took me ages to start it again..

but eventually it starts..

any ideas?..

i thought it was my immobiliser.. but i got my alarm taken out.. my fuel is good..

im assuming its an alternator problem or electrical problem?

any ideas before i book it in with some sparkys?..

cheers

[EuroDude]

Sounds like a Main Relay or Distributor problem

[blk_shadow]

yea, sounds like distributor

[ProECU]

definately your black bonnet, tried selling the car as an option? lol

[02gzm]

Im having a similar problem which we assume is my distributor. Having it changed on monday. Are you getting any CEL codes?

[EuroDude]

Instead of replacing the whole Dizzy (expensive!), buy a dizzy cap from a honda dealer, they are cheap and often go first before other dizzy parts (the coil and ignitor).

My Civic's dizzy cap went at around 150,000km, the metal contacts in the cap were worn down and there was a lot of white powdery buildup in there. The dizzy was good as new, until the coil failed 75,000km later lol

Its simple to replace the cap yourself, just remove the spark plug leads (remembering where they go), undo a few bolts, pull the cap off and replace it.

If you'd rather determine the exact failed part in the dizzy, buy/download a Haynes service manual for the EG/EH civic and follow the instructions - although you need a multimeter and possibly other tools. Or simply get a mechanic to check it for you.

[Centurius]

while everyone's probably correct in assuming dizzy, it might be worth checking for vacuum leaks, just because it's easy to check, and an easy/cheap fix if it is the prob. though it probably wouldn't be so intermittent if it were a vacuum problem.
I accidentally knocked a vacuum line off once when i was working on it, and the car wouldnt idle at all, soon as i took my foot off the throttle she'd stall.

[rayb3na_]

+1 for dizzy

[SuiJin]

did u get this fixed, mine stalls randomly and sounds like a fuel struggle,
takes a few goes before it decides to run. and feels really sluggish.

[teh_mechanic]

most likely cause of this in eg's is the coil, which is housed inside the distributor. It is on the way to completely dying and just gives up every now and then. I've done a couple with the same symptoms as yours and they went fine after. The other possibility is the ignition control module (ICM), also housed inside the dizzy, but a failing ICM will usually start to miss at higher rpm for a while rather than just completely die

[teh_mechanic]

did u get this fixed, mine stalls randomly and sounds like a fuel struggle,
takes a few goes before it decides to run. and feels really sluggish.

this fuel struggle you mention, is it like its surging at higher rpm? it is probably missing - you need fuel spark and compression to fire the cylinder every time. you are probably not getting a strong enough spark at the right time to ignite the fuel mixture. this causes a cylinder not to fire and the engine to 'miss' (run on 3 cylinders) occassionally, more at high rpm and under high load.

from my experience it is usually the ICM that causes this problem, fixed a few of them. could also be the coil though as you are having the not starting problem.

Something to note is that the coil and ICM work together. ICM sends the signal to the coil to fire. I've had instances where a failing ICM or coil has caused a problem in the newly installed ICM or coil. So when you have ignition problems it really is best to replace them both

[quangsuke]

mate had one of these problems where his car would struggle and die out when RPM drops. so when everytime he stopped at a red light his car died.

i found out the problem was in the spark lead plugs so give that a go =D

[tiksie]

Same thing happened to my mates car, would randomly die at a set of lights LOL, ended up being his ALARM!

[teh_mechanic]

as you can see theres a hole range of things it could be. but 9 times out of 10 it all comes back to the ignition/spark being cut out, which can happen for a number of reasons.

so your options are either replacing everything thats been mentioned or taking it to a reputable mechanic and letting him try to source the problem so atleast the burden is on his head when something gets replaced and doesnt fix it