Just driving down the road and died. I took the oil cap off and looked at the lifters while turning it over and they turned. Rules out the timing belt. My guess is now the fuel pump or fuel filter. Any quick easy way to test this while parked at a gas station in the middle of BFE!?!
Yes, tried several times to restart it with no luck. Although, It has refused to start a few times in the recent past and if left sit for a while would start right up. Never has died while driving though. Most of the time right after I would stop somewhere and then come back out to start it.
The most likely cause is the main relay. It's faily common on the early '90's. The relay is a double relay. The first relay supply's a only couple of seconds of power to the fuel pump to get the engine started. After it starts a second relay feed power to the fuel pump. I believe it was done this way for safety reasons. If the engine stops the second relay is not energized, no power to the fuel pump.
A more definitive symptom for the relay would be that the problem occurs mostly during very warm (sitting in the sun for a while) or very cold days. The temperature swing causes one or more bad solder joints in the relay to open a little, breaking contact. It seems that many people actually have the problem while refueling at the gas station. The car was fine when they pulled in but started and died when trying to leave. After a couple of minutes (maybe a little longer) it will usually start and run fine as the relay has cooled off a little.
The relay can be replaced or the soldier joints can be re-soldered to correct the problem.
Here's a link to a great site to identify and fix the main relay
When the car stops acts up again, check for spark. If there is no spark it's probably the coil. If there is spark then there is probably no fuel and most likely the main relay is the problem.
Had to resolder my main relay joints on my '91 Accord a few years ago. It's been fine ever since.
The link I had for the main relay fix no longer works
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.I found and posted another like for the fix in my previous post.There are a few around here's one with a great picture of a crack andhow to resolder the relay.http://techauto.tripod.com/mainrelay.htm
I haven't seen intermittent coils - they tend to just die, usually because they short. I'd go for the igniter, which has a reputation for flaking out before they die.
Your absolutely correct about the coil. I have experienced a intermittent coil (not the Accord) and it is rare that it happens. I should have though more about the odds of the coil being intermittent. The car is known to have some igniter and ignition switch failures.
My last (distributor/ignition) coil died intermittently. This was in 2003. My car started stalling at stop signs. A few days later, it stalled completely. The independent Honda shop to which I took it said it was the jury-rigged way I'd fixed the rotor several months before. Uh huh. So they put a new distributor housing on with new rotor. I drive off. A mile down the road, the car feels like it's going to stall again. I think, "hiccup." About ten days later it dies completely again. This time the shop checks the coil. It's aged.
Tom and Ray of Car Talk, for one, discuss how, when the coil is getting near death, it can act up according to temperature. Close to death, one can get away with letting the engine cool down and so squeeze a little more life out of the coil.
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