1999 Honda Accord Fuel problem?

ADAMFOREST

MEMBER
1999 HONDA ACCORD
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
212,000 MILES

I drive a 1999 Honda Accord with a 4-cyl engine and a 5-spd transmission with very high miles for it's model year, 212000. It has two major problems.

1) I drive the car every day. Every few days the car abruptly shuts completely off while driving. To start it again I just turn the key to OFF, hold in the clutch, turn the key back to ON, and let out the clutch again to compression-start the car while it is still moving. That strick works everytime but this seems like an issue I wouldn't want to get any worse. An electrical problem maybe? Ignition switch?

2) Whenever I park the car after driving for awhile (getting gas, food, etc.), It will not start again if it has only been a few minutes since I turned it off. For reference, I have never has this problem when the car has been off for more than a couple of hours. When this does happen, I have to sit there and turn the key over several times and pump the gas pedal before the engine finally catches and revs right up again. During this little ritual it sputters and chugs and acts like it is not getting any fuel. Could a fuel filter/pump be the problem?

Thank you very much for your help.

1 Reply

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Hi adamforest,

Thank you for the donation.

Symptoms indicate a possible ignition switch fault. There was a safety recall on the part and you can check with your nearest dealer.

When the engine, check if the dash indicators lights are turning on, if no, then the ignition switch is the cause.

As to the difficult or non starting intermittently, it could be related to the ignition switch fault. If it is not, the most likely cause would be the PGM-FI main relay.

Either item can be the cause of the problem as they are linked.