Intermittent stalling

Tiny
JOHN LUYMES
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 HONDA CRV
  • 2.0L
  • 4 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 185,000 MILES
Hello and Merry Christmas: I had asked you a question a year or so ago about a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan one of my daughters has and your email advice at that time was very cordial and helpful. Thanks again for that.
Now I have something to run by you on the vehicle listed above another daughter just bought a few weeks ago. Twice now it has simply quit suddenly and unexpectedly in heavy traffic, needing to be pushed off the road by passersby. Unsafe and unnerving, to say the least. After waiting a bit, the vehicle started again and went on its merry way.
Have you had enough experience with such vehicles to know where one might look? No engine codes or pending codes show on my simple Autel OBDII reader. Looking up on the web, I see that forums show that issues like this could arise from faulty coils, ignition modules, fuel pumps, ignition switches or main relays. A recall (No. 02V120000) was published in 2002 by Honda for a variety of vehicles of that vintage to replace the ignition switch because the bulletin said that failure could cause a crash.
I recognize that intermittent problems of an electrical nature are hard to diagnose but appealing to mechanics who have years of experience, of course, is a great place to start. I may have to go through the process of replacing a few parts to eliminate the most likely or least costly possibilities. Thanks! John.
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020 AT 7:32 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,747 POSTS
Hi,

What it sounds like is related to a top dead center sensor (AKA crankshaft position sensor) . What happens is when they start going bad, they are affected by heat. Once they have a chance, they cool off and the engine runs again. Interestingly, they may or may not turn the check engine light on when it happens.

So, the first thing I want you to do is this. When it happens (and I realize you don't want it to) and won't start, we need to check for ignition spark to the plugs. Here is a link that explains how it is one:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-an-ignition-system

However, if the check engine light is staying on when the engine is running, then we need to have the computer scanned for diagnostic trouble codes. Here is a quick video showing how it's done:.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-an-ignition-system

If the check engine light is staying on, have the scan done first. I realize most people don't own a scan tool; however, most parts stores will do it for you free of charge. When it is done, record the codes that are retrieved and let me know what they are.

Take care and let me know if you have other questions.

Merry Christmas.

Joe
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Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 AT 12:13 PM
Tiny
JOHN LUYMES
  • MEMBER
  • 15 POSTS
Thank you very much for those helpful suggestions, Joe. The vehicle did the same thing two more times since I emailed you, once yesterday and also once today while I happened to be following my daughter while she was driving it. It started again after 5-10 minutes of sitting on the side of the road and so far has not acted up more than once on the same day despite it being at running temperature for prolonged periods. I checked whether the instrument panel lights were off or on after the vehicle stalled today and they were still on. The Check Engine light does not stay on upon restarting and there are no engine codes that register on my OBD II Autel MaxiScan reader. She is borrowing my car for the next few days and I have her vehicle to see if the same problem might surface as I use it on a casual basis. I will be sure to take my spark plug tester along and I will let you know if and when I think the issue may have been resolved.
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Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 AT 12:13 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,747 POSTS
Hi,

Sounds like a plan. Let me know what you find. Also, if your scanner can read live data, keep it plugged in and if it doesn't start, see if there is an RPM signal.

Let me know.
Joe
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Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 AT 12:13 PM
Tiny
JOHN LUYMES
  • MEMBER
  • 15 POSTS
Hello again Joe: The 1997 Honda CR-V I had asked you questions about stalled a few more times after your December 23 note and I took it off the road for safety reasons. I managed to find a distributor at a local auto wrecking yard (distributors of that vintage are hard to find!) And replaced the one I had. I've driven it now for a couple of weeks and everything seems to be fine. I still don't know whether my problem was the coil, ignition module, the crankshaft position sensor, the TDC sensor or the cylinder sensor, all of which are housed in the distributor body. The vehicle did not shut off long enough for me to pinpoint the actual component that might have been faulty. I had at least narrowed it down to something in the distributor because I had no spark and I did have power going to both the coil and ignition module while the engine was cranking but not starting. I'm going to keep the old distributor in case the replacement acts up at some point in the future up and in case a replaceable component (i.E, the coil or ignition module) on the original one is still good. Thanks for your help.
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Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 AT 12:13 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,747 POSTS
It's good you got it narrowed down. Has the new distributor continued to work?

Joe
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Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 AT 12:13 PM
Tiny
JOHN LUYMES
  • MEMBER
  • 15 POSTS
So far, so good after about 200 kilometers of driving around town in the past two weeks. I'm confident enough that it won't conk out in the middle of a busy street so I'm going to turn it back over to my daughter today.
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Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 AT 12:13 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,747 POSTS
That's good news. Please feel free to let me know if something does happen or if you need help.

Take care,
Joe
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Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 AT 12:13 PM

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