Engine dieing out/shutting off

[imchris]

I have a 98 civic, automatic. I've had it a little over a year now with no problems. Last week, as I was driving down the highway, it acted like I had completely let off the gas. I could hear the engine winding down like it would if you let off the gas but me stepping on the gas did nothing. It did that for about 15 seconds, then it "caught" and accelerated and was fine afterwards. Yesterday, at a stop light, it died. I would try to start it with no luck. After a couple minutes, it started up and drove fine. Today, the original symptom surfaced again. It acted like I had let off the gas. I pushed on the gas but it did nothing. After a few seconds, it "caught" and ran fine. I don't even know where to begin on this one. Anyone have any similiar experiences?

 

[JohnS.]

How does it drive when it's running? Any bogging or hesitation?

Any CEL's?

 

[Failsafe88]

I would say transmission but car dying idk

 

[imchris]

How does it drive when it's running? Any bogging or hesitation?

Any CEL's?

Car runs great, smooth. Only hesitation it ever has is just before it shifts down when I'm speeding up. Like if you're going to pass someone but don't step on the gas hard enough to kick it down right away. It's like it has to think about it for a second. No CEL's. The light is on when I start it so I know it works.

I would say transmission but car dying idk

The transmission isn't slipping or anything like that. It's like the engine gets shut down, either from loss of fuel or spark. Like a bad connection somewhere. Then it picks back up when it makes connection again. The problem is that I can't troubleshoot it since it corrects itself.

 

[imchris]

Ok, this morning I stop for gas. When I'm ready to leave, it doesn't want to start. I crank it over and it sputters a little bit but doesn't start. It does that a couple times, like it's burning any left over gas. Then it just cranks without the sputtering. I turn the key off, wait a couple seconds and then it starts right up. Wouldn't this indicate a fuel issue? If it was a spark issue, I'm thinking it wouldn't have sputtered/fired at all. Right??

 

[treeafodo]

Could it possibly be a bad distributor? You'd think it would give a CEL though.

 

[minja lover]

Could it possibly be a bad distributor? You'd think it would give a CEL though.

When my distributor went out, no CEL popped up. It just wouldn't turn over at all, just crank. So you might want to check that option out.

 

[treeafodo]

My dizzy was starting to crap out on me (97 automatic) and it through a faulty ignition or misfire code. Weird.

 

[TokyoSkies]

Ok, this morning I stop for gas. When I'm ready to leave, it doesn't want to start. I crank it over and it sputters a little bit but doesn't start. It does that a couple times, like it's burning any left over gas. Then it just cranks without the sputtering. I turn the key off, wait a couple seconds and then it starts right up. Wouldn't this indicate a fuel issue? If it was a spark issue, I'm thinking it wouldn't have sputtered/fired at all. Right??

It's a possibility the fuel pump is dying, but without any sort of CEL, it's tough to tell. Check your fuel filter as well? Maybe even a bad injector? It's just strange that it's sporadic, and not constant...

 

[ribal_gh]

hey dude... your fuel pump is dieng, go check its pressure and probably... u will be changing it !

 

[civic 808]

1. Try listening for the fuel pump when the key is turned on, It might be the main relay
2. Try replacing the ECU with a known good one, Mine had a bad capacitor. So I replaced all the capacitors(7 i think)now it runs good.

 

[civic 808]

1. Try listening for the fuel pump when the key is turned on, It might be the main relay
2. Try replacing the ECU with a known good one, Mine had a bad capacitor. So I replaced all the capacitors(7 i think)now it runs good.

 

[imchris]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll keep this updated.

 

[o3civic_si]

The ignition coils usually burn up in those distributors.

 

[Jersey8]

+1 for distributor. i had similar issues when mine went bad and no CEL's

 

[emerican]

Id say it sounds like the distributor to me.