Urgh. Car dies whenever I stop.

[Aggressive Kitten]

I looked through threads to find similar problems, thought i'd post all my details anyway...

I first discovered this going down a steep hill into a gas station, nearly resulting in ditching myself cause the brakes and power steering went out. Everytime I stop or i'm in neutral (and the idle goes down) it dies. I just made a really long trip to Florida from Chicago (About 1,000 miles each way) there and back... Before I came back the car started doing this... Strapped for time and cash I had no choice but to drive it back, cause it had just started doing it and when I took it for a test drive it didn't do it anymore... The first 10 minutes of driving through a city in Florida it would die, then it just stopped, and the whole trip back I didn't have a problem. I even stopped at a hotel and let it sit over night and the next day it didn't do it--Now I just got back Sunday, drove it yesterday all over the place, no problems... I get in it today, and it killed over after about 5 minutes of driving it and continued to do it all the way to my destination. It sounds like the engine struggles then dies... I just put $1,000+ in ball joints, a tune-up, a new air filter, and oil change before I left--Had it checked out 3 times before I left, after all the repairs they said it was in good shape, now this? Ideas on what's up?

Whenever I stop, I downshift completely just so the RPM's stay up and it doesn't die, but when I have to completely stop I just pull up the E-brake and rev the gas to 2,000RPMS so it stays alive and I don't have to re-start it.

1988 Honda Accord, LX Sedan--Carb.

Thanks in advance.

[Aggressive Kitten]

I looked through threads to find similar problems, thought i'd post all my details anyway...

I first discovered this going down a steep hill into a gas station, nearly resulting in ditching myself cause the brakes and power steering went out. Everytime I stop or i'm in neutral (and the idle goes down) it dies. I just made a really long trip to Florida from Chicago (About 1,000 miles each way) there and back... Before I came back the car started doing this... Strapped for time and cash I had no choice but to drive it back, cause it had just started doing it and when I took it for a test drive it didn't do it anymore... The first 10 minutes of driving through a city in Florida it would die, then it just stopped, and the whole trip back I didn't have a problem. I even stopped at a hotel and let it sit over night and the next day it didn't do it--Now I just got back Sunday, drove it yesterday all over the place, no problems... I get in it today, and it killed over after about 5 minutes of driving it and continued to do it all the way to my destination. It sounds like the engine struggles then dies... I just put $1,000+ in ball joints, a tune-up, a new air filter, and oil change before I left--Had it checked out 3 times before I left, after all the repairs they said it was in good shape, now this? Ideas on what's up?

Whenever I stop, I downshift completely just so the RPM's stay up and it doesn't die, but when I have to completely stop I just pull up the E-brake and rev the gas to 2,000RPMS so it stays alive and I don't have to re-start it.

1988 Honda Accord, LX Sedan--Carb.

Thanks in advance.

OH and ... The tune-up wasn't complete... The distributor cap and the timing wasn't mucked with--Just the spark plugs.

Perhaps that might be my problem?

[2drSE-i]

if ur losing power steering i would check into the ignition switch.......mine used to die too....but it had nothign to do with rpms, it just died sometimes.

sounds like distributor issues......how can u do a tune-up without messing with the distributor :lol:

[Aggressive Kitten]

if ur losing power steering i would check into the ignition switch.......mine used to die too....but it had nothign to do with rpms, it just died sometimes.

sounds like distributor issues......how can u do a tune-up without messing with the distributor :lol:
Lazy mechanic friends. :uh: ;]

[A20A1]

You have a serious vacuum leak or an ignition problem.

I suppose boh would eventually result in low vacuum which would lower the effectiveness of the brake booster.

[Aggressive Kitten]

You have a serious vacuum leak or an ignition problem.

I suppose boh would eventually result in low vacuum which would lower the effectiveness of the brake booster.
SO check the vacuum lines first?

[2drSE-i]

distributor wudnt even be an issue?? i thot i was getting pretty good at diagnosing these things lol

[A20A1]

Yes check for vacuum leaks.

Also check your battery and battery connections, and ground wires.
Clean the terminals and cable.



distributor wudnt even be an issue?? i thot i was getting pretty good at diagnosing these things lol

Well it's a part of ignition, so it could if the cylinders aren't firing...

[Vanilla Sky]

sounds to me like the idle control system isn't working correctly. of course that's vacuum related, so a vac leak could be your problem.

[Aggressive Kitten]

Yes check for vacuum leaks.

Also check your battery and battery connections, and ground wires.
Clean the terminals and cable.




Well it's a part of ignition, so it could if the cylinders aren't firing...
I just got a new battery about a month ago... So i'm going to narrow it down to a vacuum leak and then go from there, i'll keep you guys posted. Thanks for the input! Greatly appreciated. :)

[Aggressive Kitten]

So I cleaned out out the carb--Had a smoke test done to rule out any vacuum leaks, and had the shop adjust the choke (I don't wanna mess anything up)--Before it was running "lean" in neutral and when I stopped, and seemed as though the idle was too low (around 300-400)--Well, it's idleing at 1000rpm now, and for the MOST part, stopped dying when I'd stop--It did it once on me today, and has yet to do it again, so it's running a lot better--But they told me the carb looks new, or rebuilt--and I do believe the last guy who had the car had the carb recently rebuilt, but they're saying that the car isn't running in "top notch" shape, and they think it's the carb? So they quoted me $800 for a new one, and I declined--No way, from what i'm told carbs are "ageless", and meant to be repaired and rebuilt--But if it was just recently rebuilt then why would it need any attention?

Ideas? Thanks in advance!

[ACCORD1.8CARB]

wow $800 thas far 2 much iv seen sum rebuilt carbs for $250 plan on getting them soon. i just got done replaceing the tranny clutch pressure plate and axles and when i started my car and drove it home it started wanting 2 do the same. even bucked a few times like carb was stcuk so i used sum cleaner and has stoped since. but changing your fuel filters might help. oh and yes carbs are a pain. u might wanna go cheack and see if u have any black residew on them.sounds like there sticking when u let off gas.and your flooding it. hmm i might b wrong but try and see.

[Vanilla Sky]

if i lived closer, i'd take a good stab at it.

and what type of shop are you taking the car to? a honda certified shop? a general shop? a honda dealership? from my experience, most general mechanics would rather not even touch a honda carb. in my humble opinion, honda was asking too much from carburetors when they built these cars. at least too much from the keihins these cars are equipped with. i mean, emissions compliance AND reasonable performance without a lot of maintenance? just too much to ask.

[3G Jester]

fuel filter!!! when was the last time you had it replaced? my car did this a coupple times when she was due for a new ff. got it replaced and never happened again.

also distributer and such. take off the cover [3 screws] and check for corrosion on the terminals and stuff. and just to bee sure any way...take off the air filter housing (2 screws i beielve once the filter is out and the top is off) and just hand cheeck all the houses. maybe there is a leak they didnt find. a good visual inspection will find it.

[Aggressive Kitten]

if i lived closer, i'd take a good stab at it.

and what type of shop are you taking the car to? a honda certified shop? a general shop? a honda dealership? from my experience, most general mechanics would rather not even touch a honda carb. in my humble opinion, honda was asking too much from carburetors when they built these cars. at least too much from the keihins these cars are equipped with. i mean, emissions compliance AND reasonable performance without a lot of maintenance? just too much to ask.LOL. I was just taking it to a general place cause they do everything else on my car-- They claimed to have checked the fuel filter and whatnot, so I guess that's ruled out? Maybe I should take it somewhere else? Honda Certified shop maybe?

[Aggressive Kitten]

fuel filter!!! when was the last time you had it replaced? my car did this a coupple times when she was due for a new ff. got it replaced and never happened again.

also distributer and such. take off the cover [3 screws] and check for corrosion on the terminals and stuff. and just to bee sure any way...take off the air filter housing (2 screws i beielve once the filter is out and the top is off) and just hand cheeck all the houses. maybe there is a leak they didnt find. a good visual inspection will find it.
It might very well be the distributer--I might just try replacing that and see what happens... Cause it wasn't replaced when I replaced the spark plugs and wires, so maybe it's due. ?? Thanks!

[Vanilla Sky]

i'd go ahead and put on new filters, too. they're less than $10 for a set and you can easily do them yourself with a pair of pliers, your lugwrench and your jack.

[Aggressive Kitten]

i'd go ahead and put on new filters, too. they're less than $10 for a set and you can easily do them yourself with a pair of pliers, your lugwrench and your jack.
Well just replaced the distributor cap and rotor, and it's still doing the same thing... So, pssh... Apparently they checked the fuel filter, but I guess that's my last option to replace...

Could it possibly be that I need a new carb?

[Vanilla Sky]

yes, very easily.

[88Accord-DX]

Re-built carburetor from Autozone runs around $225.

[Aggressive Kitten]

I can't stand the stalling anymore, so i'm going to change the fuel filter tomorrow and see what I get out of that... However, I have discovered that the car kinda of "bucks" a little bit in 3rd gear going about 30mph... it's not bad, but you can feel it kinda pulse (something like bucking?), i've only discovered it in 3rd, maybe it's because i'm not going fast enough, but i've never experienced this problem before (until I experienced the stalling)... Perhaps that could be a lead as to what's wrong in addition to every other symptom i've posted? Really don't wanna continue to guess at this, and the shops can only assume ("We're guessing it's this..."), well so am I, and i'm sick of paying them for their time of "guess work" and ends not meeting, wanna get her FIXED! ;D

Thanks in advance!

[Vanilla Sky]

remember that there are 2 fuel filters. i had a similar problem and the fuel fiters were horribly nasty. car ran pretty good until i ran into my carb problems.