heres my problem......

i drive a honda civic ex 98 with 73.5k miles. I recently had a oil change.

On my way to classes yesturday morning my car just shut off on my while i was driving..... in particular while i was accelerating.....

I was around 3000RPM when all of a sudden it falls to 0RPM and my engine shut off.

After i pulled over to the side, i couldnt get my car to start for about 3-5 minutes. At first i thought it might be the battery but now im not too sure.....

anyone familiar with this?

about 2 weeks ago it rained 8 days straight, i drove over a few unavoidable puddles..... could that have done this?

 

i would pop the dist,cap and look inside for anything, check the rotor, any wear thats my $.02

 

i would check all the iginition stuff and the main relay.

 

Was it damp out? It is possible that distributor components were damp. If this is the case, I'd replace the cap if it is letting moisture in.

When was your last tune up?

Here is a list from the Hayne's Manual for troubleshooting when the car stalls:

1. Idle speed incorrect
2. Fuel filter clogged and/or water and impurities in the fuel system
3. Distributor components damp or damaged
4. Faulty emissions system components
5. Faulty or incorrectly gapped spark plugs
6. Faulty spark plug wires
7. Vacuum leak in the fuel injection system, intake manifold or vacuum hoses.
8. Valve clearances incorrectly set

 

well my districutor cap was replaced a few months ago...... i'm heading to my uncle whose a mechanic later today and have him check my battery, and if the battery is fine then its prolly either the damp dist cap or possible the ignition, although correct me if im am wrong.... how would the ignition cause the engine to shut off while u are driving...... again correct me if i am wrong cuz i dont know tooo much about the ignition.


thanks for your $.02 i'll post the solution when i have the car check......

ps: tune up coming b4 winter in addition to snow tires(parents paying for those ones )

 

my rotor got loose and cause my si to shut off and i was crusin ariound 3500k
did the car turn back on or did u have it towed/??

 

.

 

i'll prolly be heading to mechanic in about a half hour, i'll explain it to him ask him to check the dist cap/battery/and the other stuff u guys mentioned

 

Unfortunately if it is an intermittant problem, you won't be able to find the problem unless it is failing at that moment.

To me I think it also sounds like it could be your coil or ignitor starting to go. In case you or your mechanic uncle doesn't know, the coil and ignitor are located in the distributor on Civics. You have to take off the cap and rotor to get to it. Also the rotor is held on by a retaining screw.

 

well as of now the car is working fine.... my uncle said that it should be the distributor cap..... but he wants me to see if it doesnt happen for a few days..... and basically i have a tow company (free) due to him just incase......