My 2002 Accord just stalled for the first time ever

My daughter was driving at a steady 30 MPH and it just died, with all the dash lights coming on. At first I thought electrical problem but then I wondered if it just stalled. It has never done that before, though.

I searched and saw that there was an ignition switch recall, but not for 2002. In fact, I just signed up on ahm-ownerlink.com, and saw that there are NO recalls for this car. (Very nice site, by the way. I just entered the VINs of all three of my Hondas. And I have a combined trade-in value of about $8000 for all three! Of course I also have a combined 475,000 miles on them!

How many miles? Is it still dead or did you easily start it back up? Turn the key so the dash lights come on, but don't start the car. Do you hear the fuel pump?

Ralph:

I ditto with Cajun. :yes:

Does the car start back up? Does it run?

I suggest you have a simple DTC (Diagnostical Trouble Code) test performed. Said tester/analyzer plugs into the (OBD II) connector located underneath the left side of the dash. Dunno what your dealer may charge. If you have an AutoZone, they will do this for you, for FREE. Whatever error code the PCM may indicate, it will give you a starting point about correcting any issue(s).

How many miles? Is it still dead or did you easily start it back up? Turn the key so the dash lights come on, but don't start the car. Do you hear the fuel pump?
121,000 miles. I think I got new plugs with the 105k timing belt service. It easily started back up. Don't know about the fuel pump. In my old Integra, the fuel pump relay would only fail when trying to start the car in hot weather - it never died once running. It wasn't really that hot today - I don't know if that is still a problem with Honda fuel pump relays - I would sure hope that has been fixed by now. My daughter made it back to college with it, so hopefully it won't happen again.

And wardenr, the Check Engine Light isn't lit. But I need to buy a cheap code reader for my 99 Odyssey that is ALWAYS sending out codes. I hear you can get them for about $40 now. I'm off to look. The Accord has never given a CEL.

Ralph:

The MSR (Main System Relay) is problematic on many Hondas.

Faulty circuit board solder joints are quite common, leading to failure, even on new units.

You can snag a basic code reader from your local parts store (i.e., AutoZone) for around $40 to $80, depending on what you choose. The full testing meters, which give failure event "freeze data" will run you around $160.00 and up. Might also wanna check with your local Snap-On or Mac Tools sellers.

http://www.obd-2.com/

I believe he still does a student discount. Nice guy, and very effective software (it will freeze, and give realtime readout)

Dont be putoff by the site. it and the software are not pretty, but they work well.

I had a friend who's 02 civic did this multiple times. We first thought it was a bad ground on the car which would of been a headache and a half. It turns out it was just a faulty alternator. I had never really heard of a car doing this before until his and did not expect the alternator to be the problem those are usually just a quite working kind of thing and not a off and on problem. But my suggestion obviously is to have the alternator looked into a easy fix.

Hmm, it has been fine for a few days now. Crisis delayed! But I may put some Techron additive in it just for good measure. That stuff did wonders for severe pinging in my 95 del Sol. I was quite impressed to go from severe pinging to a smooth running car with just a bottle or two of this stuff! It may not be related but it might do good anyway.

The Techron is good stuff. Be sure to change the oil soon since fuel system cleaners are tough on oil.

Did the dealer do the timing belt service? Sometimes spark plugs other than Denso or NGK can cause problems. Try to check your paperwork to see if the plugs were replaced or call up the dealer/repair place to see if they can check for you.

OK, this just happened again. So is the main relay the same as the main system relay the same as the fuel pump relay? This sounds like the most likely thing to me to pursue. Belated thanks, wardenr!

I am guessing your 2002 Accord is a 4 cylinder automatic? Has the throttle body ever been cleaned? If not, its probably due. Are the battery terminals clean and tight?
The fuel pump main relay was a common problem on some older Hondas (pre 1998) but rather rare on the newer cars like yours and mine. It would be good to know if the car is stalling due to a fuel problem or an electrical problem, but since it restarts immediately, its difficult to troubleshoot. If it gets to the point it wont restart immediately then a fuel pressure gage tester will tell you if the engine is lacking fuel or pulling a plug wire will tell you if there is no spark.

Good Luck

Oops, yes, you are correct, neohonda, it is a 4 cylinder automatic. And Satin Silver, I called the dealer and the plugs were replaced at the 105k interval - I didn't ask about the brand, though.

Some knowledgeable people have said it could be an intermittent ignition switch, but so far jiggling it has made no difference.

So who should I get to do a throttle body cleaning? How much does it cost? And is there anything a code reader can pick up if the CEL has never come on? How about right after it stalls? Will a cheap one perform this DTC test? I'll do some googling.

If your TB hasn't been cleaned it probably it pretty gunked up at 120K miles. But...I don't think that would cause your car to randomly die while it otherwise runs fine 99% of the time. That to me sounds more like an electrical problem. As nehonda states it's a little more rare to have a main relay issue (vs. older Honda's), but I have read posts about failed main relays on 6thGens.

Does your gas pedal stick the first time you push it on cold mornings? That's the symptom I had before cleaning my TB. As far as who can clean and how much it will cost...any shop should be able to handle it. The cheap and half-arse way is to remove the snorkel and spray TB cleaner into the TB. If you really want to clean it the tech would need to remove the TB to clean both sides. Figure ~1 hour of labor + the price of a new gasket.

Usually the tb cleaning at my dealer runs $40. When the sticking gas pedal returned some 15k later the dealer cleaned it again for no charge. This time they took their time and did a thorough cleaning which took about an hour.

I wouldn't replace your spark plug wires. They last a long time and are expensive to replace. A new oem rotor and cap probably wouldn't hurt though.

Not related to your problem but make sure the pcv valve is replaced with an oem one.

The Honda dealer has their own unique code reader(forget the exact name off hand) that can read any codes that were triggered but not displayed.

Go to Honda's owner's link and plug in your vin to see if there are any open recalls on your car.