Accord Engine Stutter & Stall

[bizzy928]

Hello Autopia,

This is service question but I figured I would ask here as well as other boards.

1991 Honda Accord Ex-R
176000km

For the past two weeks my friends Accord has been stalling while he drives. I think I have an idea of what the problem is but I would like your input.

Here are some various symptoms that have been happening throughout the past 2 weeks.

1) Starting the engine from park, the engine would turn on, after a second it would cut out.
2) Once he starts to coast to a red light the engine shuts down
3) Engine stutter
4) When I drive down an incline the tach jumps from 1.5RPM-3RPM but he FEELS NOTHING from the engine. So its just the tach going whacky.
5) When he was turning left his car stalled.

I don't think it is a blown cylinder because when the car does run there is no loss of power.

The battery is four months old and the contacts are all clean and tight.

Does anybody have any input?
Thank you so much!

[Jake11375]

Sounds like either the distributor, a bad plug wiring harness, or a timing issue to me. A quick computer diagnosis from a mechanic should tell you which one.

[IndigoGTI]

Something else to think about is that the 2.2 motors is the Accords are VERY sensitive to vacuum leaks. I had a similar problem with my 1990 Accord. Check the idle control soleniod, and also make sure that the throttle plate is closing fully. The throttle plate is adjustable by turning a screw on the throttle stop right behind the linkage. If the idle solenoid is bad, it is a dealer part and is about $250 U.S. You can access the ECU diagnostic function by accessing a blue plug behind the passenger side kick panel, jump the two pins in the connector while the ignition is off. Turn the ignition on and the check engine light will blink a series of long blinks and short blinks. The number of long blinks are the first digit of a two digit number, and the short blinks are the second digit. You can do a search for the codes to tell you what is wrong.