95 Honda Accord Starts/Dies in half second

Maintenance/Repairs
1

My 95 Honda accord with 2.2 v tech suddenly started to SOMETIMES for periods of minuets to many hours, or days, start perfectly and die in 1/2 second. Later it will work fine for a while.
Given what I have checked what should I look for next… help appreciated!

The exact details

Car ran perfectly until one day it would not start.
Turn key on, here fuel pump prime, CEL goes out after a second, then I turn over car and it starts…check engine light goes out… then comes back on a half to a 1/4 second later and car at same time light comes on, stops firing and dies. Dash lights stay on. Restart attempt will NOT give any start at all!..UNTIL you turn key off a second, then try again and it does start and die just as above. Key must be turned to off to get another restart and die. Sequential repeated attempts bring the same result. Walk away, for 15 minuets, or sometimes for hours, or days, and it starts and is fine again, and will restart multiple times in a row,… until you walk away again and come back…at which time it may again do the start and die pattern again. If it is in a start mood, you can drive it hours and it keeps running fine… if you turn it off… it is luck of the draw if it does the no start thing or will start for you and go.

  1. Main relay clicks in each time, fuel pump primes each time key turned off and back on.
  2. Keeping key in start does NOT cause motor to continue to fire or check engine light to stay off. Engine still dies in 1/2 second even as starter continues to crank.
  3. Check engine light is giving a code 15 for electrical issue when check is done.
  4. Took out main relay and re-soldered the connections on it… it seems fine.
  5. Does not seem to be key contacts related to me, wiggle key, mess with key, etc. all you want has no effect. Holding key in start does not keep it running.
  6. It is almost like the computer kills the car after 1/2 second as it turns on check engine light.

I have seen other threads about this, but no clear answer, often people stop posting before telling what finally fixed it. One example is here:

car starts and dies immediately, then only cranks

If anyone has had this happen and solved it or has suggestions I would most appreciate a reply! Thank you!

2

I think you need to check the fuel pressure when it does not start.

3

The problem might with the ignition control module in the distributor.

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1185198&cc=1167319

How this works is, when the ignition switch is turned to start, the ICM allows full battery voltage to the ignition coil. This is called the start mode.This insures that the engine starts when it’s cold. Once the engine starts and ignition switch is moved to the run position, the ICM steps the voltage down to the ignition coil. This is called the run mode. This done so that when the charging system comes on line once the engine starts, the higher voltage from the charging system doesn’t damage the ignition coil and the other secondary ignition components.

So the problem might be that the ICM is functioning in the start mode, but failing in the run mode.

Tester