Why does my Honda shutdown unpredictably?

Maintenance/Repairs
,
1

I drive a 2002 Honda Civic 4 door DX.

In 2011 at intersections, the car unpredictably shut off completely and then restarted ten minutes later - this happened twice, spaced two weeks apart.

I took the car to two mechanics, one a Honda, where they simulated driving and performed diagnostic tests but could find nothing wrong.

I Googled the Internet in search of an answer and ran across a fellow who had experienced a similar shutdown with his car and resolved it by purchasing a new ignition switch. So I tried that, spending over $600 for a new ignition switch with no guarantee that it would work. Everything was find until two weeks when I stopped at an intersection and the car shut down again - the dashboard lights stayed on. A police officer nearby helped me push the car to the side of the road and we then pushed the car back and forth a bit. About ten minutes later, the car started up again as if nothing had happened and everything was OK.

I again took my car to the Honda dealer, but they could find nothing wrong, including driving the car around the neighborhood.

I am a total loss as to what do to. I am reluctant to junk this car because everything else is A-OK. The car drives fine and I love it because it is manual with minimum digital stuff including manual windows. But I cannot afford to drive this car when there is the chance of another unpredictable shutdown.

Any suggestions anyone?

Thanks very much,
Dan Woodhead
San Francisco

2

Honda guys here have suggested a fuel pump relay under the dash that has a reputation for causing intermittant fuel pump shutoffs. I’m not an advocate of just tryong parts, but it sounds like you’ve tried the correct methods.

3

+1 to fuel pump relay.
If it quits again before you replace it try giving the underside of the dash a whack with your hand.
If it starts right back up it’s definitely the relay.

4

The PGM-FI relay usually fails when there’s a sudden temperature change in the interior of the vehicle. So I don’t think that’s it.

I’m leaning more towards a defective crankshaft position sensor. http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=2002336&cc=1386277

This sensor is located on the engine. So when you stop the vehicle heat builds under the hood and causes the sensor to fail. The computer no longer see’s a signal from the sensor so the computer see’s no reason to operate the ignition/fuel system and the engine shuts off.

A quick way to test if that’s the problem is, start the engine cold, and with a heat gun/hair drier point the heat at the sensor. If the engine shuts off, the problem is with crank sensor.

Tester

5

Isn’t this the vintage of Honda that also had known ignition switch issues?

6

The OP spent $600.00 to have the ignition switch replaced.

Tester