have a 98 3.2 TL with 113k miles, never had any trouble until recently. 3 times in the past week, always after being on parkway (65-75 speeds) for 15-20 min. Car just loses power, tach slowly goes down and car slows down and engine dies.

First time, I was able to shift to N, rolling restart and car ran fine till home, (20 more min),

Second time, car died completely, stopped on roadside for a minute, was able to restart on first try, CEL was flashing, took it to shop, they pulled the codes (got misfiring codes for all cylinders, and a 300 code for random misfire on any cylinder), checked the plugs--fine and I didn't want to have them work on it right then,

on the way back home, the car died again, this time wasn't able to restart on first try, waited 5 min and was able to restart, drove back home 55 miles, with the cruise set at 45 mph and made it back without problem. Now, the question-- has anyone had this sort of problem before?? I am thinking, O2 sensors?? EGR valve?? any other suggestions on what would cause this would really be appreciated.

(Was ready to take the car into dealership, but they told me that the because the other shop reset the CEL, they wouldn't be able to diagnose from the computer) Now I am stuck with having to drive the car on highway waiting for the problem to happen again, and CEL to come on-- to go to dealership....

 

Misfire on all cylinders and random misfire suggests loss of fuel pressure or massive air leak. You have Coil over Plug (CoP) system so intermittent misfire on all is unlikely to be caused by ignition.

It could also be a keyswitch problem. Keyswitch contacts cause loss of power supply to ignition and simply shuts system off, much like turning switch off. Did you notice whether Check Engine and Alt lights came on when engine died. If not, this might further suggest a keyswitch issue.

It will be difficult to diagnose unless the problem is present, since there may be nothing wrong to be observed.

You can rig a "tell-tale" light to the ignition power supply line and tape the bulb where it can be readily seen. If you see bulb go out when problem appears, you will know that ignition is problem. If nothing, the fuel system needs to be checked simlarly; monitor power to fuel pump.

good luck

 

the 99s had a big problem with the ignition switch- there was a recall to replace them.
Even then- some ziners have replaced their switch 2-3 times after that~

a 98 may have similar problem, or the wiring part behind the ignition switch is bad, that happened to a ziner last week...smoke in the steering wheel and everything!!

 

thanks guys! for your suggestions. texashonda, I don't have too much experience with wiring. is it hard to find the ignition power supply line?? I would like to try to rig that bulb as you said. also, you mention loss of fuel pressure--would that most likely be caused by loss of power to the fuel pump??. and secondly, a massive air leak? where would that come from??
and is keyswitch the same as ignition switch?--both posters mention that...

The other thing I can't figure out is why this only seems to happen at speeds above 65? and only after the car has been driven at those speeds for 15-20 min??

Again, thanks so much for your help!!

 

I have similar experience (but not the same) as yours in June this year with about 79k on my '98 3.2TL. When I pressed the sunroof open button after I got on the freeway at about 55mph, the car lost power all of sudden and stalled on the shoulder and I could not restart it any more. It was towed to the dealership 5 miles away. The service adviser checked the underhood and did not find anything wrong. He started my car as normal but the ABS light was on. He suggested I continue to drive the car as the car looked ok by visual check. The ABS light did go off after a minute or two when I drove off the dealership. I do have a very old 5-yr old battery and my trunk light was left on for about 4 hours the night before which might have triggered the loss of power. Since then I've driven about 3000 miles without any problem. The service guy said the battery might get recovered during the period when the car was towed. So you may also want check your battery...

 

You will need a wiring diagram to locate the correct wire to the distributor. You can download the sticky post manual or go to Autozone for a wiring diagram. On many Hondas/Acuras, the key wire is a Blk/Yel wire to the distibutor connector, however you don't have a distributor and ignition power supply wire color may be different.

Get a folding splice connector from auto parts and splice a new wire to the ignition power wire, and connect a 2nd wire to ground. Wire lengths should be 3-4 ft. Connect two loose wire ends to a 12V bulb receptable w/ bulb. Route the two wires w/ light from under hood to lower windshield and tape securely in place w/ masking tape where you can easily observe while driving.

When no-start occurs, check the bulb. If it's off, you've found the problem; bad ignition switch assembly. If not, then you've ruled out keyswtich assy, and need to look to fuel supply.

There is a power lead wire to the fuel pump in the trunk that can be wired similarly. Tape tell-tale light to outside of rear windshield where you can see in rearview mirror.

I used this later scheme to find an intermittent fuel pump on my 94 Accord.

good luck

 

update--the car finally stalled completely, on the expressway, had it towed into the dealership, $800 later..fixed the main relay and changed the plugs. thanks for all you advice guys!