pzhoward

For about a year now, my 99 Acura 3.2TL stalls at random moments. At first, it would immediately start back up but more and more it takes longer. I has stalled at different driving patterns. It has stalled while driving 45 mph, stalled while turning onto another road and stalled while driving down the interstate while on cruise control. When it stalls, all of the dash lights come on (battery, oil, CEL, TCS and Key light). It's like it's "coasting" until the engine is completely disengaged and then i lose power steering. In some cases, it will take a good 30 - 45 minutes before it will crank again. When it takes longer to crank, it acts like it's "turning over" but nothing. It will eventually crank up but sometimes it will run like shit - very low idle - and stall out again. Eventually, after enough time and attempts, it will crank up and run like nothing is wrong (like a champ!).

I left it with my mechanic several months ago and they had it for several days. They told me that b/c when it stalls, the key light started flashing and therefore, said it was the ignition. The ignition was replaced but about a month later it cut off on me again. 3 times in one day! My mechanic said i should clean the throttle. Well, before i took it to him, i ran seafoam thru the intake and put some in the gas tank and some in the oil before doing an oilchange. I now am skeptical of my mechanics advise and don't think the ignition has/had anything to do with it.

I took it to the Acura dealership to have them take a look at it. They responded saying that b/c the car is not showing any codes, they cannot give me a diagnosis and recommended that i only run non ethanol gas. I have started doing that the last several months and it has not solved the problem. The car still cuts off on me at random moments. Most recently, i was sitting in the car while having lunch and had the car running in park and it shut off twice within 30 minutes and then it shut off twice that same day while driving home from work.

I do not drive the car very much. Maybe 2 or 3 times a weeks on short drives to the store or something and once a week to work which is about a 30 minute drive on the interstate. It does not do this every time i drive it - just seems to be random.

The car has over 200k miles, has gone thru a tranny rebuild at 150K miles ( which i recently had additional work done - second gear shift plate? ). It is due for a new timing belt and water pump but honestly, if this keeps up I'm thinking about getting rid of the car since no one seems to know why this is happening. The only reason I hesitate is b/c when it runs... it runs good!

Any thoughts or suggestions?

01tl4tl

when they replaced the ignition switch- you mean the rear side where the electrical parts are? that's a huge problem on 99s, was it a dealer/oe switch or the better aftermarket ones

those using OE can expect failure 3-5 times in the cars lifetime!

try wiggling the keys when park and at idle- any changes?
Are you hanging more than 1-2 keys on key ring? a handful will kill the ignition switch

as for maintenance- do you have correct ngk spark plugs-
and the biggie- have you removed the intake manifold to clean the egr passages- that will mess things up super weirld!
needed every 75kmiles and not found in maintenance book
WE know it from personal experience

ethanol vs mtbe- that's not going to cause problems- techs that say bad gas have no actual answer
You can add some Lucas Ethanol cleaner for fuel to see if that helps but,,,,

on cleaning- seafoam- you did the master vac port method? did you get the TB air plate by removing air intake tube from air filter box?

Did you run a full can of seafoam thru half a tank of gas, as well as vac port?
You used correct port to add seafoam? many use the wrong one on fenderwell!!
no good at all from there and causes problems!

01tl4tl

have you looked at the ground wires- the main one at battery and the 5 small braided ones from frame to engine?

3.2TLc

^^^ Yeah, check all of the stuff 01tl4tl previously suggested. The most common issues are with the ignition switch, the EGR passageways, and the wiring grounds. So, once ya feel confident that stuff is all good.....then consider replacing the PGM-FI Main Relay for the fuel supply. It can also cause random problems as mentioned.

ErickUa5

The Main Relay that 3.2tlc mentioned is near the brake pedal on a bracket.
I would definitely have a look at that, it may just need some re soldering.

01tl4tl

good call 3.2 and Erick! I forget abut that one

ECRD

Yes its your main relay. Replace it.