This issue likely sound familiar... I have a 1999 Honda Accord, 4 cyl, with 98K miles. Lately it has been dying suddenly when stopped at a traffic light and also while driving on the freeway. It has been intermittent. Gave it to a trusty mechanic and he could not find an issue and was unable to make it die while he test drove it on and off for couple of days. I carefully noticed the last time it died on the freeway, the tach and speedometer completely bottomed out, but no lights came up on the dash. The car restarted on its own with a few seconds and then the maintenance light and ABS light came up momentarily. A few minutes later on, the tach and speedometer went crazy and bounced up and down like mad but then steadied out. Whenever, it has died at the stop light, I am able to put it in neutral and it starts right away. Please help.

Replace the Ignition Control Module (ICM), located inside the distributor. Be sure to apply silicone heat transfer grease to the back of the new ICM. That should solve your problem.

Thanks for the input, TxGreaseMonkey. Shall I buy the Honda original ICM for $170 or an aftermarket (Beck/Arnley) for around $70?

We haven't had any problems with aftermarket ICMs.

Hi TxGreaseMonkey:
Per your suggestion, I replaced the ICM in the distributor but the car continues to die intermittently. Should I replace the PGM-FI Relay next?

My original post as follow:
This issue likely sound familiar... I have a 1999 Honda Accord, 4 cyl, with 98K miles. Lately it has been dying suddenly when stopped at a traffic light and also while driving on the freeway. It has been intermittent. Gave it to a trusty mechanic and he could not find an issue and was unable to make it die while he test drove it on and off for couple of days. I carefully noticed the last time it died on the freeway, the tach and speedometer completely bottomed out, but no lights came up on the dash. The car restarted on its own with a few seconds and then the maintenance light and ABS light came up momentarily. A few minutes later on, the tach and speedometer went crazy and bounced up and down like mad but then steadied out. Whenever, it has died at the stop light, I am able to put it in neutral and it starts right away.

Additional thoughts:

. Remove and fully charge the battery. Most auto parts stores will do this for free.

. Check the alternator. If warning lights (e.g. battery, ABS, SRS, or others) start appearing in concert with one another on the dash, immediately suspect the alternator.

. Replace the coil. The ICM and coil are located inside the distributor and are subjected to intense heat. Both of these components are frequently responsible for intermittent and sudden engine stalling. If the rotor and distributor cap have not been changed in 60,000 miles, I recommend that you replace them. Corrosion on these components (high resistance) often causes the high secondary electricity to find the shortest part to ground--this often means through the ICM and coil, which damages them. If the problem persists after taking these steps, I would install the new ICM, coil, rotor, and distributor cap in a new genuine Honda distributor housing--all others are suspect. It could be that one or more internal distributor sensors (TDC, CKP, or CYL) have been damaged. Do you have the original Honda distributor or an aftermarket?

. Check the ignition switch for wear or pitting.

. Replace the main relay, particularly if it happens only when the temperature inside the car goes up during the day. Cold solder joints expand and the relay fails.

Thanks for the input, TxGreaseMonkey. Here is the list of items I have already replaced - distributor cap, rotor, plug wire-set, spark plugs. Then I put in a Hitachi Coil, and lastly the ICM (Beck Arnely brand). I applied the silicone paste to the ICM as you had cautioned. The problem remains intermittent, but today it got worse and the car died 6 times just during city driving. The battery is a few months old and there is no charging issue. The distributor is original Hitachi. Car has approx 95,000 miles. I have tried to jiggle the key while the car is running but can never make it die. I am thinking of replacing the main relay next.

The next step, after replacing the main relay, is to install the components in a new genuine Honda distributor housing. As I have said many times on this site, Honda distributors tend to only last 50,000 to 100,000 miles. Mine went out at 98,000 miles.

Hi kawaheed, was your problem solved and what solved it?

I have the same problem now with my 99 accord 4cyl ex. I had also replaced the whole distributor (I'm assuming the icm and coil are part of this), battery, spark plugs, timing belt, fuel pump and lastly the main relay but I'm still having the same problem -- engine dying while driving in the freeway.

TxGreaseMonkey, any additional thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance.

lanantip, if the CEL comes on for 2 seconds and then goes out, when the ignition switch is turned to Position II, then focus on the distributor. Because of the problems you are having, I suspect you did not install a genuine Honda distributor--all others are suspect and unreliable. Install a genuine Honda distributor housing, where it's fine to use an aftermarket ICM and coil to keep the cost down, and your problem will likely be solved.

Thanks for the very quick reply TxGreaseMonkey.

I did the CEL test and the light came out and was gone in 2 secs (is this good or bad?).

You are correct, I did not install a genuine part because of cost issues. What do you mean by 'distributor housing' though? Do you mean the top (cover) part or the base (where the icm and other parts are held) or both of them should be geniune parts?

I forgot to mention that this dying/stalling usually happens when the weather is really warm or when I drove the car after parking it under the sun, or after I drove at a highway speed then switched to a regular street/slower speed (but it did die once while I was driving on the freeway).

I really appreciate your time.

Your CEL is operating properly.

The housing is the metal distributor base, which contains the ICM, coil, and internal sensors. Since you already replaced the main relay, which is often the problem when ambient temperatures soar, the distributor is the main suspect. Make sure, however, to apply silicone heat transfer compound to the back of the ICM. These efforts will likely solve your problem.

I was driving the car earlier when the orange 'abs' light came out and the car died again.

I was able to start it after a few minutes.
When it restarted, the orange 'abs' light was gone.
I was able to reach home without any incident after that.

I remember the same thing happened in the past where the 'abs' light will come out and the car will die.

But I will try to replace the distributor to a genuine part first and will let you know if it works.

Thanks.

Check for any codes with a code reader, record the codes, and then clear all codes.

k, so I replaced the distributor and main relay with original parts.

I felt a difference in performance right away and I was optimistic.
I want to mention that I'm a delivery driver and I use this car for my deliveries.

I drove it on my mid-day deliveries.. highway speed, weather got warm, it did not die.. I went home happy.

While on my break, I parked the car under the sun, but I placed a sun shade on the windshield (to cover the dash a little bit) and two front windows half way open.

On to my late afternoon delivery, I was stopped at a red when the orange 'abs' light came out again.. based on my experience, every time it comes out, the car will die.

I turned off the engine right away, I restarted it, light is gone so I proceeded.
I was able to finish my late afternoon deliveries without a problem.. highway speeds, weather is warmer than earlier.

As I was going home, the orange 'abs' light came out again.
This time I want to test it, meaning drive the car with that light on.

Sure enough, after 2 blocks the car died.. same thing, it did not turn back on until after 5 to 10 minutes.

Sadly, I'm back to square one.

What is the cause of that orange 'abs' light to come out that make the car die?

Thanks in advance.

Did you check for any codes with a code reader, record the codes, and then clear all codes with the code reader? If so, what codes did you record?

Are you referring to a diagnostic code reader?
If yes, I already asked a mechanic and was told he cannot do it because the car's CEL is not 'on'.

I have a 99 honda accord that also died while driving on the interstate before my sister sold it to me . And there was a recall on something in the ignition it has been a couple years and I am sorry I can't completely remember. But my sisters account of it dying on the interstate sounds just like yours with lights going crazy and all that.

It was the ignition switch... I replaced it and my accord is now back to being a reliable car.

I found that the vin of my car was not part of the recall so I just replaced it myself.
Here's a video that was useful to me: 94-97 Honda Accord Ignition Switch Replacement Part 1 - YouTube
(it's for 94-97 model but the process was the same for my 99).
I did not do the testing part because I decided to just replace it.

Good luck.