Crank, Start, Die

[cfmurray]

I have a starting issue with my car. I start the car and immediately after it dies. I have tried to keep the key turned a little longer still dies right after, I have tried pumping the gas as I turn it over dies. I checked my spark plugs and #3 had oil caked in there. I replaced all gaskets including the ones around the spark plug tubes, replaced the spark plug. After replacing everything my car fired right up! I let it run about 10 minutes, and this morning starts and dies immediately after.

I had no indication that something was faulting me or going out on me, it just happened. Also the parts that I list are 1 year old and I have ruled them out.

1: Fuel Pump
2: Fuel Filter
3: Distributor Cap
4: Main Relay

I am almost at a lost here so any additional ideas, or tips and tricks to try and figure out the issue before dropping money into parts would be very helpful.

[sonikaccord]

Check for spark, check for fuel pressure. I'm pretty sure everything else is fine. More than likely you don't have spark, probably the ICM.

[oyajicool]

It is possible that the ignition switch is bad.
Excess wear on contacts in "on" position after engine starts in "start" position.

I had this problem with two of CB7s I have.

[jxiong12]

oyajicool may be right if your car dies immediately after you release the key. you can be like me and not want to pay for a tow, i held the key in the start position I believe... or halfway between both so the starter doesn't turn and was able to drive home without the car dying.

[cfmurray]

Thanks for all the replies, I got home yesterday evening, and tried to start it and it fired right up. lol drove it around for a bit, everything seemed fine. I went out to start it this morning and it would start and die immediately. I checked out my distributor cap and some of the contacts are corroded (not really bad but they are corroded) Can that result in my symptoms? I am thinking about dropping $40 in new distributor cap and 3 spark plugs since I have replaced the one spark plug already. Any suggestions are helpful.

[4GAccordH22]

Like stated earlier, it is most likely either the ICM (you can just replace the entire distributor, that's what I did) or it's the ignition switch. From your explanation it sounds more like the ICM (distributor). You can throw parts at it all day, but until you troubleshoot and determine the real cause you could just be chasing your tail.

[deevergote]

I wouldn't assume that your new parts aren't faulty, either. It's not uncommon for new parts to fail quickly, especially if they're inexpensive aftermarket parts. Hell, even new OEM parts don't seem to be of the same quality (OEM suppliers may have changed.)

I've seen people waste hundreds of dollars and weeks of their time by refusing to admit their new parts are no good.

While your crank, start, die symptoms are vague, and could honestly be due to anything being discussed here, I've had a similar situation where the problem was due to the fuel pump crapping out on me.

[F22Chris]

Try holding the key in the on position (not start) and see if it still runs. I too think it's ignition switch related.

[cfmurray]

Update: I have installed brand new spark plugs and my car has started up every time. I want to thank everyone for the input and guidance even with vague details given to you all. You all are awesome!