motor died on the highway

[JaK FRoSTWhiTE]

my rpms didnt shoot to zero when my fuel pump went out on me on the highway. possible alternator.

x2 .

But then again im not there to look at the car and stuff.
Its really hard diagnosing a car over the interweb lol

[ExplodingCake]

I'm guessing ignitor.

When your engine cools down , start the car and let it idle. If it dies then it's your ignitor.

[Losiracer2]

if your tach went to zero, then it could possibly be an ignitor issue. I know mine about two years ago, had the jumpy tach right before it died, the RPMs went up on the tach, and while I was waiting at a light, it just died. I've got an auto as well.

[eriemoto.]

I'm guessing ignitor.

When your engine cools down , start the car and let it idle. If it dies then it's your ignitor.

i let it cool while waiting for the tow truck on the highway. tried to start when he got there, and it just cranked and cranked

[benji]

Did you get a CEL? Be sure to check.

Then check your fuses. A $2 test light can save you from having to dump $100+ on ignitor/main relay.

My $5 says it's probably the ignitor or main relay, but one never knows. My car died recently while hauling ass up an on ramp, and it took me 15 minutes of checking for spark, fuel, etc before I checked fuses. I always grab good ones when I'm going through the junkyard, so luckily I had a spare and 5 minutes later I was on my way.

Also, since you swapped ECUs, try putting the old one back in real quick. That will rule out any problems with the PT6 you picked up. You didn't say, but if it was a junk yard special then it might not be as good as you were thinking. Swapping it out will also make sure all the plugs are tight.

If your car just died, straight to 0 RPM, then it almost certainly isn't your alternator (unless something shorted/came loose), and it probably isn't your fuel pump. It might be, but they tend to have a more gradual decline that would cause drivability issues first. It's easy enough to check; there is a little 12mm bolt that goes into the top of the fuel rail on the driver's side. Loosen it (while the car is off and cold!) a little and see if you get fuel spurting out. If you do, then you have fuel pressure.

[eriemoto.]

Did you get a CEL? Be sure to check.

Then check your fuses. A $2 test light can save you from having to dump $100+ on ignitor/main relay.

My $5 says it's probably the ignitor or main relay, but one never knows. My car died recently while hauling ass up an on ramp, and it took me 15 minutes of checking for spark, fuel, etc before I checked fuses. I always grab good ones when I'm going through the junkyard, so luckily I had a spare and 5 minutes later I was on my way.

Also, since you swapped ECUs, try putting the old one back in real quick. That will rule out any problems with the PT6 you picked up. You didn't say, but if it was a junk yard special then it might not be as good as you were thinking. Swapping it out will also make sure all the plugs are tight.

If your car just died, straight to 0 RPM, then it almost certainly isn't your alternator (unless something shorted/came loose), and it probably isn't your fuel pump. It might be, but they tend to have a more gradual decline that would cause drivability issues first. It's easy enough to check; there is a little 12mm bolt that goes into the top of the fuel rail on the driver's side. Loosen it (while the car is off and cold!) a little and see if you get fuel spurting out. If you do, then you have fuel pressure.

i didnt get any CEL's. the pt6 was purchased from a member here who said it was working fine when pulled. and that's why i'm still a little fishy on the fuel pump/alternator. i had no issues with the car up until it just straight up shut down.

which fuse did you find blown when you had your issue? i will be checking every fuse when i get out of school, but i'd like to know which one was your problem so i can start there. thanks

[eriemoto.]

update: just got a call from my father who is looking at the car right now. we are getting no spark from the distributor

[benji]

update: just got a call from my father who is looking at the car right now. we are getting no spark from the distributor

I have a prelude, so I think the numbers are different, but it was labeled as the Back Up (10A) fuse on the under dash fuse panel. I didn't have a spark either, but my CEL was solid while the key was on, ie it didn't go off after two seconds like it is supposed to. Another fuse to check is the ECU (ECM) fuse, also in the under dash box.

If all of your fuses are fine, be sure to check your coil as well as your ignitor, and all of the plugs going into the dizzy.

[Losiracer2]

update: just got a call from my father who is looking at the car right now. we are getting no spark from the distributor

check the resistance on your coil. Check the primary values, from A to C, Secondary values from A to the other side of the coil and finally, the resistance from B to D.

For primary it should register: .6 to .8 ohms

Secondary: 90-91s: 13.0K to 19.8K ohms
92-93s: 14.0K to 22.0K ohms

Term. B to D: 2.1 to 2.3K ohms

If all work out fine, then the coil is good. Also heat plays a role in getting accurate resistance values I found out. So if you could check it at room temp, then that would be best.

[eriemoto.]

check the resistance on your coil. Check the primary values, from A to C, Secondary values from A to the other side of the coil and finally, the resistance from B to D.

For primary it should register: .6 to .8 ohms

Secondary: 90-91s: 13.0K to 19.8K ohms
92-93s: 14.0K to 22.0K ohms

Term. B to D: 2.1 to 2.3K ohms

If all work out fine, then the coil is good. Also heat plays a role in getting accurate resistance values I found out. So if you could check it at room temp, then that would be best.

we replaced the distributor and it fired right up

[benji]

we replaced the distributor and it fired right up

So it could have been the coil, the ignitor, the rotor or cap even.

[eriemoto.]

So it could have been the coil, the ignitor, the rotor or cap even.

coil, ignitor or the distributor all together shit the bed. the cap and rotor was reused, which were oem honda parts anyhow replaced about 3 months ago

[eriemoto.]

after driving today, i noticed a tinging sound from the exhaust. it's like metal on metal vibrating in the piping, very noticeable between 2-3K rpm. could something have broken off in the cyl. head and through the exhaust when the distributor shit out on me?

[eriemoto.]

after driving today, i noticed a tinging sound from the exhaust. it's like metal on metal vibrating in the piping, very noticeable between 2-3K rpm. could something have broken off in the cyl. head and through the exhaust when the distributor shit out on me?

i took apart the piping pre-cat to look inside the cat. and guess what? the inside of the cat completely melted into a glob of grey metal. i know a misfire will eventually cause a cat to melt, but i never had a miss. could this be because the ignitor killed my car while on the highway, causing excessive heat out the exhaust?