[Keill Randor]

Hi guys,

I'm a new owner of a 5th Gen Prelude and love the old girl, but having some serious issues with the engine cutting out. I have seen another thread which offers suggestions but I have a bit more (maybe) info about what's happening.

Basically, the engine cuts out whilst the car is in motion, 3rd or 4th gear, and when it does, the seat belt locks or goes tight as if it has registered a collision or something even though I'm not doing any braking.

The lights and radio stay on but obviously power steering goes and zero revs on the counter.

The only thing that I other thing that *might* be a common denominator is that the last 2 times it's happened, I have been indicating left - I've noticed this because when the engine re-engages the light's still flashing.

Obviously, the engine hasn't been close to stalling (although in gear I haven't been using the throttle), and to get the car going again, all I've had to do is turn the ignition.

I'm thinking distributor cap, but has anyone had the same problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated because I've only had the car for 2 months and absolutely love it.

Thanks in advance!

 

[jagass]

My cousin experienced that problem last month too...

 

[thegamettt]

if your engine is turning off while you are in motion check if the ignition recall has been done. There is a recall for that issue.

 

[Keill Randor]

Scratch what I said about the indicator. Today the [email protected]#*$£g thing cut out at 70(ish) in fast lane on dual carriageway with no indicator - twice!

I'll dig out the service history, but is there an easy way to check if the "ignition recall" has been done?

 

[thegamettt]

https://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/login.asp?page=/prod_home.asp

Go there and register your VIN. It will tell you if any recalls have been done.

 

[Keill Randor]

Okay, just done some Googling and it sounds like the ignition is the problem. Does anyone know where I need to go with my VIN to see if the ignition is part of the recall, or do I just go to the nearest Honda dealership? (I guess I just answered my own question there...)

 

[Keill Randor]

thegamettt Thanks for the info, but my Lude is a Japanese import and this site only provides information on American Hondas :-(

But it's a step in the right direction! Will now look for another site, if anyone knows it, please just post!

Thanks for everyone's help so far!

 

[thegamettt]

oh my bad, where are you located? I assumed the recall was for all 97-01 preludes.

 

[vipastyle]

I'm curious to know if a Honda dealership is obligated to honor recalls on an imported car. I'm sure some Honda tech would be happy to do it.

 

[lilredlude]

Scratch what I said about the indicator. Today the [email protected]#*$£g thing cut out at 70(ish) in fast lane on dual carriageway with no indicator - twice!

I'll dig out the service history, but is there an easy way to check if the "ignition recall" has been done?

that is exactly what happened to my friend. his ignition recall hadn't been done. you might want to just replace whatever is involved in the recall. cutting out at 70 was not fun

 

[Keill Randor]

Actually it might be my bad. Checked my VIN on engine bay (and on registration certificate), all it has is a load of oriental pictogram thingys and "BB5-1001808" which doesn't register on any of the VIN decoders, probably because it's too short - apparently it's meant to be 17 characters long.

I'm based in the UK but my Lude is a Jap import. Checked here Honda VIN numbers and it kinda tells you what bits of the VIN mean what but all I can tell from this is that my Lude is 1808th to be produced...

I was speaking to a bloke down the gym tonight who said that if it's a safety issue then (which this is) then all I need to do is pop into a Honda dealership, quote the recall number (whatever that may be) and they are meant to be honour-bound to undertake the repair free of charge - although I was warned about being conned into paying.

A lot of this of course is hearsay and speculation, not to mention the whole thing might be a red herring and I should really, I dunno, clean the injectors but then again, it might be the way to go...hopefully if I do get this sorted, it'll help anyone else having the same problem.

 

[dbr1]

Cutting out...recall 02-031

You need to have Ignition Switch Replacement Recall #02-031 done at a dealership. That's exactly what's happening.

 

[dbr1]

BACKGROUND
Electrical contacts in the ignition switch can wear prematurely due to high electrical current passing through the switch. Worn out ignition contacts could cause the engine to stall without warning. Although the engine will restart in most cases, a vehicle that stalls while driving increases the risk of a crash.

 

[silver lude]

hey im new here, i have a bad problem with my lude, while im driving sometimes it feels like my car is going to cut off, im pushing the pedal and its not going anywhere, just kind of making a huge noise and when im taking off at a light or so, it feels like it gonna stall and i have to give alot of gas...any idea of what problem might be

 

[Keill Randor]

Hi Guys,

Update: been dicked around by my local Honda dealership who reckon they can have the part fitted for £87 inc Vat & labour. Cannot do it free of charge coz even though it might get me and my passengers killed, my car is an imprt and they only do recall work on UK cars. Fair enough.

But, I've looked here http://techauto.awardspace.com/pages/ignitionswitch7.html and it looks like a real easy fix. What I'm thinking of doing is just purchasing the part off them, telling them to whistle for the £30 ex Vat for 1/2 hour labour, and installing it myself. By all accounts, it looks like it's a fairly modular unit and can be done in 15-20 minutes.

Does anyone have any idea on any potential pitfalls I may run into?

 

[Keill Randor]

Silver Lude - Sorry m8, got no idea what it might be, but you'll probably be better off starting a new thread, probably get more response that way. Good luck fella

 

[Keill Randor]

Yaaaay!

All fixed!!! Ended up buying a brand new ignition switch from the Honda dealership for £48.00, and did the installation myself wanting to save the £30 labour. The parts manager was very helpful and understanding when I explained this.

So basically, undid all the screws, unclipped the cover (a bit tricky but manageable) removed the ignition switch unit (which was held in by 3 screws, 1 of which was nearly impossibe to undo but a very small screwdriver and a lot of patience went a long way) and put in the new one.

And now the old girl runs like a dream. Took her for a niiiice long test drive and not cut outs at all.

I opened up the old switch to look inside and found that it was damaged - looked like electrical burning on the metallic contacts which were blackened and corroded. I'll try and post a picture so you can see what it looked like.

So all that left for me to say is THANKS VERY MUCH EVERYONE WHO PROVIDED ME WITH ADVICE and anyone who wants any advice just PM me and I'll tell you what I can.

Thanks again guys (and gals), £50 to get my Lude running perfectly again is an absolute bargain - I shudder to think what it would've cost if I took her into a garage...

Saul

 

[Keill Randor]

Also - was so pleased about this happy ending, I took her down to the beach (after a good waxing) and took some pics.