stalling nsx

Joined
4 March 2003
Messages
1,647
Location
Madison, WI
Last night the check engine light came on while driving on the interstate. I pulled over and turned the car off for a few minutes. It started fine, and the light did not come on again.

Later on in the evening, the car died in traffic. :( I coasted to a stop, waited a minute, and the car started fine again. It died again a few minutes later. Again, it started fine. Since I had the climate control on full auto and the stereo on (which has a blown amp on one side that works intermittently but can also pop and crackle), I decided to drive with both off for the rest of the night and everything was fine.

Today, on about mile 55 of a 60 mile drive, the car died on the interstate. It started immediately, such that I did not even have to pull over, and ran fine for the remainder of the 5 miles home. I did not have the stereo or cc on. I spoke to a tech at Acura of Brookfield, but they didn't know what it was, and they can't look at it until Tuesday.

The oil pressure, temperature, voltage, etc. all seem fine. The engine sounds great when it is running.

Any ideas?

Is it possible that using the stereo with a blown amp has caused some problems with the electrical system?

Could this be an ignition or coil issue?

Am I overlooking something obvious? :confused:
 
It sounds like it could be your Ignition switch. When mine was going out the car would stall and then start again. It did that for a few times and then finally went totally dead. It cost me about $200 parts/labor plus a tow.
 
If the check engine light came on, first step is to read the code to get an idea of what's going on, otherwise its just conjecture.
 
Sounds like the main relay behind the panel behind the drivers seat. Costs about $50. That's my guess, since I was having the same problem a few months ago!!
Regards
Z
 
Just got off the phone with the dealer.

It turns out the idle was set too low. Apparently the code was for O2 sensors front and rear. They thought it seemed strange that both would fail at the same time, so they believe that the low idle put everything out of whack and that resulted in the code and the stalls as the computer tried to deal with an incorrect fuel mixture.

They have raised the idle and believe that everything is now okay. I am a little skeptical, but I hope they are right.

Decided to have an oil change and the Bose amp replaced while they were at it.

I had also asked them to check the window alignment and look for the window fix-it thingies. They feel the alignment is fine, but that the aftermarket alarm's "auto-up" feature is too sensitive and that causes the window to stop prematurely, such that I have to hit the button a few more times to raise it completely. I don't know that the tech understood what I was talking about with regard to the fix-it thingies.

They also noticed a minor oil leak, which is apparently is coming from the cam bolts. It does not need immediate attention, but I am a little irritated given the inspection a few weeks ago showed an oil leak that was supposedly related to (oil pan?) bolts that needed tightening and is apparently something that is checked virtually every time the car goes in for service. Perhaps that is still the case, or this new problem developed in the last 1500 miles/three weeks, but maybe not.

Hopefully I will be able to speak to John Vasos about all of the above soon, as I have been dealing with others at A of B that I don't feel as comfortable with (only because John is THE man).

I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will take care of it . . .
 
It sounds like your car died while at speed on the interstate, right? It doesn't make sense that the engine would die from a low idle setpoint while you are already driving along. Or am I missing something?

Leaking cam end seals seems like a pretty common problem. I have it a little bit too. It was a lot of work to figure out where that little leak was coming from.
 
Setting the idle too low WON'T make you stall on the interstate, and it won't keep you from starting if you are giving it gas. Your dealer is BS-ing you.
 
dougjgreen said:
Setting the idle too low WON'T make you stall on the interstate, and it won't keep you from starting if you are giving it gas. Your dealer is BS-ing you.

As I said, I am skeptical. However, the problem is not that the car won't start. It starts every time without a problem. The problem is that the car has died three times while driving, two of which when the car was not at idle.

Hopefully I will be able to speak to John Vasos today. In fact, I think I'll give him a call right now . . .
 
I really think it's the main relay. The exact same thing happened to me. Car would die when driving. Also had TCS light come on. Then finally the car wouldn't start at all. I replaced the MAIN RELAY and have never had a problem since.
Good Luck
Z
PS - The main relay should be really easy to check using a voltmeter. :D
 
NSX FoYoAss said:
I really think it's the main relay. The exact same thing happened to me. Car would die when driving. Also had TCS light come on. Then finally the car wouldn't start at all. I replaced the MAIN RELAY and have never had a problem since.
Good Luck
Z
PS - The main relay should be really easy to check using a voltmeter. :D

Well, it turns out you were right. :)

Just got off the phone with John and the car died while a tech was driving it on the highway. He checked the main relay and found that it was broken. The part should be in tomorrow.

Apparently they were sent on a wild goose chase as a result of some poor note taking of my symptoms. Initially they were under the impression that the car wouldn't start, which in conjunction with the fault codes for the 02 sensors and a rough idle led to the initial conclusion.

Fortunately, I called John. He was able to get them working on the right track. They suspected a fuel pump cut-out as the culprit, but initially thought the aftermarket Clifford Alarm was causing the problem as opposed to the main relay. Apparently they have never seen a bad main relay on an NSX. Thank god it died on the test drive, or they might still be troubleshooting the alarm.

I hope to have nothing but good news to report tomorrow. :D
 
Last edited:
brahtw8 said:
Well, it turns out you were right. :)

Apparently they have never seen a bad main relay on an NSX. Thank god it died on the test drive, or they may still be troubleshooting the alarm.

I hope to have nothing but good news to report tomorrow. :D


That's funny. I had never heard about the Main Relay problem before it happened to me also. Since then, it's become more common. I've started a trend!! :p Maybe the MAIN RELAY problem should be put into the FAQ. :D
Anyways, glad your problem is solved.
Regards
Z
 
PGMFI Main Relay

The exact same thing happened to me in my '92 at around 70000 miles. It was easy to fix, but took a couple of tries (around $200 in labor) for the dealer to investigate it. In the end, I found a couple of articles here on NSX Prime describing the same symptoms, the replacement info, and instructions for repairs. I repaired mine (resoldered it) and used it until the replacement arrived.

I wish NSX techs were more familiar with this problem - It doesn't seem to be very rare, and the solution is easy to find and fix. However, most of the people that I've heard from had to take it to the dealer and pay for a few hours of tech time to find the problem.

PS - I agree - This is a perfect item for the FAQ
 
Re: PGMFI Main Relay

Kirthasa said:
However, most of the people that I've heard from had to take it to the dealer and pay for a few hours of tech time to find the problem.

PS - I agree - This is a perfect item for the FAQ

That's why I love A of B; the price was very good. ;)

I got a rebuilt Bose amp w/install, an oil change, several hours of diagnostics, the idle reset, and the main relay for $325 w/tax! :D

I drove the car home in the rain (for the first time) and thought it handled quite well given the aggressive rubber (Toyo Proxes T1-S, 225/40/16 and 265/40/16). Can't say I'll be doing a lot of rain driving, but it won't stop me.
 
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