98 honda accord lx 5speed stalls cuts out when driving?

Question

using the turning left signal today the speedomitor dropped up and down. Plus the engine stalls every once and a while at 55mph and turns back on by its self.

Has anyone else had this problem before?

I brought it to Autozone today and got the codes P1457
meaning Purge Solenoid valve Low system Malfunction?

and a code P0420 Catalyst efficiency low- bank 1?

What should I do?

What has others done with same problem?

Answer 1

You have three separate problems.

First--on the stalling issue--take the vehicle to any Honda dealer ASAP and have them perform the Ignition Switch Recall on that car. The electrical contacts in the ignition switch go open circuit and that's why you lose power and stall when driving. Typically you can jiggle the key and it comes back on or shut the key off and it will restart. All recalls are done at no charge so get to a Honda dealer before you get hurt.

secondly, the P1457 is a common code that is related to a loose fuel cap. it could simply be a bad seal on the cap or a cap that was left loose. Is the check engine light on? If not, the condition is temporary.

The P0420 will be a big problem. That means that the catalytic converter has deteriorated in its ability to convert exhaust gas to less than 50% of its original capacity. It will require the replacement of the catalytic converter and that's a pricy issue. If the check engine light is not on, then the condition does not need to be addressed at this time. If you are in a State that does emissions testing it will probably pass a tailpipe check but not an OBD II system check if that is mandated.

Again, get the recall done ASAP--its free. Also, there is a recall on the shift interlock on that car that can be done at the same time if it hasn't been done yet.

hope that helps

Answer 2

Had the same problem on my DX model same year
I had two problems contributing to it
1. The Vacuum line was unplugged , which made the engine use more gas
2. The idle was set to low, so whenever i left off the gas the engine took a dump

easy fixes, just put a new line in and then raised up the idle speed

Answer 3

Okay, it's a '98 and you put spark plugs in because the spark plugs look bad. That's a good observation, but you didn't go on and reason out why they looked bad. I'll just tell you that the spark plug wires probably look as bad as the plugs, and if you don't change the wires, the plugs will soon look like the old ones. You can park in a dark place, open the hood and start the car and you will probably see sparks all along the wires that are not supposed to be there.