I have a 1989 honda accord with just over 100k miles and its starting to die while driving down the highway sometimes it starts right back up most times have to pull over put in park and crank till it catches and goes, im lost cant figure out whats wrong please help

There could be a wide range of issues on this but if it is dying while running. If it is bogging down while in motion you could have a fuel delivery issue. that can be traced from a bad fuel filter => bad fuel pump. Also check your spark plugs because if it isn't your fuel system it would be your ignition system. Your spark plugs can tell you several things. Faulty plugs can affect your car's performance. If your plugs look sludgy or wet in any way, you have a leak fouling your plugs. If you are blue smoke coming from your exhaust you burning oil.

its not really bogging down or misfireing it runs great when its going, thats what has me confused. no smoke from exhaust and still gets 29 miles to the gallon. the other day i had it running for 2 hours driving around and did fine and then sometimes you can go to start it and it will start and die right away or just be driving down the highway and poof it dies. has a new cap and rotor and wires. vacume hoses look good and i fixed the few that holes in them. could it be the fuel pump is going bad??? i wish it had a computer that could give codes but in 89 honda didnt have that on the carburated model.

What did you spark plugs look like when or if you changed them? If you get into the fuel system, check the fuel filter first. A changing a clogged filter is cheaper and easier than getting to the fuel pump.

they are a little worn but they look ok, i dont have a pressure guage to check the fuel filters i know it has 2 of them because i changed them 2 years ago one at the bottom of the tank and one up front in the engine, i will try replacing them and see what happens. when the coil pack starts going bad can it be intermittent or do they just work or not work? it doesnt even stutter before it dies it will be running smooth and just die with no warning. thank you so much for your time!!!!

Cars with individual coil packs will lose massive horsepower and will put out smoke once the pack fails but will still run unless all of them fail at once which is rare. On the cars without individual coil packs which I think your car will fall into this category, if it does fail your car will die out. It can be intermittent as it is basically about to fail but not quite dead yet. You can also check the distributor to see if any moisture leaked in as well. If you tend to die or struggle to start your car after driving in the rain this could be your problem.

I checked in under the cap there is just a little oil inside but its done that since ive had it and doesnt make into the cap itself. i may just have to just drive it till wont start anymore and bring to a shop i have no way to test alot of the stuff as all my tools are 1300 miles away from me. it bugs me tho i went to school for cars but we didnt learn much about this kind with all the vacume stuff and strange stuff that hondas put on the older cars.

As with most car problems it is constant diagnosing and troubleshooting to find the cause. You start with the common issues then go down the list until you find the source. Hope it all works out.

thanks ! i know its hard on problems that dont happen often so i figure in waiting till its completly dead i should be able to fix it easy should either be no spark or no fuel lol thanks for your time Vietle

you said you changed you battery cable ends...what about the battery? my 2007 accord did this while driving a few times got the battery replaced and havent had a problem since

i found what it is. Its the ignition switch! got a new one replaced it and no problems now :) thanks everyone