98 civic 5spd 260000kms

Hi there,

Wife was driving home yesterday and the car died. She coasted to the side of
the highway. Attempted to start again immediately and it fired right up, but
the speedo didn't work right aways. She said that once she got to around
40km/h, the speedo kicked in. She made it home with no further incidents.

I did a few checks when I got home. Checked fluids, checked for CEL.
Nothing. The idle was super low, like around 200RPMs or less.

Then I checked battery posts, and the positive battery clamp was loose.

My question is, could a loose battery post cause the car to stall when at
highway speed?

I understand that the idle is low due to the computer constantly being reset.

Or could this be caused by something else?

t

 

I think you found it with the battery clamp. I had a Nissan in which the
battery developed a cracked internal connection. The car started okay a
couple times, but had a top speed around 40 mph and poured out black smoke,
barely idled, CEL not on... sound familiar? Apparently - just as you
surmise - the ECU was being constantly reset.

Mike