Holding key to keep engine on

Alright so my lady friend drives a 90 accord and you have to hold the key all the way to start mode to for the engine to stay running and if i let go it dies. please help

switch could be bad not providing electricity to distributor or ignition modual does to starter keep cranking while u are doing this with key?

no the starter does not keep running bc i would hear that grinding noise correct?

The ignition switch is going bad, very common. If you look, you'll probably notice that the idiot lights on the dash are not on w/key in the RUN position, unless you roll the key towards START slightly...that's how it usually happens...

The switch is pretty easy to replace...

not the actual ignition, but the switch mounted to the back of it.. same thing happened to our car, you can find a sweet spot to make it work.. common honda problem

To verify that's the problem you can actually just connect the new switch to the wiring harness without removing the original switch...just look behind the dash lower panel near the steering column for the same connectors as the new switch and plug it into the harness and start the car with it. (There is one small plug with short wires on the switch that is just for the "Key in Ignition" chime when the ignition is OFF...ignore it, it doesn't need to be connected to test the switch)

That's one reason those older Accords were such a big target for theft...very easy to defeat. Just bring your own ignition switch....