motoxxxman

can anyone tell me what the gap should be between the rotor and distributor cap terminals? I've been having spark blowout issues lately. I run 9.5psi of boost, and it runs flawless below 8psi, but 8psi to 9.5psi and it erratically blows out. I've already installed new coil, wires, and have gapped the plugs down to 0.021" and am still getting occasional blowout. at 0.022" gap at the plugs the blowout was really bad, which was why I replaced the coil and wires but that made zero change. cleaning all engine bay grounds helped a little but didn't solve it. 0.021" plug gap seemed to do the trick at first, but it does still happen intermittently. I've been running 0.025"-0.028" gap for years and never had a problem until recently in this colder new england weather. the cap and rotor were bought this summer, and I don't know if that may be the issue, but they have almost zero wear/corrosion on them so I'm a little stumped.
my current rotor to cap gap is 0.050". is that correct? too small, or too big?

boosted94gsr

Are you running all OEM components? I have had horrible problems with parts store ignition parts, and never had a problem when using OEM parts.

95B18BTurbo

Is your rotor itself cracked or did the screw back out? I've had those issues before, so I'm very careful as to which ones I use now. I also always use a dab of blue locktight on the rotor screw.

Another note, if the ignitor is dying that could be the issue too since that's the part in there you still haven't replaced yet.

motoxxxman

OEM ignitor, MSD 6a (older analog box), MSD plug wires, MSD Blaster2 coil, NGK bkr8eix plugs, BWD cap and rotor from advance auto parts.

rotor is not cracked, screw did not back out. my ignitor is 24 years old, and that did cross my mind. but would that cause weak spark? because my car runs flawlessly up to 8-8.5psi. I would think the ignitor would either work or not work, not cause weak spark.

95B18BTurbo

I'm not a fan of the MSD stuff especially at that low of a boost level. I'm at 26psi and have no issues with my freshened up OEM dizzy. MSD plug wires are horrible after my testing, and now I only use NGK blue plug wires.

4drEF

Seeing how you have gaped down quite a bit, I'm suspecting that your ignition is weak.
Good move on cleaning the grounds up! Maybe try adding a ground from battery to distributor just to see if it helps.
Other than that, you have plug wires and distributor internals to look into.
If the rotor and cap are suspect, look for pitting and carbon/charring on the terminals.

boosted94gsr

My vote is go back to OEM ignition setup. You should have no problems at that boost level. I'm running all OEM ignition except for an accel coil and NGK blue wires and I run .030 gap up to 20psi with absolutely zero ignition breakup.

hardcore97

same here, my gap is .028 i think but im at 25 lbs of boost. around 500whp

motoxxxman

my distributor and cam sensor are rebuilt and bone dry and zero cracks or corrosion.
cap and rotor have less than 3k miles on them and have zero burning or pitting, but I don't know what the rotor to cap gap should be, as mine is 0.050".
my wires are perfect, and I installed a brand new coil, and the old coil is still 100% as well.
I obviously have a weak spark issue, just can't determine what's causing it, as I've replaced everything that would typically cause weak spark. I don't know if a bad ignitor could cause weak spark though, thats still original. I also have not installed the new cap and rotor I just picked up yet. if cap and rotor don't solve it, the only things left are the ignitor and the MSD 6a box

accordturb96

boosted has good advice, get rid of the aftermarket junk, you really don't need it

95B18BTurbo

Replace the ignitor and see what happens. It's not that expensive, they are available at pretty much most parts stores, and it could be the issue. Also, like I said before MSD wires suck because they always pop off the distributor cap, and they're just shitty for making power. NGK blue wire that bish and go OEM coil and whatnot inside!

viper_boy403

iTrader: (1)

We recently had a turbo D16 civic on the dyno. Brand new MSD wires. Same issues, cutting out at high boost. Threw on an old OEM set off my civic; picked up 40whp on the next pull and no cutting out. and this was on a mid-200hp setup. Pretty large gains

motoxxxman

I don't have a civic or a teg, I have a 90 prelude. completely different distributor setup. my wires dont pop off, they are tight as tight can be. and for the record, I slapped my set of NGK wires back on just to see, and still has the same issue.

also because of the above, the ignitor for my car is not cheap: $123 on rockauto.com

motoxxxman

well I finally got around to installing the new cap and rotor, and seems to be fixed now. the old ones had less than 3k on them and had zero burning or corrosion and also no cracks. something about one of them must have been bad though

motoxxxman

well the issue never did actually go away, still the same cutting out at 8-8.5psi. its much more consistent now though, seems like 2 cyls still run, but 1 or 2 cyls drop out completely. I've tried new cap and rotor, new plugs gapped to 0.022", new msd blaster2 coil, new digital msd 6a box, ngk blue wires, msd wires, and even replaced map sensor and tps sensor, all had zero effect on the issue.

the only time it runs properly is if I get it up to temp, then sit and idle for 10 minutes and let the engine bay heatsoak. then it runs strong for 2 or 3 pulls, then starts cutting out again after the engine bay cools off again. I've datalogged ect's and iat's, and there is zero correlation between those and the cutting out.

please feed me some ideas besides going back to stock ignition.
could it have anything to do with electrical noise, or the ignitor? or ionized air inside the distributor cap?

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Ignitor issues, more than likely. Get an oem one..

motoxxxman

I actually can't get an oem one, they're discontinued. part#: 30550-PH3-004
the only replacement I can get is Intermotor part#: LX638 for $125 on rockauto

just to verify because I've been wondering this for a while now: can an ignitor cause weak spark like this where it only misses at high load? and have you ever heard of an ignitor working properly when warm but working incorrectly when cold?
also, could the condenser have anything to do with this issue by chance?
and lastly, I've read a little about bypassing the ignitor with a special module when using a full aftermarket ignition system. is this something I might be able to do, considering I run an msd box and coil, both CD? and what about the condenser? is that something I could remove or bypass?

motoxxxman

PROBLEM SOLVED!
well I installed new (again, 3rd time): cap and rotor, ngk copper tipped plugs gapped to 0.026" (usually run irridiums), and NGK blue wires. doing so I found a damaged MSD plug wire and coil wire. replacing all these still did not fix it though...
next I cleaned all the grounds (except one...), again. still did not fix it...

after seeing what I saw with the MSD wires, I'll also stick with NGK blues from now on. though the msd wires did last me 9 years (though are discontinued for my application now)...

I typically run a 10ga ground from IM to chassis, 10ga ground from VC stud to chassis, and a 4ga ground from tranny to chassis to battery(-).
above when I said I cleaned all grounds except one, I forgot to clean the ground at the chassis between the tranny and battery(-). after long thought as to what the problem could be still, I remembered this, and went back and cleaned this ground, and viola!! Fixed!!!! stupid friggin ground all along! I'm surprised the other grounds to chassis weren't enough, but, it is fixed now for sure!!

boosted94gsr

Glad to hear you finally got it fixed. I know how good it feels to finally fix an issue that takes forever to figure out.

PyroProblem

Good to hear! This should help others in the future as well.

As far as I know, The igniter either works or it doesn't. From what I understand, the igniter is basically just the "relay" so to speak for the ignition system, in the sense it switches the coil on/off. (I may be wrong).

Every bad igniter I ever came across would have symptoms like no spark (intermittently) and the tachometer jumping around.

Tegra206

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to hop in but I'm having similar issue, I have a b18cr and I went to pull up a hill and it bogged down for a second definitly not normal, so today I'm going to go clean all my ground to see if this helps, what does this consist of? Toothbrush and elbo grease??? Do people on here add more grounds than what comes stock? Thanks ahead of time!!!!

Turbo-LS

iTrader: (4)

Or pick up a nifty Send It Racing Ignitor delete kit

PyroProblem

More info please?
I used to keep an extra igniter and main relay in my glovebox.

Turbo-LS

iTrader: (4)

Send me a PM I'll give you info

motoxxxman

this was exactly what I was thinking all along too, and my tach never missed a beat. which is why I was baffled when everyone kept telling me to try replacing the igniter. I have been wrong before though, so I did borrow a known good one from a friend to be absolutely sure that wasn't the issue (along with the condensor too)

just remove all ground wires and clean up the terminals with sandpaper on both the wire ends and the spots where they bolt too, then re-install and make sure the bolts are tight (but not too tight, a stripped ground bolt will do the same as a bad ground)