Ignition Coil Diagnosis (92 Accord)

[starchland]

Hello, Recently my car has been hesitating above 3-4+ k or so and when it does this it feels like the engine has lost spark perhaps intermittenly, the tach will jump all crazy into redline, even though it is not really redlining. The car will hesitate and the rpm does not match the sound of the engine. I have tested my coil and it appears to be that the resistence is not where it should be I just dont want to dish out the money if this isnt the problem. Is this the probably cause of my hesitation. Also, spark plugs, wires, dizzy have all been replaced last week. Thanks for the help!

[The_Todd]

Typically if your ignition coil is going out your car won't start. If the tach is jumping and the engine is not matching the tach reading I highly doubt its the ignition coil.

My guess would be loose connection from engine to tach, or....are you getting a CEL (check engine light)?

I am sure others will chime in

[starchland]

No, I am not getting any c.e.l or code, the car operates fine under norman driving conditions, its only in the upper rpm range this happens. hmm how can i better describe this...oh and once and awhile while cruising on the highway in 5th, the rpms will jump slightly and quickly from cruising rpm say 3k to maybe to 3200 then back (5 spd, 2.2 fuel injected)

[boonacka]

check spark plug gap, change fuel filter, fuel injection cleaner(BG44k)?

[starchland]

just gapped the plugs when i put them in, also did injector cleaner, but the fuel filter has not been changed. But that wouldnt explain my tach jumping to like 8K?

[cmrvi1]

Your coil is probably breaking down under load.
The best way to test it is to buy a cheap spark tester from one of the auto parts and hook it up. The coil should fire even when you open the gap up to 1/2" on the spark tester. If it doesn't, the coil is bad.

[starchland]

a spark tester, like a volt meter how would i go about hooking it up to test, thanks.

[cmrvi1]

No, a spark tester is not like a voltmeter.
You disconnect a spark plug wire, and push the spark tester into the plug wire.
You then ground the other end of the tester, then start the engine, and observe the spark quality.