RC000E

Having had small ignitor issues through the years of owning honda's, the familiar bounce of the tach usually clues you in to the inevitable replacement. Recently, after getting my car back on the street, I was met with some random misfires. Misfires then led to some erratic tach action, so I figured, well no biggie, time for another ignitor.

Well, 5 ignitors later....

So, having never really had any extreme issues with ignitors, other than random failures, I've never truly explored the true mode of failure with these units. Clearly the issue is common, but now I must make clear why they actually fail in order to solve my particular issue.

Through searching I've discovered some various theories, and of course I've recalled the ignitor bypass through pgmfi.org. Not wanting to really go there though just yet, I'd rather resolve the true issue here.

Some steps I've taken prior to being here...in this thread, is:

Ensured good grounds to both the block and tranny
Clearly, I've used several ignitors, including a brand new one
All ignition components (cap, wires, plugs) are new


Some things I've noted are:

It seems the failure starts slowly and increases with load/heat, but this is fairly typical of ignitor failure
Misfires and erratic tach seem isolated to above 5,000+rpm only, but the trouble rpm has varied while trying various ignitors

Some facts are:

The car ran fine last year, so harness issues are out
The dizzy is a different one from last year, but inspection of the wiring internal and external showed no issues
I'm running NGK wires with NGK BKR7EIX's (Iridiums)
No code 15, no cel's at any time


A look into ignitor function reveals that generally these fail due to increasing resistance of ignition components. With new wires, and plugs gapped to .025, that clearly isn't my case. With no cel, I have to wonder if somehow the coil is having some type of issue discharging and is causing some type of failure in the ignitor. Not being entirely positive on how that system works though, that's only speculation.


So, tonight after loading a brand new ignitor all was well, but after two pulls things went right down hill. I'll be likely turning to Helm's flowcharts despite having no code. I'll run through the charts to see if I can isolate some type of issue. Any experienced input is appreciated.

postman

bad coil usually causes igniter problems, and spark plug problems usually cause coil problems.

RC000E

Yep, both have been replaced as of today. I used a different cap, verified the plugs are looking good and still gapped right (they are), switched with a known good coil. Did a wire check through the dizzy body. I then pulled the ignitor and took it to Advanced to see what their test machine revealed. The test machine said the ignitor was fine, yet the tach is still as erratic as ever upon reinstall.

I've been left to do nothing but question the advance auto test results. The tach jumping around is pure classic ignitor, so I still have to believe that is the issue, but I still also can't explain why..lol.

I'm searching for the resolution, but I suppose I'm still going to prepare to build the ignitor bypass and wire in my dig 6. I just don't like being beat by stupid problems like this..lol.

redzcstandardhatch

i killed about 20 ignitors with my old turbo setup. it as an OBD0 distributor (built 330 whp d16a6).

new setup (f23 turbo mated to D trans) dictated that i JACK up the hood. car makes more HP, but there is virtually NO engine bay heat, as i've got 2.5 inches of space the back of the hood, and its a bit higher in front. i believe that its keeping distributors alive. might want to try removing heat. its always a good idea for longevity of electronics. however....if this is problems onthe dyno, with hood open, then....maybe try a KNOWN PERFECT honda ignitor/coil. i HATE electronics from the parts stores.

my brother-in-law is a honda electronics nerd, and he does some wiring work with nissans too. he says hes going to take an indestructable nissan ignitor and put it in a honda, he just hasnt had time yet. external mounted ignitor might be a good thing too

Turbo-LS

iTrader: (4)

What abotu just extending the wiring out of the dizzy and mounting the ignitor on the firewall? This would certainly keep it cooler and maybe cut back on failures? or would this pose a timing issue by any chance? i dont see how but just throwing it out there.

I also have the back of my hood proped up to reduce underhood temps and havent had any failures on ignitors in my turbo gsr and when th ehod wasnt spaced i had two failures when i was lst two years ago

Turbocivic94

M&W Pro 10 gets rid of ignitor. Problem solved

RC000E

Well, used a different housing and have seen improvement, but not much. Possibly the housing is creating a better heat sink because the mounting plate is in more contact with the housing than my other dizzy. I gapped my plugs down to .020 to be sure I wasn't having any misfires due to that...no go.

It looks like my option is gonna be the ignitor bypass, digital 6 and ext. coil. I like the M&W Pro 10, but with the dig 6 and ext coil on my bench I might as well use it and build the ignitor bypass.

Honda ignitors suck...lol.

blinx9900

All these years later, somethings never change...