craiger28

98 Civic LX 4 door U.S. model.
I wanted to know what test you can do to see if it is working or not?
I put the ohm meter on the positive and negative leads on the coil and got no ohms at all.
Help.

Former User

craiger28

Great information but, I got a brand new coil and it shows nothing for ohms using this technique to check for the resistance???

craiger28

OK, found out the problem, my multi meter is bad. So I borrowed one from a friend and it works correctly. OK on the A to B test I have 1.2 ohms which is higher than the .66 to .77 specs. The A to secondary test was 14.63 kohms which is right in specs. If the first test is above the specs is the coil bad?

B18CivicEJ8

What is the problem, exactly? Are you not getting any spark? Chances are, if it's a new coil, it should be fine. Maybe it's your ignition control module.

Former User

Yes, the coil is bad. Replace it.

craiger28

I looked in the book and checked the voltage on the icm and got 12.3 volts from the black/yellow wire to the ground. So I believe the icm to be ok. What do you think Ron???

Former User

This tells you that the ICM is getting power, which is good. What voltage do you measure on the Yel/Grn wire attached to the ICM. It should be about 10V. Nonetheless, direct testing of the ICM is a bit complicated. If those voltages are fine, then remove the ICM and take it to an auto parts store. Some will test it for you.

craiger28

Ron, when I do this test with the yellow/green wire attached to the icm, should the ignition be turned to the on position. Like the black/yellow wire test?

Former User

Yes.

craiger28

I went ahead and did this check anyway (yellow/green wire connection on the icm and the ground) with the ignition on and it read 11.89 volts.

Former User

I think this voltage is probably fine.

Did you already install a new coil but still don't have spark?

craiger28

No I haven't installed a new coil yet. I am getting a new dizzy tomorrow and will try it out on both these civics. This is hard to explain but I will still need another coil for the other dizzy I have as I have 2 civics that now have two bad dizzy's.

B18CivicEJ8

Why are you getting a whole new dizzy? There are only so many parts inside that need to be replaced. If you've replaced cap and rotor and still don't have a spark, it could be a bad coil. If you replace the coil and still don't have spark, then it's most likely the ICM. This happened to me a couple of months ago. The car was running fine until the next morning. I went to start it and got no spark. I started replacing stuff. Cap, rotor, coil, then finally ICM. It turned out that the ICM was the problem and not the coil. I'm just saying it may be cheaper to get just the ICM than a whole new dizzy

craiger28

I checked the icm's on both of these dizzy's and they both passed the test. I also got a coil from the auto parts store and checked the ohm's on the A to B and got 1.2 ohms and did the A to secondary test and got 16.43 kohms?? It is the same as the two bad ones I have. This is making me think that the two coils I already have are fine.

Former User

How did you test the ICMs?

Clearly, 1.2 Ohms is out of spec for the A-B coil test. Some possibilities are: The Ohm test is being done (1) on wrong meter scale or (2) using wrong method (you should touch + meter probe to terminal A and - meter probe to terminal B) or (3) at wrong temp (remove coils and test them at room temp inside your house), or (4) you are using an analog meter (you should be using a digital multimeter).

craiger28

I took the icm's into the auto parts store (O'Reilly's) and they tested them each three times to get them warm and they passed the test everytime.

On my digital multimeter i have it on the 200 ohms (this is the lowest ohm test I can set it at) for the a to b test. I have the red lead going to positive and the black lead going to negative. It is in the garage about 80 degrees. All three coils show to be at 1.2 ohms.

Former User

Yeah, 1.2 Ohms is out of spec. Bring the new coil to a cooler location and redo the test.

More no spark troubleshooting:

Is the timing belt snapped?

Is the ECU throwing any CEL codes? If not, install the original distributor and crank the engine for at least 30 seconds. Are any codes now thrown?

If no CEL codes are thrown, then check for a short or lack of continuity on the Yel/Grn wire that runs between the distributor and the ECU.

craiger28

OK well check in the cool room.

No to the timing belt. It had a coil code and #3 misfire code until I unhooked the battery.

Former User

What is a coil code? Please post the specific OBDI or OBDII CEL code for this.

Did you determine the cause of the cylinder 3 misfire? Was this an ignition (plug, wire, cap, rotor), fuel injector, or compression problem?

craiger28

Well I think that the code were: P1399 and P1003 but I have unhooked the battery since then. The cause of the #3 misfire was definitely the wires that were all corroded inside where they attach to the cap. I was told that this might of damaged the coil or other electrical componenets.

How do I check the pick up module that is in the dizzy?

1992Si

FWIW, most of us will tell you at any sign of ignition problems just buy a rebuilt dizzy. You get all new parts in it.

I have paid someone to chase this type problem. changing ICM, then the old coil went and took the new ICM with it. Replaced both again. Two months later the bearing went out. Had to get a rebuilt dizzy anyways. Remember the thing 10 years old.

Former User

P1003? P0303 is misfire in cylinder #3.

There's no specific CEL code for a bad coil. I think P1399 is a generic random misfire code. Was the CEL blinking?

Yes, if the coil is blocked from releasing it's voltage through the wires, it can blow.

The CKP sends the pickup signal from the dizzy:

Former User

This is a good point. The entire dizzy should be replaced at about 150k miles. Just do enough troubleshooting to verify that the problem is the dizzy as opposed to a bad wire or ECU.

1992Si

That's a good guess, mine went at 148,000 miles