nd8ch

Recently, my tach would jump around after 4k rpms when WOT. but when this happens the car would run fine, no bogging or misfires that i could feel at least.

Im reading that it could either be the ignitor or the coil. If it was the ignitor, wouldnt my car misfire and run rough when the tach jumps?

so my car is sitting somewhere till i can get parts tomorrow, but not sure what to get yet...

street dreams

do u know if your car is even getting spark

nd8ch

the car is not getting a spark at this point

Spartanic

If the tach jumps around when your driving then it could be a bad grounding on thermostat housing and it can also lead to a no-start condition, sounds funny but it solved my problem. If there's no spark then it could be a bad igniter or coil. Honda's do have a history of Ignition problems and mostly related to the Igniter.

93CivicSI

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Spartanic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If the tach jumps around when your driving then it could be a bad grounding on thermostat housing and it can also lead to a no-start condition, sounds funny but it solved my problem. If there's no spark then it could be a bad igniter or coil. Honda's do have a history of Ignition problems and mostly related to the Igniter.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The exact same thing happened to me - bad ground and bad igniter.... - on for not fixing this sooner.

goodbyegti

i had bad ignitor or ICM as they like to call it when this happened, the fact that when the tach drops you lose power is due to the lack of spark...you can test it with a multimeter, i'm sure i've posted up how somewhere but i can't be bothered to type it out again..oh yeah you can test the coil as well which could possibly be causing the problem but is less likely as its only a bit of wire, it has a certain resistance which you need to measure..

SOHC_MShue

check your plugs and wires while your at it too That was my problem.

nd8ch

my car's tach would jump around only jumping higher than its actualy rpm...so at 4krpm, it would only go up and down but never lower than 4 and same thing applies when i go higher in rpm, not past the current rpm.

when this happens, the car drives normal

I checked the wires and plugs and cap and rotor...they look good and no carbon anymore

I parked the car and when i started it up, didnt work, its not like it died while i was driving.

going to check ou tthe part later today, hopefully my car isnt towed

nd8ch

ok, so it turns out it was my ignitor

If you have a vin number of something and below, you can buy the $70-$100 ignitor ICM thing

if you have a vin number over this certain number, you have to buy the $170+ ignitor

Im lucky and my car uses the cheaper one hehe.

zelifcam

how did you know it was the ignition module?

nd8ch

just changed it and it happens to work

i dont know of a way to test it..if its not the coil and the check light goes on when you turn the key and goes off...then i figured its probbaly the ignitor if im not getting a spark. if it was not, i probaly have major problems

solo2slocivic

quick ignitor test... disconnect both wires from the coils get a test light connect each end of the testlight toeach lead going to the coil have someone crank the car over if it blinks the ignitor is good....

zelifcam

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by solo2slocivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">quick ignitor test... disconnect both wires from the coils get a test light connect each end of the testlight toeach lead going to the coil have someone crank the car over if it blinks the ignitor is good....</TD></TR></TABLE>

good idea, just don't do that on an MSD box! :-) (primary coil voltage is like 650 volts...)

-zelif

nd8ch

i thought about doing something like that with a volt meter, but i really wasnt sure what i was doing hehe

ill phil

I do believe the Ignitor (ICM) controls the tach lead, hence a jumping tach signal. I had a coil go bad and it was just a plain- no start. Started, died and nothing and this was out of nowhere. From what I've seen and read, generally Ignitors tend to show signs of where before dying.
I've performed tests with a multimeter that the Helms suggests (resistance values at certain connections) and both read fine even though the coil was dead. That made me wonder about some tests like that

nd8ch

yeah, i tested the ICM the way the helms manaul suggests, but the ICM failed when the test was good. whatevers, my car works...i dont really care LOL

This info would have been nice to have before i did the replacement

nd8ch

ok, so i just changed the ignitor ICM" and the car worked last week, now the tach is still jumping around. now worst than it did before i changed the ignitor and my car is a little rough during WOT, like the car sputters a little, but its not so bad i can pass people, still pulls, just not smoothly i guess. the cap and rotor is still good so are the plugs and wires...what can it be now?

Formula 1

reset the ECU and check grounds

nd8ch

is it possible for the coil to be doing what my symptoms are?

can a defective coil still work, but poorly? or when its bad, it no long works?

Formula 1

do u have an extra tach like a 5" one or just the stock one