Steve-T

I drive a 1991 Civic Hatch, Std/Base trim, with 136,000 mi. After 25 years of no problem driving, parts are beginning to fail:
- Two summers ago, had to replace Main Relay.
- Last summer, had to replace Integrated Control Unit (ICU).
- This past week, lost power while driving 65mph on NJ-Pkwy. Car cranked but didn't start. Had to get towed home; cost = $140. Verdict: replaced faulty Ignition Coil.
I'd like to avoid getting stuck and towed ($$$) again, so i'm thinking about replacing the ICM Igniter before I have a problem, or maybe just carrying a spare one in the car till I need it.
Any advice to offer?
I was also wondering, what is the life expectancy of a Honda OEM Ignition Control Module (ICM) Igniter and aftermarket Ignition Coil?
Thanks in advance for the help,
Steve-T

netfreak

I keep a plastic tub in my trunk which holds numerous spare parts in case I run into an issue on the highway somewhere. ICM, coil, might be a rotor in there, headlight bulb, main relay, several fuses, some length of wire, etc etc. Probably easier if you have a junkyard nearby where you can grab spares of stuff for cheap.

sumdewd

Honestly, just replace it... And don't forget the cap/rotor/wires/plugs either. It really beats being stranded randomly on the way to work or a math final. I have a 90 HB Si and the igniter got heat sensitive at the end of 2015. Could drive for maybe 20 minutes before it'd lose spark. Replaced it in a random parking lot. Then last July my ignition coil puked its guts out all over the distributor and somehow broke the cap (wtf?) in the middle of traffic. My only guess is the rotor bitch slapped whatever broke and snapped off chunks of the brand new cap. Bought a new cap and coil and replaced it in the parking lot of a CVS and drove home.

I also just replaced my brother's ignition coil in his 90 Integra in January. Resistance tested in the millions and the car wouldn't run at all. Told him I wouldn't do it unless I replaced the ignitor unit at the same time since it was probably about to fail like mine did and I didn't wanna take it back apart or have it towed. No more issues with either car. Those ignition components lasted a long time though.

As for life expectancy, I have no clue. I used Autozone parts and they have a lifetime warranty. Both cars have bright hot spark still. And where did you get a new ICU? I haven't had intermittent wipers in a LONG time. I don't keep spare coil/ignitor but I do keep a spare main relay in each Honda since that's super easy to replace and troubleshoot.

Edit: And for the love of god if you take off the rotor or replace it, use blue threadlocker or something on the screw. As I was working on my brother's Integra I noticed the rotor screw was halfway out. It was going to strand him regardless. My last car stranded me when the screw fell out like 10 years ago.

jsinher3

Do you have the stock motor that came with your car? if so I believe there might be a recall for that part.

Steve-T

Thanks for the info - got some good tips.

NetFreak: Think I'll take SumDewd's advice and replace that ICM in the comfort of my own driveway. I heard it's easier to replace if you remove the
distributor first. And while I'm at it, I'll put some threadlock on the rotor screw. Keeping some easy-to-replace-on-the-road parts (like the coil) in the
car is a good idea I'll be following.

Sumdewd - Got the ICU at a u-pull it junkyard. Pretty hard to find a working one....Open it up before u buy it. Visually inspect the components, especially
the caps, for obvious damage. Turn it over and inspect the solder-side for charring or signs that it fried. I had to pull several before finding a good one.
The 38600-sh3-a011-M1 ICU doesn't have the intermittent wiper function. The 38600-sh3-a111-m1 does.
To increase your odds, 1990 - 1993 Integra ICU's also worked on my base model hatch, which doesn't have intermittent wipers. I believe the Intergra ICUs
support the intermittent wiper function. You can view the service manuals at HondaHookup.com to verify that.

Jsinher3 - Got a stock D15B1. Checked for recalls as you suggested. According to NHTSA, no recalls in the last 15 years. Honda's site only lists a seat
belt recall.

Thanks again for the replies.

sumdewd

I wouldn't bother taking the distributor off for that since it might jack up the ignition timing. It's all super easy to get to even at night in a random parking lot. The battery/intake can get in the way of reaching that bottom screw a little if you have long screwdrivers. The hardest part is lining up the ignitor's mounting screws. I gave up and had a friend help me hold it. I had to take the rotor out on the teg to get to the ignitor but I don't remember if I had to for the Civic since it's been 3 years. Another good idea is to seal the cap to the distributor with a little bit of silicone or replace the old crusty o-ring. That'll be an OEM part, Autozone and ADV auto don't have em. I've seen moisture do some crazy stuff in there. (being retarded with a pressure washer )

And good info on the ICU. I have a spare one in a parts box somewhere but I've been too lazy to install it to test. I keep forgetting to grab another when I'm at the yard. At one point I bought the capacitors to replace on a spare one but I lost those in a move lol.

Certain 4th gen Civics had the ignitor recalled when they were new. I remember my dad was incredibly angry because he replaced the ignitor himself on his 88 LX sedan to fix the up and down idle issue--- then the dealer did the recall without his permission and it brought the problem back then he had to convince him that he didn't void warranty since he was a master certified technician. Big mess lol

edit: Oh and pay attention to the thermal compound and heatsink on the new ignitor. It's the same procedure as a computer CPU if you've ever messed with those. If you forget the compound you might be making new issues down the road.

Steve-T

Sumdewd: While replacing the coil i looked for the igniter mounting screws. If I found the right ones, they seem to be pointing toward the ground. Are they
the ones? My biggest fear would be dropping the screws while lining things up during reassembly away from home. And no helper either.
If I do remove the distributor, I'll mark the housing-to-cylinder head location and make another mark noting the rotor location so as not to mess with the timing.
Good reminder about the heat shield and compound. I'm planning to go with a beck/arnley igniter. Hear anything bad about them?

sumdewd

No it's basically the same brand I used for the Integra and it's working fine still. It even fixed a random sputtering issue.

I think my screws were at an angle pointed slightly to the front of the car, but mostly down. But I do have the Si distributor so I'm not sure if those change screw angles.. The two screws go through the frame of the distributor and the igniter goes in at a slightly awkward angle.

Steve-T

Many thanks SumDewd. If you think of anything else, let me know. I need all the tips I can get...I'm just a rookie at this stuff, and every time I do something it turns into an adventure!

sumdewd

Yupyup. Post back if you have any more questions. I get bored at work and try to answer what I do know about these cars.

acmoc

I'd invest in a new dizzy, the dizzy has always failed soon after the icm has

dantera

Hey. What up y'all. I'm kinda familiar with all these issues and fixes. Done them all before, because I've had a lot of these cars, but I'm posting here because sh_t just got weird. I was getting the ICU code and went with used and potential faulty spare dizzy and she ran great for a an hour or so and started to miss again, and progressed to another bad miss and eventually died. It eventually started upon sitting an hour. I drove it home and tried to start it the next day but would turn over fine and not start. I tried starting several days , once each day. It sounded fine but would not start. One day it reluctantly started and ran crazy, missed and gasping, it died. So I was getting no code at first. So I left it a few days thinking it was the ecu, the tried to start it again and When it turns over its got a weird straining sound. A sound I've heard before but can't recall what it is. Took the cap off to see if the screw came out..I'd had that happen before. The details about all the other symptoms and their progression is too much to explain, but the crazy part is that now I'm getting a code 16 for fuel injector malfunction. What I really want to know for now is, can the main relay and the icm both or either be responsible for a car not starting when it turns over fine and how the heck did this injector issue surface. I've turned the key and primed the pump and heard it run. Car is dx and has 164K with a good bit of high speed highway miles

Creator

iTrader: (1)

You probably should have started your own thread for this. I would suggest a compression test. Sounds like you might have a blown motor.