i have a 90 civic hatch with a b16a and i was driving one day and my car started to hesitate and sputter and it finally died on me so i have it towed home. i rplace the rotor button and it starts right up and 2 days later dies again! so i replace the cap and button again for the hell of it and it again starts up. now i get a code 15 and it sputters at 5,500rpm and wont accelerate i replace the coil, plugs and and wires and it still does the same thing and only acts up at 5500rpm and up can anyone please help me with this problem? thanks alot


mike

 

make sure your rotor button isnt coming loose. Put some loc-tite on the threads and put it back in to see if that helps.

 

when you replaced the coil, did you replace the igniter too? I was having a problem with sputter at low rpms (shifting between 1st and 2nd) and occasional stalls in my 90 Civic. But the problems would sometimes not occur for several days. I never got a trouble code, but looked at the trouble shooting flow charts (ex. at Autozone.com) and started replacing the easy stuff. I did the coil and igniter (both inside the cap, each about $50 online) and the problem went away. Since the problems were only happening with the engine completely warmed up and were so intermittent, I assumed that it was an electrical component, since they act differently at different temps -- and i tend to think that mechanical stuff (loose rotor for example) is going to be more consistent. Anyway, seems to have worked.

As an aside, about 3,000 miles later I'm getting an intermittent misfire while cruising at 60 mph, and twice now, i've gotten the 'code 15' and the engine has shut off (not fun on I-95). I'm planning to replace the igniter again, but drop me a line if you've figured out your problem or have any advice.

 

Dude code 15 is the dead giveaway, its the igniter. Replace it and its done. That and the main relay is like the two most problematic parts on any given honda. 80 bucks at pep boys, or 30-40 from some used source.

 

If you still have a D16 distributor laying around..
The ignitor in it will work..