I finally got tired of repeating myself so here is a small writeup on how to check your dead honda for ignition issues. It is a very common occurance that the dreaded igniter unit fails, here is a quick and easy test on how to diagnose and repair it.

Tools you will need:
1. Philips screwdriver
2. 8mm socket and small ratchet to remove dist cap
3. Volt/dwell meter available at Checker or Vato zone. (HERE is an example)
4. a friend. (not needed but can be helpful)

STEP 1: Verify that your Honda/Acura does not have spark. To do this remove a spark plug wire and hold the end of the plug wire close to a ground (valve cover nuts work well) and crank the engine. A good sign that it doesnt have spark is that it wont start, the second clue is that there is no blue hot stuff coming out of the end of the spark plug wire.

STEP 2: Remove the distrubutor cap by removing the three 8mm bolts or phillips screws holding it to the distributor. Now there may be a black cover under the rotor that is protecting the guts of the distributor, maybe not. If you have one of these, remove it now. Some models require that the rotor is removed before it will come off. In that case, have your friend bump the starter until the rotor screw is visible in the notch and remove the screw. Be very careful, these are installed with loctite from the factory nad can strip easily. Be very sure tohave a good grip on the screwdriver.

STEP 3: Now that the cover is off, you should be able to see the igniter unit easily. It is either Black, Brown, grey or any combination of these colors and has 4 wires coming out of it. Three on top and one on the side.
(see diagram). Now turn the ignition switch to the ON position. Turn you voltmeter to the DC volts or Volts position and check the <FONT COLOR="DarkOrange">#2</FONT> wire for voltage. (there should be 11-14V) If there is voltage go on to step 4. If there is no voltage, discontinue testing and start looking for blown fuses, or a faulty Main relay.

STEP 4: Now turn your voltmeter to the dwell function. It should look like this on the dial: ( &lt; ) Put the negative lead on the battery negative (-) terminal and the positve lead onto the igniter terminal <FONT COLOR="DarkOrange">#3</FONT> (dont unplug the wire for this test, slip the test lead under the plastic boot)
Now have your friend crank the engine. After a couple of seconds of cranking your dwell meter will either stay blank or it will show a number like this (4-25) Meaning 4 cylinder, 25 degrees of dwell. Now, if it reads blank, then go on to step 5, if it reads dwell, you are done. You need a new ignition coil.

STEP 5: Now move the positive lead of your voltmeter over to the igniter terminal <FONT COLOR="DarkOrange">#1</FONT> and repeat the last step. If your dwell reading is 0 or OL then you need to start looking for blown ECU fuses, or faulty ECU. If you now have a dwell reading of 4-XX or any dwell at all for that matter you have a faulty igniter and it will need to be replaced.

That concludes the testing of the Honda Ignition "NO SPARK" scenario. I hope you find this useful, I use this test several times a month and it has very rarely failed me. Good luck

 

Had one came in today, died on the highway. No spark and the CEL didn't cycle when the key was turned on. All fuses were good so I figured i'd try out your dwell technique. At the distributor I backprobed the signal wire from the ECU, cranked the engine, and the meter showed dwell. So that shows the ECU is working and the CEL bulb is probably burnt out. Pulled the cap and rotor off and moved the lead to the negative terminal on the coil, cranked the engine over and it showed dwell so I knew the coil was bad.

Thanks for posting. this is alot faster than diagnosing with a voltmeter or test light.

 

the firsrt thing i check if no spark is if the rotor button turns with the engine.

 

bump for a nice and thoroughly detailed How To post