I have a 91 Honda accord and when i was driving up a hill it just died, the engine turns over when i try to start it but i get nothing. I pulled the plug wires and the 2nd and 3rd coil had oil inside it. Any help would be appreciated

 

A little bit of oil in the spark plug tubes won't cause the problem you are having.
You need to check to see if there is spark at the plugs and fuel pressure going to the fuel rail, listen for the fuel pump to run a couple seconds when you turn the key on. Get a little basic info for the guys here and you'll get lots of help.
Check for 12V at the black/yellow wire going to the dist. when the key is turned on.

 

91 Accords had problems with failing ignitors, Also now coils are failing more often. I 's true fuel could be the problem but check your spark condition first.

 

Also, replace the tube seals with the valve cover gasket to avoid that oil leak. And if the end of the plug wires seem swollen replace them to avoid misfires.

 

I have the same problem with my 93 Honda Accord LX but not necessarily on hills. I replaced the distributor cap, rotor, fuel filter, spark plugs and wiring harness in an effort to fix the problem with no luck.
It continues to fail for only about 2 minutes then engine starts back up. When it does fail there is no spark out of the plugs (tried looking for one with extra plug touching the engine block, after failure clears, I see spark). I am not sure what to try next but the issue seems to be getting worse.
Has anyone seen this issue and found the root cause...seems like we are not the only ones with this problem?

 

to both the 91 and 93 accord owners..

Yes you can replace the distributor CAP but it might be the distributor itself, something similar happend to myself and it was in fact the distributor, not the cap. It is the most common problem on 4th gen accords

 

for anyone to accuratly diagnose this, over the comp. anyway, would be saying to much. dont worry about that oil, its a common o-gasket leak in your valve cover, and 20 bucks will fix it, as far as your car, your honestly leaving it up to chance that sombody will be able to really pin-point your problem... take it to a shop if your not sure, or are in doubt.

 

This guy is right.It could be something crazy like the fuel pickup in the tank isn't in the right spot so it doesn't get any fuel when your on a hill..Shrugs...

 

"Assuming it hasn't restarted sinse the incident...

When was the Timing Belt last changed?
or (for our Canadian friends)
When last was the Timing Belt changed out?

Pull the distributor Cap and make sure that that the rotor turns as the engine cranks.
If it doesn't, congratulations on your first broken timing belt.

If it does, you're going to have to determine Fuel or Fire?

P

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jeppedo_3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a 91 Honda accord and when i was driving up a hill it just died, the engine turns over when i try to start it but i get nothing. I pulled the plug wires and the 2nd and 3rd coil had oil inside it. Any help would be appreciated</TD></TR></TABLE>

Like Mr-P says you need to determine if it is cause of lack of fuel or spark,, different way to diagnose .. get an old spark plug or a screwdriver, install it on a plug wire, make sure eithwer plug or screwdriver is grounded, have a friend crank the engine, chk if you are getting spark, if not,, could be a broken t-belt, , faulty ignitor, coil, rotor,
if you are getting spark , most likely lack of fuel....main relay, fuel filter plugged, fuel pump.out of gas..

As for the oil in spark plugs wires
..if you need to replace them , go here, step by step instructions

http://www.ozaccord.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28

 

Better still; have your friend hold the screwdriver and you crank the engine
That way you avoid the unpleasantness of dealing with 40k volts, and it will become apparent you've got spark if your Buddy gives out an 'Expletive' and jumps away from the car....

P

 

So in the case of my 93 Accord, I have already determined that it is an issue with spark (see log above). It also seems to be intermittent, only occuring when the car has run a little while and is fully warmed up. This is what makes me think something electrical is heating up and failing. I let the car cool and I get spark again. (makes long trips tough)
My problem is I just don't know what to replace first...I've heard about distributors, ignitors and coils all being somewhat faulty. Should I just do the whole thing? I have also heard of something being faulty in the ingition in the steering column...

 

In your case, we'll have to determine if the problem is endemic to the ignitor (or Coil) or is it a power interruption effecting either of these.
Model years '96 and later had an Ignition Switch recall for conditions much like this (effected 1,000,000 cars), and it could ultimately turn out to be the culprit here.
But we should do a little more diagnosis before we start indiscriminately throwing money at the problem.
This sounds like a Thermal Intermittent Problem (electrical component stops working for being either too hot or too cold). The components most susceptible to this is the Ignition Switch (heat from heavy electrical loads) and the Distributor Ignitor. If you had your old rotor available, it might give a clue as to whats going on.
There have been cases (I've seen 4) where the Distributor Rotor burns thru and the errant electrical energy zaps the Ignitor. Three of those I've seen quit working right then, the forth took two days until we could duplicate what was happening.

I'd cobble together a long lead from the positive+ side of my volt/ohm meter and attach it to the batt+ feed of the coil, lay the multimeter on the passenger seat and drive until the condition presents itself. Got voltage?, suspect the Ignitor. Don't have voltage?, suspect the ignition switch.

P