So, I'm driving down the street at about 40 mph, car is running fine, suddenly engine dies. I pull over and try to restart it. It cranks but won't start. Timing belt is fine. I check for spark and I'm not getting one. I check the resistance on the ignition coil. The primary is within spec, the secondary is a little high on Ohms. I could just buy a new coil and try it out, but the parts stores around here won't let me return it unless it's defective. So, if I try it and the car still won't start, I out about $80.

Do I need a distributor? How do I check it? I happen to have a distributor from my '88 CRX project sitting around, would that work? Thanks for any help!

 

check a see if your positive battery cable i corroded out somewhere on it. or just save the time and replace it now.

 

Thanks. I never looked too close at the battery cables. I'll check them tomorrow. The car is parked at the repair shop I work at.

Anyone else have any ideas? I've heard of ignition coils and distributors going bad, but don't they usually give a little warning? This thing was running fine, then just stopped and refused to restart.

 

the thing is the corrosion can be anywhere on the cable. Mine was about 10-12 inches from the alternator and not at the connector. Just better off replacing it anyways, the cable is 14 years old lol.

 

if you are not getting any spark check the distributor. pretty sure the coil or ignitor went bad

 

I have a 00 civic si, same problem as you i was driving and boom it died. Tried to start it and but it would just turn over. It ended up being the coil