Car is a `93 Accord LX 5-speed with 232k. Was driving around town and the engine simply quit running suddenly -- no drama or anything, revs just dropped to nothing. Upon restarting, engine just cranks and doesn't fire.

Immediately checked the main relay under the dash, re-soldered some suspect joints, still no start.

Pulled the plugs and wires. Plugs smell like fuel. I have an obvious valve cover gasket leak that dowsed the plugs and ends of the wires. Cleaned all of that up, regapped the plugs, and tried with the plugs in the wires simply laying in the engine bay. No spark, and the smell of fuel was present from the uncovered plug holes.

Coil unit seems within spec from resistance measurements, as do all ignition wire leads. I plan on picking up a new cap and rotor tomorrow as the existing pieces show some wear (assuming were changed at 180k by the "180k" written on the cap).

Anything else that I should be checking? Likely culprits?

 

I have a 94 accord 5 speed 140K. It does the same thing from time to time. It never dies on me during operation, but somtimes it just wont start. It will work fine for weeks and then it will just crank and no start. If you pour fuel in the intake it usually will start and run fine for a few more weeks. I have checked everything that i can think of so if anyone knows what the hell this thing is doin i would appreciate the info.

 

Check for battery voltage at the BLACK/yellow wire at the dist connection.
That will tell you if the ignition switch is putting thru power.
You can set up a plug wire and plug straight off the coil to watch for spark, then turn the key on and use a grounded test light to touch the Blue wire on the ignitor, the test light should flash and a spark should occur; if no spark replace the ignitor.

 

hah...
Im having the same problem...
So far i've thought only over 4 things - plugs, wires, crank sensor or the whole distributor.
g/l...

 

Thanks, hondadude. I appreciate the input. The situation is slightly complicated by the fact that the car is 2 hours away at my duplex residence for college. That's my next move, to check the igniter...seems those are a somewhat frequent failure.

I bought a new cap and rotor, didn't think that would make any difference but the car could stand those plus new wires and plugs...that is AFTER I replace the valve cover gasket so that the new stuff doesn't bathe in oil again.

The external coil checks out except for the resistance measurement between terminals A and C. My Haynes manual specs this measurement at 0.6-0.8 ohms whereas I'm getting 0.

That leaves, as already mentioned, the igniter unit. I wish it was a coil since $65 looks better than $155 (thru Majestic Honda online), but vehicles are never predictable.

 

UPDATE: Replaced the distributor with a "new" (likely remanufactured) unit from Distributor King, bought on ebay. Arrived quickly, $110 for a distributor vs. $155 for an igniter unit from Majestic Honda. (Re: igniter was confirmed dead as well as the distributor bearing worn, made more sense to buy the whole distributor assembly)

Installed the distributor, replaced the plugs and wires as well, started right up. Don't have my timing light accessible so it's possible that base timing is off slightly, but engine seems to have gained its lost power from worn ignition components.

So there you have it...my no-start condition was the result of a failed igniter.

 

maybe dizzy?

 

For anyone reading this and trying to find a problem, is a timing belt breaks it has the same effect. Assuming that the distributor spins off the cam, pull the cap see if the rotor os moving. FYI

 

Indeed, that is true. An even simpler method of determining timing belt breakage is to get a buddy, pull the oil filler cap, and have them crank the engine while you look to see if the cam is turning.

In my case:
Engine quit running suddenly on 80+deg. day in normal city driving and failed to restart, would only crank, no firing
I checked the main relay and resoldered suspect joints -- still no start.
I could hear the fuel pump run on key-on as well as smell fuel after a key-on prime with the plugs out.
Getting fuel, so I cranked with the plugs pulled but in the wires -- no spark.
Plug gaps were wide but regapped to spec, plug wire resistance was within spec -- no difference.
External coil (car is a `93) checked out fine.
Checked the igniter unit per Haynes manual -- no battery voltage at all.

As I mentioned, it seemed more cost effective, not to mention simpler, to replace the distributor as a unit for $110 than replace a worn distributor bearing and failed igniter for much more than that.

Just wanted to recap my experience. HTH