Hey guys, after a bit of probing around my car today i found the source of my problem, which turned out to be the distributor cap which was full of carbon.
Now that i know what i need, i could use a few suggestions on what distributor cap i should buy. Is there much difference in brands or are they mostly the same?

 

can the cap be cleaned, such as sanding the ends of the metal edges inside it?

 

yea i did clean it out as much as possible and the car is up and running again, but i've been told it should be changed every two years regardless.

 

My car 97 accord has a emission recall, the 2nd phase is between 75K ~ 150K miles and within 14 years. Honda will replace distributor cap and wires, change oil, oil filter and spark plug. You may verify this.

 

If your over the 150k mile marker or for some other reason you don't qualify for the above mentioned Honda extended emissions warranty. I would suggest buying OEM cap, rotor and wires. Brand name stuff won't work any better or last any longer than OEM parts.