Alright, im going to sound like an idiot, but here we go. I was in a gravel parking lot, did a "j turn" to turn around, as i was going to put the car in first and drive away the car just stalled out. Hasnt started since, that was a week ago. It wasnt a very "intense" maneuver, i didnt go over 4k, and i was probably going about 5 mph in reverse. So ive been trying to find out what the hell happened. Its kind of blowing my mind. First thing i checked for was loose wires, maybe a ground came loose, everything looks fine. It turns over fine, its getting fuel, no CEL, the ignition is good because my cluster works normally, main relay clicks, fuel pump primes... Well after looking, it seems like I have weak spark. Ive tried 3 coils, and tested them with a multimeter, coil is good. Plugs look good, wires are new, cap and rotor show no out of the ordinary wear. Inside cap theres no moisture, nothing looks or smells burned. Timing belt looks good, and i hear no odd noises when turning over, but it has no hint of life when i try to turn it over. My car has extremely high miles, but ran PERFECT before this happened, it was instant.

I just did an oil change and cleaned and re oiled the K&N filter. Also there was oil in the spark plug holes, even though i replaced the gaskets a few months back, and the #4 hole had barely any oil in it, and all 4 plugs are evenly orange with spark. So i doubt that has anything to do with it. Ive gone through all of the troubleshooting in the service manual. Hopefully i can figure this out, so i dont have to get it towed to honda just for a $100 for a "diagnosis".

 

Have the igniter unit inside the distributor tested at an auto parts store.

 

Okay, thanks RonJ! I havent tried it because i heard it would cause either no spark, or good spark, ill check it.

 

A bad coil is generally the cause of weak spark, but a bad igniter unit can also this problem.

 

Well i put in an ignitor that i pulled from my friends car at the junkyard. Im pretty sure it works, and it still has weak spark, i highly doubt that this one and mine have the exact same problem. This car is driving me insane, any ideas?

 

im going to say wiring problem with dizzy or bad dizzy. my distributor went bad and it was weak spark. changed it and car started right up

 

Hmmm... It just is wierd how the second i did that j turn, the dizzy would magically go bad, and the car would go from running perfect to dead, you know? Isnt the dizzy kind of a wear item? and i would think if a wire came loose or unhooked it would just have no start and weak spark. I could try the distributor, i heard a bad battery could cause weak spark too? But like i said, how can a battery just magically go from fine to a few dead cells or something, i mean it charges up fine...

 

1) Tell us exactly how you test for spark.

2) Have you ever installed a known-good/new coil or igniter unit?

3) Did an auto parts store test the igniter units?

4) Post your resistance test results of the coil and how you did the tests.

 

1. I pull a plug, and ground it against the housing for the dizzy.

2.I had 2 used that i tested with a multimeter, they both seemed fine, but i bought a new one just in case, and it had the same problem, i took it back.

3. Auto parts stores around here say all they'll test is "battery, starter, and alternator" any chain of stores in particular that you know would do it?

4. The coil i had on it tested .7 ohms between + and - and the secondary winding had about 17,000 volts.

 

 

Thanks ronj, and that is factoring the internal resistance, it was .2 and the meter was reading .9. Ill test the ignitor now.

 

And what exactly is "battery voltage"? Exactly 12V? Around 12?

 

Battery voltage = voltage measured across the two posts of your battery

 

Ok thanks, ill check tomorrow before work. If this doesnt figure it out im ready to part out my car and get an M3 lol

 

Ok i just did the test i got 12.88V for battery voltage, everything tested good, all above 12V, except the YEL/GRN. YEL/GRN had 0 V. Thing is when i hooked all the wires back into the ignitor, i tested them again, and they ALL had above 12V when everything was hooked up...

 

The Yel/Grn wire should only have voltage when it is connected to the igniter unit.

 

Okay then, with all the wires hooked up they were all good, and above 12V, i guess ill order a "new" new igniter, and might as well do cap and rotor. I really hope this works.

What is a good replacement brand for it? Ive heard hondas are picky with their electronic components, ill try not to pay for honda OEM parts if i dont have to, the 2 ignitors i have right now are NEC and Hitachi.

 

Could be a bad dizzy. Try borrowing a friends dizzy and put it on and see if there is a difference because that was what I did when my car died, and I found out what was wrong with my car which meant I saved hella $$$$$...

 

Got the new ignitor on, no luck. Still weak spark, new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, icm, coil... I dont know whats wrong. Im done with this car, this little problem has been going on for so long im almost ready to sell it, even after all the work i put into it. But well see... Ill try to get it to the dealership tomorrow. Any last ideas before i pay $100 for a diagnosis?

And thanks VXvtec, but i dont know anyone who owns any foreign car, detroit is domestic country, ive only seen 3 other eg/ej's around here. But isnt the only thing that can happen to the dizzy is the bearing go bad? Ive replaced pretty much all the electronics inside of it besides those little magnet things...

 

SOLVED!
My timing skipped, put a new belt on and it runs like a champ! :D

 

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/99-dx-hatch-wont-start-3039271/

Think I'm having the same problem??

 

This was solved by fixing the timing. Did you check your timing are you just telling everyone you have the same problem?