I have a 94 VX that died on me on the way home. I'm thinking electrical and might suspect the ignition switch but I thought that I would reach out here since there is so much knowledge. Here is what it did. Started fine leaving work and I had driven about 3 miles when I felt what seemed like a miss but when I looked I noticed that the tach was at 0. I turned onto a side street and when I pushed in the clutch, it was indeed not running. I put it back in gear and tried to kick start it. The tach came back up for a couple seconds and I thought it would be okay but then back down again and I had to coast it to a stop and it wouldn't start. All dash lights look normal and it cranks over just fine. Has gas and I believe it's getting gas. The thing that makes me suspect the ignition switch is that a couple of times when turning it back towards the off position between attempts, the motor kind of tried to start and it even fired for a couple seconds one time. I don't know how the ignition switch comes apart exactly. I have the cover off but not sure what's next. I thought of checking grounds but if it cranks, can they be bad? I checked the fuses both inside and under the hood and they look ok. How would I now if it was the timing belt? If anyone can give me a step by step of things to check or if you have had a similar issue, I would really appreciate any insights.

 

Turn the key from off to ON(II). Do the cluster warning lights turn on? Does the CEL turn on and then off after 2 seconds?

 

All of the lights seem to be functioning correctly. I hear what I assume is the fuel pump kick on for a couple seconds and then the check engine light goes out. Car will crank over and I believe I smell gas. Sometimes when I start to turn the key towards off or push it in towards the steering column, it will kind of shudder for a second. I also found the following list of things on hondacivicforum.com. I plan on trying most of these this morning. Someone also suggested that it could be the ignition coil and/or distributor.

"1) Buy a spare spark plug and gap it properly (inexpensive $2-3).

2) Remove the plug wire from one spark plug and insert the spare plug into the end.

3) While firmly grounding the threads of the spare plug against a metallic portion of the valve cover, have a buddy crank the engine.

4) You should see bright white spark (with a faintly bluish tinge) rather than weak orange or deep blue spark at the tip of the plug.

5) Repeat for the remaining three spark plugs.
-----------------------------

Outcomes and more troubleshooting

A) If all plugs have weak orange spark, then check whether the coil in the distributor is bad. Your service manual (see link in my signature) describes resistance measurements to test the coil or, alternatively, have an auto parts store (e.g., AutoZone) test it for you.

B) If all plugs lack spark, then do these steps in order:

-Check whether the CEL remains ON when the key is turned to ON(II). If so, pull the code(s) as detailed at the link in my signature. If a code for one of the distributor sensors (codes 4, 8, or 9) or the igniter/ICM (code 15) is retrieved, then the distributor subassembly or the igniter/ICM, respectively, may need to be replaced. Also check whether the wire (often a Yel/Grn wire) running between the igniter/ICM and the ECU has continuity.

-Check whether the important ground wire on the distributor housing is loose or corroded. If so, clean it thoroughly with steel wool and retighten.

-Check whether battery voltage is reaching the coil and igniter wire (often a Blk/Yel wire) in the distributor when the ignition key is turned to ON(II). If not, there may be a bad wire or a blown fuse in the under-hood fuse/relay box. A bad ignition switch is another possibility.

-Check whether the coil or igniter/ICM in the distributor is bad. Again, there are resistance tests for the coil, but you may have to take the igniter/ICM to an auto parts store (e.g., AutoZone) for testing.

-Check whether the timing belt snapped. This is most easily done by removing the oil filler cap and, while a buddy cranks the engine, by peering into the hole with a flashlight to look for evidence that the camshaft is turning (e.g. movement of the rocker arms). If the belt snapped (=no turning), install a new belt, tension it properly, and then compression test the cylinders. The latter step is essential as major engine damage often occurs when the timing belt snaps.

-In some cases, lack of spark is due to a bad ECU. This is usually only considered if all tests described above yield negative results.
"

 

So I pulled a spark plug and set it against the valve cover so that the side was grounded against the cover. Had someone turn the engine. A single spark when the key was turned towards off but no spark when the engine was turning over. So pull the ignition coil and have it tested?

 

Click the Spark link in my signature. It's the updated DIY that describes how to test the coil and igniter unit.

It would also be wise to do the igniter unit input tests described in a diagram in the FAQs sticky.

 

ronj is the man! though we still can't figure out my brother's car. i will subscribe ot this thread as i have a vx as well and want to know what the diagnosis is if i ever have this issue...

 

That Integra link within Ron's spark link is awesome. I am a picture kind of person so that really helped me. I just did the coil tests again and here is what I observed. When I checked the primary coil which should have read .6 - .8 ohms, the needle pegged to the right. Again, I really know very little about using an ohmmeter but I think i had it set correctly. If i touch the two leads of the ohmmeter together, I get the same reading. Needle moves from far left (0) to far right. When I did the secondary coil test, it read 12,000 as it should. So since the initial reading does not agree with the test, does that mean that the coil is bad? Just trying to be sure because I'm probably going to have to walk to the parts store and back and want to get it right the first time. Thanks again for all of the assistance!

 

Replace the coil and go from there.

 

Replaced the coil and that was not it. I guess I'll go through the ICM tests next.

 

Based on your own test result, the coil WAS bad.

Sometimes, more than one bad component causes a problem.

Have you done the ICM input tests? See FAQs sticky.

 

I don't see how the ICM comes out. There are 4 screws that face out from the distributor that look like they would be easy to get to but I see one inside below a gear that I don't see how you would get a screwdriver on.

 

 

Thanks... mine is a bit different from the Integra one shown but I did find two screws down below the unit and got it out. Probably will not be able to get it checked until tomorrow.

 

I had very similar symptoms on my 93 VX before and it turned out to be the distributor coils. They're not very reliable and I had them die on me two times. First time I just went to pick-a-part junk yard and found a used one which lasted me a good year. Then I end up getting a new one from honda, that one's still working for a couple of years now

 

The ICM was my problem. Autozone diagnosed it as bad. I bought a replacement there ($100) for a Duralast. Hopefully it works well and does last. Rockauto had several that were cheaper (~$60) but I couldn't wait so I got the one from Autozone. Thanks to everyone for their assistance!

 

Good to know the car is running.

...and fixed.

 

I do enjoy threads like this with a happy ending.

For future reference (ie., other folks coming in to look at this thread), here is a video on a coil replacement for a 95 Civic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It4KIY_2oNQ .

There are a couple others by the same user which may or may not also be helpful.

While I haven't had to do this repair myself, I hope the video proves useful for others if attacking this problem.