just spent a couple days chasing the wrong problem. my haynes manual gave the coil test as a simple resistance spec for the primary and secondary circuits, so i was on to the ignition control module as the source of my misfire and then failure of all spark. when the ICM showed ok, i was left with either the coil being bad despite the tests, or god forbid, the engine computer or one of the position sensors in the distributor. i had seen on the web or a youtube video how to bypass the ICM and see if the coil would throw a spark but i was worried about reverse-damage to the computer if i tried something not recommended as a test. bottom line, i went back to the junkyard where i had got the ICM and got a coil out of a civic (same ignition system as my 99 CRV) and presto, car working again. i hate to buy new, nonreturnable electrical parts if i don't know whether the part is bad in the first place. used coil was only $10 so i'm happy.

 

haynes manual=problem. just because a coil tests good, doesnt mean it wont arc over at high voltage

 

What did the test say was a passing ohm reading and what did you get? Honestly the only thing an ohm meter is good for in this case is telling you whether there is a short to ground or the coil is an open circuit. When testing any sort of coil the only way to understand what is going on is by using a Megger, but not very many ppl have those....that tests the coil at different high voltages and tells you whether it not there is any leakage to ground or in between the windings.

 

for primary resistance the specs were about .6 to .8 ohms, secondary around 16K ohms. both the good coil and the bad one tested 1.0 ohms primary and 16.4K secondary. what's a megger and how much do they run? i take care of about 15 vehicles but having factory manuals for them all would be a lot of $$. of course that's assuming my time isn't worth anything....

 

Megger? If you think it's leaking through, all you have to do is look for the burned spot. No need to send a guy with a haynes manual on a quest for unnecessary expensive diagnostic tools.

It's just a simple coil. You can test it with a jumper wire. I don't even bother checking Honda coils. If the igniter is pulsing and the coil doesn't spark, you need a coil. You can check pulse with a simple $5-$10 test light, make your own test light for free, or test the coil itself with jumper wire for free.

Anyways, glad you fixed it.

 

Meggers are generally used for testing electric motors....which is essentially one huge cluster of coils....but no need to go buy one, what DELuth said is a lot cheaper