The other day I was driving my DOHC ZC powered CRX thru town and all of the sudden it sputtered and died on me and now it won't restart, when I go to turn it on I can hear the fuel pump priming and cranks strong but won't fire, everything i've read so far has said it's either the Ignition coil or the igntion control module (igniter), I'm getting discrepancies on what these things are though because they sound like one and the same item, anyone have any insight on clearing this up? Pictures would be most appreciated

 

also any uninstall/reinstall procedures would be greatly appreciated

 

You have a coil, most likely not the problem. You have an igniter/ignition control module, possibly the problem. You also have a magnetic ignition pickup/hall effect switch, goes bad a lot from my personal experience. Better off just to pick up a good reman distributor and try that.

 

Before you do anything, check for spark. If spark is bright white, check the mechanical timing.

 

Yes first, test for spark. Pull a spark plug tube out and have someone hold it to a bolt on the chasis. Turn the motor over and see if it arcs to the bolt. If no spark, its your dist.

Just had the same issue. Have a 2nd gen ZC as well. Pull the distributor cap off, do not pull the rotor button off. inspect distributor cap for arcing (white marks). Remove the small plastic cover just under the rotor button. It is loose and not anchored, just kind of tucked in there. On the left hand side, there is a slim silver ignition module. There are 2 screws on the OUTSIDE of the assembly holding it in place. Remove the 2 screws, disconnect all 4 wires on the igniter, and slide it out. It has a small metal heat spreader attached to it. Take the igniter into advance auto parts and get an ignition control module from an 88 integra d16a6/a1. Pop it in and happy driving. Make sure you remember which wires go where on your ICM/igniter. The ICM is about 40-50 bucks, whereas a distributor is ~300. You can't go wrong. Buy a ZC distributor off ebay when you get a chance, aftermarket ICMs are known to go bad. I had to go through 3 of them to get a good one.

 

I'll agree with nearly everything he said, since some of this I don't know for certain. Definitely test for spark before you replace anything. And check your timing. You could have a timing belt going bad or a tensioner not doing it's job and you jumped a tooth or something. The ignitor is really easy to wire though, most of the wires will only reach one location from what I've seen. But for $50, it could fix your problem. And you can always return it.

 

#20 is the igniter
#15 is the coil

This pic is a stock CRX Si distributor:

 

Ended up being the rotor button, the screw came out of the side, I pulled off the distributor cap and there the screw was in the cap, I lined the rotor up, put the screw in, put it all back together and it fired right up