Honda Car Forum

I have a 1990 Civic Si with abot 160k miles. While exiting my parking lot
this morning the car lost all power. The battery is fine, and the engine
will crank, but there is no spark. The check engine light did not come on.
I had the timing belt replaced about a year and a half ago (about 20k miles
ago). At that same time, I replaced the distributor, thinking that might
have been the issue. I replaced it with a rebuilt aftermarket part. I can
try replacing it again, but I was wondering how many other things it could
be (coil, etc..). The plugs and wires are both in good shape. Is there any
way that I can test different parts without replacing them? I have limited
tools.

Yes, there are some checks you can do of the coil and
igniter. That's especially a good idea given there's no
spark. See http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/faq.html#startrun

Also, www.autozone.com has an online manual for your car in
its "free repair guides." It has info on checking these
parts, too. www.slhonda.com has parts drawings that are
helpful, or you might want to buy from it.

I really would spend the bucks for an OEM coil and OEM
igniter, if indications are it's one of these. Also, one's
failure can tend to lead to the other's failure. OEM coils
and igniters are really not that much more expensive than
aftermarket ones.

I base this on plenty of distributor experience with my 91
Civic. Aftermarket coils in particular for me were a lousy
gamble.

"303mike" <303mike@gmail.com> wrote
> I have a 1990 Civic Si with abot 160k miles. While exiting
my parking lot
> this morning the car lost all power. The battery is fine,
and the engine
> will crank, but there is no spark. The check engine light
did not come on.
> I had the timing belt replaced about a year and a half ago
(about 20k miles
> ago). At that same time, I replaced the distributor,
thinking that might
> have been the issue. I replaced it with a rebuilt
aftermarket part. I can
> try replacing it again, but I was wondering how many other
things it could
> be (coil, etc..). The plugs and wires are both in good
shape. Is there any
> way that I can test different parts without replacing
them? I have limited
> tools.
>

303mike wrote:
> I have a 1990 Civic Si with abot 160k miles. While exiting my parking lot
> this morning the car lost all power. The battery is fine, and the engine
> will crank, but there is no spark. The check engine light did not come on.
> I had the timing belt replaced about a year and a half ago (about 20k miles
> ago). At that same time, I replaced the distributor, thinking that might
> have been the issue. I replaced it with a rebuilt aftermarket part. I can
> try replacing it again, but I was wondering how many other things it could
> be (coil, etc..). The plugs and wires are both in good shape. Is there any
> way that I can test different parts without replacing them? I have limited
> tools.
>
i've had that happen twice now - both times igniter. exact same
symptoms. some after market igniter units are inferior quality and
rapidly succumb to the heat.