1990 honda crx dx - wont start spark problem - really need help

You CANNOT test coils with a VOM, no matter what anybody tells you.

Pushing 1.5V or whatever through the windings is NOT the same as zapping
the windings with 20,000 volts.

What color is the spark? Test this with an actual plug stuck in one of the
plug wires. Do not use a spark tester. Test at night, or in a darkened
garage. You want purply-blue and nothing less.

How old are the wires? The cap? The rotor?

How long did you let it run?

 

About $800. But there are also wrecking yards with an abundance of
perfectly good OEM Honda parts for cheaper than new/reman aftermarket.

OEM Honda. The others are crap.

1) You've just had a bad experience with one aftermarket part (which I
predicted way back in my very first reply), and you want to put /more/
aftermarket parts in your ignition system?

2) What makes you think you need a new distributor?

3) Did you even read my reply immediately previous to this one? Have you
read ANYTHING I posted? Frankly, your replies don't sound as though you
have.

 

Yea like i said in my very first post
New Cap, Wires, Rotor, coil, ignitor
Everything was new and although you say all aftermarket Ignitors are crap
.... it was new and its hard to believe 100% of them come out of the box DOA.
big class action suits and stuff heh

I only let it run for about a minute or so ... ran it up to Redline a few
times.
RPM Guage is not responding accurately to the RPMs of the engine ... could
be the guage i guess.

Yea I know you cant really test a coil like that but it was not open so
thats something

It is pretty hard to test a distributor without a test station that can dyno
it.and its not like the old days with points and weights.


Anyway the engine feels different but it could be just from stitting.

The ehaust smells like acetone or carb cleaner but i haven't used any.

I appreciate your help Its probably one of the last things I would have
swapped back in because it was the first thing that I thought was bad.....

However I am not sure why the car died in the first place.

The old cap could have been the problem or the large amount of dust buildup
in the distributor could have caused a problem.

but like i said I wonder if I have a bluewhite wire that may be on its last
leg just getting contact for the moment because I pushed the wires around
when I opened the distributor. They test ok for continuity but it could be
like a battery cable that gets eaten out inside ..

the thing is 20 years old. the gaskets on the distributor are breaking down
Im sure a lot of things are...

I have been working nights for the past few weeks making it difficult to get
time to work on the car that along with the rain ...

but thanks again

I will still be working on it for a while and hope if I run into any other
problems you might lend an ear and a answer.