'87 Prelude misses then dies--ignitor problems?

A few months back I was stranded when my '87 prelude died on the road.
Started with a very minor intermittent hesitation, proceeded to a
severe loss of power and hard miss every few seconds, and within an
hour at highway speed it finally quit running completely. Would not
restart. Fuel pump ran for a few seconds when the key was turned,
so I quickly ruled out the main relay. (I had resoldered the joints
a few years back.) Cranked but wouldn't 'catch'.

It sat overnight until I could get a trailer. Once it had cooled off
it would start and run for 10-20 seconds, but not with enough power to
actually move the car.

Replaced fuel filter--no help. Checked and found no spark.
Replaced distributor (including ignitor and pickup coils)--yes!


Fast forward a few months. Car is rarely driven, at least until last
week. This evening I noticed the very minor miss on the way home from
work, and sure enough it progressed just as before. This time I found
a nice parking lot to stop in *before* it died completely.

Come to think of it, I did notice that the tach was bouncing up a few
hundred RPM every few seconds when the car was cold and at fast idle
....maybe that was a warning?

The distributor is a reman with lifetime warranty, so I'll pick one up
and either change the entire unit, or maybe just the ignitor module
(if I can get to it). But, I'm thinking an aftermarket reman
distributor should last more than 500 miles.

So, what else should I be looking at? Does anyone know of any other
common failure points?

Last time, the coil checked fine. I'm considering changing it anyway.
The little radio noise condenser checked fine last time too.

Is there anything that could be causing this car to eat ignitors?

Or maybe it's not the ignitor at all?


thanks!
newell

 

There are many no start conditions so here are just a couple:

You could check the ignitor by putting a small bulb across the coil's
primary. If you see it flash, your ignitor is most likely not your
problem (I've checked them with a scope, but someone here taught me the
bulb trick which is a lot more convenient).
If you do replace the ignitor, be sure to apply some heat sink compound
under the device. It will get rid of generated heat and prolong the
life of the ignitor.

About those RPM bounces on the tach, do you think they were real engine
speed changes or just an indicator change?
Your crankshaft position sensor determines your fuel injection timing
and measures your engine speed, etc. Maybe that thing is not working
right or has a bad connection.
On an integra the crankshaft sensor is a simple go/nogo continuity
check. You may want to check your manual on how to inspect that sensor.

Remco

 

I suppose it would be important as well to know
if this is a Prelude Si (fuel injected) or an S (dual carbs)....

t