88 Accord DX--sypmtoms of bad ignitor

Hi,

My engine feels like the ignition is rapidly cutting out and in after a
couple hours of driving. I lurch down the road with the tach oscillating
wildly between 2000 and 2500, on a 1 second cycle, and can't get the engine
to go faster even if I floor it.

I can stop, open the hood for 5 min, restart and be good for another 20 min.
of driving. This has all the symptoms to me of a heat related failure of a
solid state component, like the igniter module (although the radio noise
condenser is also a candidate). I guess I'll just have to replace it and
see, unless anyone has any other ideas...

TIA,
JB

 

Just an idea. This model uses the reliable NEC igniter which means check the
parts surrounding it, loose reluctor, wire connections and your guess the
condenser. But the condenser itself is reliable. Anyway, we can't wait to
hear your results.

 

Don't rule out a clogged fuel filter (your car has 2 of them). When
carburator suckes in enough fule to run for a while into its float bowl.
When the fule line is not able to replenish it fast enough, your engine
will cut out and in as it gets a spirt of gas.

 

I think it's a fuel filter, the one over the left rear wheel. Replace that filter and your problem will go away. While you are at it, replace the other one too.

 

Quick follow-up: Just replaced the igniter and coil, based on my Google
newsgroups search. Seems like a common problem with Hondas. Paid $130 for
both. It runs--which is always a relief--and I see the replacement, unlike
the original, comes with a packet of thermal grease to apply to the igniter
heat sink. Seems like a good idea. The true test will come on a long trip.
Anyway thanks for all the suggestions.

 

Following up again, this did not fix the problem. My hope now lies
with a new set of ignition wires, although the old set was only a few
years old. A bad coil wire could have been the cause I suppose. We'll
see.

 

Just got in on this thread so you may have already looked at this...
My ex-wife's '92 Acura Integra used to eat ignitor's and coils. About every
15 to 20 thousand miles. The ignitor would go south and trash the coil on
it's way down. The last shop to work on it after we split up said it kept
happening because I didn't use genuine Honda parts. First one went out at
@80,000 miles.

Von Erik

 

Firestone changed out my coil. It failed two months later. They replaced it
under warranty. This next one failed at around 15,000 miles. I was having rotor
set screw problems and having to mess with this a lot, so this might not have
helped the life of the rotor. The independent but Honda-specialized shop I took
it to pointed out that the ignitor that was installed was the car's second and
not OEM; big mistake. They put in a new Honda coil but were adamant that I do
something about the ignitor, as the malfunctioning coil likely screwed it up,
and it was non-OEM and thus likely not all that reliable anyway.

The newsgroup supports this view IIRC. I shopped around for an OEM ignitor
(online and at the dealer), and ended up buying one and installing it myself.
OEM ignitors pay for themselves. They're not that much more expensive.

From the distributor to the spark plug, all my Honda's parts will now be OEM or
as recommended by Honda.

The distributor and its various internal parts are the Achille's heel of Hondas
circa 1990. Yesterday I thought I should just carry a whole new distributor
(with coil and ignitor, bought online at discount) around in my trunk. IIRC
someone here once said they carry a second ignitor in their Honda.

Caroline
91 Civic LX 150k miles