I left my car sitting for about 2 days. I came home tried to start it and it started, but sounded horrible. I shut it off and decided to go get new plugs and wires, (it sounded like a bad plug to me). After installing the new plugs and wires the car fired right up but still didn't sound that great. All of the sudden it just shut off, like someone just turned the key off. I was standing there looking at the motor when this happened. There were no odd noises, smells, smoke, nothing. Since then I have replaced the cap and rotor, and air filter. So all together I have replaced plugs, wires, cap and rotor, and air filter. I also found out that my battery was bad and replaced that. I tried once again to fire it up and it turned over fine, making no strange noises or anything, sounded good, but wouldn't fire. I have replaced the timing belt twice since I've had it and it's only been 4 years. Any ideas would help. Thanks.

lmland

The car itself is at over 200,000 but I had an R-R engine put in about 2 years ago. It was supposed to have 40-80,000 miles on it at most.

lmland

My coil looks fine from the outside thats why I asked about the heat marks.

txgreasemonkey

The ignitor, which failed the test, may also have looked just as good as the new one on the outside. That's the nature of electronics and why so many people hate dealing with electrical problems.

If you took your car to Honda, they would replace the ignitor and coil together. Customers would be upset if they had to bring the car shortly because they found out the other item shortly failed. Experience has taught them to replace these items together. Shade tree mechanics, however, are always looking to save the money.

lmland

Okay I just wanted to double check because the clerk helping me at auto zone just kept saying "The coil doesnt have any burn marks so its fine, it looks really good" I think that may be why he cut corners testing it and only used a multimeter... that or he just didnt know how I'm not sure.

txgreasemonkey

I've even seen new coils fail--however, it's not common. On these older Hondas it's important to maintain the integrity of the core electrical system; i.e., ignitor, coil, main relay, and ECM. If you do the work yourself, the first three items are not very expensive, especially if you shop around. Check prices on RockAuto.com--the TEC coil for Hondas is the OEM part that Honda sells for much more.

See if the $42.89 TEC coil is the correct one for your model Civic:

1992 HONDA CIVIC DX Ignition Coil[859],Ignition%2BCoil,partGroup,25

lmland

So if it is not the coil would you suggest the main relay? Becuase I did check to make sure it was clicking and I did get one click before the fuel pump and one click after.

txgreasemonkey

If the CEL comes on and goes off, like we originally discussed, the main relay, fuses, and ECM should be okay. If the CEL stays on, and you don't hear the fuel pump run, then that is another story. If you have a problem, here, then the ignition will not spark.

If you are introducing this possibility, then you need to go back and answer the 3 basic diagnostic questions:

http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-tr...tml#post229012

lmland

Its looking more and more like the coil is bad isnt it.... I guess tomorrow I will have to take it back in and get it retested. Thanks for all of your help. I will let you know tomorrow when I get the coil tested again.

txgreasemonkey

Okay.

lmland

I just remembered a question I had. I was wondering, my car was running pretty crappy right before it just shut off. If the coil and igniter were going bad right then would it cause the car to maybe misfire or sound abnormal?