My 92 honda civic lx is having the oddest starting issue I've read all the troubleshooting guides I can find but they either don't really offer any discriminating proof or just don't touch the problem.

So my issue is: I had starting problems last week or so. It stalled and wouldn't start the engine turned over but wouldn't start I continue to check all things I could think of:
1.humming of the fuel pump
2.the ticking from the front area
3.timing belt
4. spark
I found that it was not sparking so I replaced the distributor cap and rotor (they really didn't look good)this did nothing. So I pulled out the haynes manual and tested the ignition system it seemed that the tests showed a malfunctioning icm so I replaced that and it started right up.
That was this past Thursday it is now Tuesday and yesterday it stalled twice and didn't like starting I let it sit for about a minute and waited till the cel went out and proceeded to start it it came on and stayed on for long enough to park my car. So my question is where to start and or what could it be? To my knowledge this sounds like an issue with shorting or something about to completely fail


Also I'm am going to test all the fuses today


I know its possible that my car might be fine for a while but I want to fix it before it breaks down. I thank you in advance for any help.

When you replaced the cap & rotor, did you check the plugs & wires? If the cap and rotor were in bad shape, odds are the plugs & wires aren't any better.

Perform the K-Test on the ECM, as described in Section A below:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-trucks/faq-how-troubleshoot-repair-maintain-hondas-46563.html

If the problem persists, perform all tests described in Sections A and B.

All right so I did the k test I wasn't really sure there were three wires so I tested the voltage on all three and got 4.95 ish, 0 and another 4.95ish

I read in another thread that without silicone grease the icm could act up when warm considering I never put any on the heatsync could this be it

I tested all the spark plug wires and they are well under the ohm rating

Again thanks to any responses

Yes, it's very important to coat the back of the new ICM with a thin, even coat of heat transfer silicone grease. Otherwise, the ICM will become toast from overheating.

I put the grease in and its running sofar but I reset the ecu and check for error codes and the cel just stayed on that means there arnt any codes correct

No, a CEL staying on means one or more codes are being thrown.

When the Check Engine Light (CEL) is on, it will be necessary to locate the 2-pin Service Check Connector (SCC) on OBD-I (pre-1996) Hondas. It is normally located under the dash, approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the right kick panel. Take a small screwdriver and carefully pry it from the rubber mount. The other 3-pin connector in the rubber mount is the Data Link Connector (DLC), which should be left alone. Jump the SCC with a paper clip, turn the ignition switch to ON (Position II), and count the number of times, if any, the CEL flashes. Reference a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) chart to identify the code being displayed.

After troubleshooting, turn the ignition switch OFF, remove the jumper wire, and reset the ECM, by removing the BACK UP (7.5 A) fuse from the under-hood fuse box for 10 seconds. Disconnecting the BACK UP fuse cancels preset radio stations and the clock setting; therefore, they will need to be reset.

Oops I was talking about with the diagnostic cable jumped it stays on

So the cel is still coming on ill get back once I have a chance to test the ignition system

When I was going through the coil and icm checks I didn't quite understand them if you'd be able to explain them to me that would be wonderful

AutoZone will test ICMs and coils for free. Personally, because of the age of your Civic, I would replace them, provided you plan on keeping the car.

So I checked the coil and it was to the exact specifications of the haynes manual and when I got to the icm the black yellow wire was good and I check the voltage from the white/blue wire to the body which turned up a zero

What does this mean I just replaced the icm with one from advance auto parts

When I checked the icm wires the white blue one came up with zero voltage and so did the secondary test for that part
Is there anyway I can find out what it is

93 honda civic starts fine, but after a few seconds it cuts off. It restarts fine, but sometimes does the same thing. Then, after one, two, or three tries, it starts an runs well.

I fixed it it was the icm thanks to anyone who helped