The mechanic said the plugs and wires are good... any other ideas?

Not really.

I talked to the mechanic and told him to actually ohms test the spark plug wires and he wouldn't because he says that as long as it's firing they are fine. I've been told it doesn't matter if they fire, there could still be a very high resistance in them causing the coil to go bad. But the car will still fire normally. I also have been hearing that shucks electronics parts are horrible and that I should try a coil from honda or napa... any thoughts?

Is there a fuse that limits the voltage going into the coil?

There's no such fuse. If you can't determine the cause of the problem, then try substituting a genuine Honda coil or the TEC coil (OEM) I discussed before.

I got it back and it drives fine as of now, I will keep you posted though. The coil before the last one lasted a week...

Okay day 2 and the car sounds really bad, it's cutting out again. I think the coils on it's way out again which would put me at # 4. I'm completely lost. The mechanics just keep telling me "I dont know"... and putting a new coil in and saying "I hope its fixed" But there not really doing anything, just putting a new coil in and counting the days before it goes bad. I checked the ohms resistance in the spark plug wires... with the multimeter set at 200K ohms, it would range from 06.5-08.5. Is this an okay range? I'm so lost anymore. Not even the mechanics have the answer. Do you have any ideas what this could be. If the ICM was going bad could it take coils with it? I have to move in a week and I can't keep a coil for more than 2 days. I can't afford to keep taking it to the mechanic and getting no answers in return. When I touch the distributor its too hot to touch is that normal? Any help would be soooo appreciated.

Try these tests:

. Tachometer Test. Disconnect tachometer wire (if equipped). A shorted tachometer can prevent the vehicle from starting. The blue wire going to the Ignition Control Module (igniter) should be unfastened. Try starting the car again. If it starts, the problem is with the tachometer. If it still doesn't start:

. Power to Distributor Test. Turn ignition OFF. Disconnect the 2-P connector from the distributor. Turn the ignition switch ON. Measure voltage between BLK/YEL (+) terminal and body ground. There should be 12+ volts read. If not, repair open in BLK/YEL wire between the 2-P connector and ignition switch.

Other than what I've already given you, I don't really have any other ideas. If push comes to shove, take it to Honda, not some local mechanic who doesn't specialize in Hondas.

Thanks I don't have a tachometer, but I will give the other test a shot today. I will let you know how that goes. The car still runs and starts as of now, but it's definitely on its way out like I said. So I'll try that... if you think of anything else let me know. I appreciate it.

I have 12.55 volts to the blk/ylw wire. That means it's getting the right amount of pwr right?

Correct.

Try disconnecting the BLU wire from the ICM. Verify ICM is good and the correct one. You just need to go over everything and check it out the best you can.

It's dark here now so I'm going to put everything on hold until tomorrow. What function does the blu wire have? Could a bad ICM be frying coils? I just went out and ran the car. It starts fine and sounds all right at first. As soon as you give hit the gas and get a little bit of RPMs and let off, it drops down into a low low idle and starts missing and kind of backfiring. Pretty close to the symptoms Ive had every other time the coil goes out. I guess one of my main questions is, can an ICM be failing, but not completely failed, and eat the coils like this? I was just thinking along the lines of the first time I replaced the coil and ICM and I left one of the plug wires not all the way in. Maybe it caused stress on the ICM, and actually failed the coil. Then now I keep putting coils in and a failing ICM is causing the coils to burn up? Not sure if that's possible or not? Because the first coil lasted like 300-400 miles... ( I went on a trip with it) Now the coils last about a day (20 Miles if that). Well let me know your thoughts Thanks.

I would think it's possible; however, I've never seen your problem before.

After thinking more about your situation, I feel the coils are failing due to a bad ICM. Traditionally, coils fail when they get voltage for too long and overheat. Your ICM is allowing too long a "dwell angle" and overheating the coil. This used to be a problem with taxis cabs, when they would idle too long waiting for customers. Bottom line is your aftermarket ICM is bad. Substitute another brand, preferable a Honda OEM part, ensuring it's the correct one for your specific distributor. ICMs have sophisticated microchips inside and there is a compatibility or other problem with your ignitor.

Thanks. I took the ICM back to Autozone because they said they would exchange it and they said that it is good so they wouldn't give me a new one. But what you're saying is that it's a compatibility issue? I took the coil out today and once again I have 1.5 on the primary. I'm confused as to why the first coil failed both the primary and secondary tests and now every coil after that fails ONLY the primary. From my understanding, the secondary is the one that goes to your plugs, and wires so that would mean it doesn't really have anything to do with the plugs and plug wires right? I'm also still confused as to why the first coil lasted so many more miles than the rest of them? I feel these are all clues to what's happened here with the car but just can't quite piece them all together. I did return the coil from shucks for a refund, but haven't decided where to get the new one. I wasn't in a huge rush to go get one because I don't want to put it in until I solve the problem. Do you think it's the igniter still? Thanks

Also could it be the distributor its self, or the ECU causing these problems? Or no?

I'm looking up an new ICM on Rock Auto.com and there's 2 listings "Control Module" and "Ignitor". The honda part is under "Ignitor". Which one am I supposed to go to? Also if I have a "Tec" distributor, and I put a part in this that is not "Tec" does that mean it's not compatible. Because the original coil taken out of the car is a Tec, also the ignitor is not specifically for a tec distributor either. Do these things matter?

TEC means made by Tokyo Electric Company. TEC makes OEM parts for Honda. I installed a TEC replacement coil in my Civic--the original OEM coil was also made by TEC for Honda.

I suppose the problem could be caused by the ECM--I have never run into anything like your problem before. My position is that Honda ECMs should be replaced every 120,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first.

So after that information do you still think it's the ICM or no?

I'm more inclined to think ICM.

Why don't you perform the K-Test on your ECM and see what it reads?

Okay I will perform the K Test is there any chance the wire going from the ICM to the Coil could be bad. Because with the key on (but car not running) I get no battery voltage from that wire when it is connected to the ICM, and disconnected from the coil.

Performing a simple continuity test on the wire is the way to test it. I doubt the wire is the problem. You do want to ensure all connectors are clean and tight, however.

I set up an appointment at Honda today. But I talked to my brother (who has many years experience at a honda dealer) and he had talked to the mechanics at his honda dealership and they seem completely convinced that the whole problem is the aftermarket coil. He said they told him if I put a genuine honda coil in that the problem would be solved. Something about aftermarket coils not being able to hand the load put on them and getting to hot and failing. I'm nervous about putting on the expensive coil from honda I bought today just to see it fail if something is still wrong. I was thinking I would put the Honda coil on and take it to honda. If it fails on the way then something is still wrong, and if it doesn't and honda says everything is fine then I know it was the shucks coil. Either way I'm only out 80 dollars because that's all the honda dealer here charges. My brother said if the coil failed he would send me one. So do you think my plan should work fine? Also do you think it could be because of it being an aftermarket coil?

Sounds reasonable. It's possible that the problem is the aftermarket coil, just as many aftermarket distributors on this site have failed. Many experienced mechanics insist on only using OEM parts, particularly on ignition systems. The TEC coil I showed you at RockAuto.com is OEM for half the price. If you go OEM for the coil, you may want to do likewise for the ICM.

Okay just got the car back from Honda. I put in the Genuine Honda coil, and took it there this morning. They said the timing was retarded fifteen degrees and the distributor is already in the advance position. They adjusted it and it drives so much better now, a lot more power. I'm just curious, so I thought I would ask you. How does the timing burn out the coils? What amazes me is the first mechanic I took it to the FIRST time I took it there I asked him to check the timing. He says that he did and that it was fine. What's the first thing Honda finds... the timing. So anyway, if he would have just done his job the first time I took it to him I would have saved a lot of money... but o well it's all said and done now. But yeah that just makes me curious as to why the timing would be burning up the coils?

Retarded timing affects the "dwell" or time that the points (in this case electronic switch) remain closed. If they are closed for an inordinate amount of time, allowing too much current to flow, the coil greatly overheats and gets ruined. Being retarded by 15 degrees is HUGE!

I always recommend that you take Hondas to Honda and Fords to Ford for repairs--they know their cars best and are often cheaper than "no name" outfits. Normally, the job will be done right, when it's done at the dealer.

Here's the proper procedure for timing your Civic:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-t...tml#post219963

Thanks so much for your help. I learned a valuable lesson about just biting the bullet and paying a little extra for genuine parts and dealership service. Thanks.

Oh just curious on another thing... How does the timing get that far off?

The previous owner likely replaced the distributor housing, due to a failed bearing, and didn't check the timing afterwards. Most non-Honda trained technicians do not know how to set the timing on these cars. In order to properly check the timing, 1) the car needs to be at normal operating temperature, 2) the final idle rpm needs to be set, which is a mystery to many, because they don't know where to locate the BLU wire for attaching a tachometer and they don't know how to adjust the idle speed, 3) the Service Check Connector needs to be jumped with a paper clip, 4) the timing light needs to be attached, and 5) the proper timing marks need to be highlighted and used. Your timing was so far off that anyone familiar with working on Hondas should have been able to hear and detect it. Through experience, I can set the timing on these cars fairly close without a timing light. Your timing was so far retarded that it had no power. Obviously, it needed to be advanced, by rotating the distributor counter-clockwise. This would speed the engine up, smooth it out, and give it more power.

The gas mileage and performance of your car should be dramatically better. If I were you, I would use a scribe and straight edge to mark the position of the distributor housing and bracket. This will help your timing be very close, should you need to remove the distributor for any reason.

Okay so here's my next question. The last person to replace the distributor was 2 years ago. So how come the coil that was in it lasted 2 years on bad timing, and following replacement the coils couldn't withstand the bad timing. Was it just because the first coil that went two years on bad timing was a honda coil, and the following replacements were shucks? Im just curious as why the original coil lasted 2 years on really bad timing and the next ones lasted barely any time until the timing was fixed?

The OEM is likely higher quality. If you looked carefully at the new Honda coil, I'm sure it was made by TEC and had a TEC part no. on it.

Is your Civic running better than ever?

I can't even remember the last time the car ran this good. More power, the pinging noise that was getting really loud is now virtually unnoticable, the exhaust makes a lot less disgusting noises, it doesn't jerk around as much when I let off the gas. It just runs great. I think this may have been a problem for a long time now. It runs like a peach. Thanks again for all of your help.

Put synthetic 5W-30 engine oil in it next time and treat it well--it does make a difference. In the long-run, using synthetics is much cheaper and allows your engine to last much longer and perform much better. Here are some other recommended maintenance tips:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-t...tml#post219991

Hey... back again. :( My car has been running great all week, but today I was in town doing errands when I was sitting in a parking lot (the car was idling) it kind of started to do that backfire thing a couple times then it stopped. I also have a coolant leak somewhere and I'm losing it pretty quick. I do have an after market exhaust and I have heard that they can amplify any little noise the engine makes is this true? Also if there is a chance that the timing wasn't caused by the last mechanic, what could cause the timing to move on it's own? Thanks

Don't know about the exhaust amplifying engine noise. Timing would change if the 3 hold- down bolts were not tightened enough and the distributor rotated.

Is there anything else that could cause timing to change?

Bad ICM, ECM, or internal distributor sensors. Distributor bearing wear could also affect timing.

k... I have a really bad coolant leak. I took it to this radiator guy today (only cause he was the only guy open) and he has told me in the past I have a bad head gasket when it was just a leaking hose... today he told me I had a bad head gasket again. I don't think I do. He washed it off so I would be able to see if it is leaking, and I noticed new antifreeze at the top of the radiator (a little puddle). Ive heard if it's a head gasket you will smell antifreeze burning inside the car, and have milky oil, I have neither. I'm going to check out this little puddle of antifreeze see if I can find the leak ( I had to last time)... and also I had a block check done about 2 months ago and it was fine. Let me know your thoughts thanks.

My advice is to take it to Honda, or an independent shop that specializes in Hondas, for diagnosis.