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    northernboy's Avatar
    northernboy Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Mar 24, 2009, 08:56 PM
    88 Honda Civic will not start
    Hello, New to the board. I am having problems starting my 88 Civic. Stopped the car the other day, it was running fine, went to start it back up, could not get it to go. Got it towed home and started to check for the obvious. It does turn over, it has fuel as the plugs were wet. Initially, there was no spark, it looked as thought the dist. cap was worn, purchased a new one. Prior to this, I did the coil and igniter checks as per Honda manual, they checked out pretty much as per spec. Installed the new cap and now there is spark. Tried to start the car, still no go. I have checked every ignition wire and they all work. One suggestion on another site is the spark is weak, I am not sure if I buy that as the spark may not 100% I still think it is enough... or is it. One other suggestion is the igniter might be on its way out, the car has 280,000 kms on it so it could be a possibility, but the thing is it still has spark. Any help or suggestion would be appreciated. Thank you... J
    TxGreaseMonkey's Avatar
    TxGreaseMonkey Posts: 16,761, Reputation: 5597
    Uber Member
    		  
    #2

    Mar 25, 2009, 07:19 AM

    Replace the ignitor and coil:

    https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-t...tml#post265896

    I recommend replacing both of these problematic components every 200,000 kms or 10 years, whichever comes first.
    northernboy's Avatar
    northernboy Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #3

    Mar 25, 2009, 09:31 AM
    Thank you txgreasemonkey, I just ordered the igniter and coil, I am hoping it's the answer, I will let you know... J
    northernboy's Avatar
    northernboy Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #4

    Mar 28, 2009, 11:15 PM

    Installed new igniter and coil, problem solved, fired right up and ran better than it has ever ran. Thank you txgreasemonkey, you hit the nail on the head... J
    TxGreaseMonkey's Avatar
    TxGreaseMonkey Posts: 16,761, Reputation: 5597
    Uber Member
    		  
    #5

    Mar 29, 2009, 06:51 AM

    Good job. We need to keep these Civics going for a long, long time.
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