no spark

i have an 89 crx that started sputtering out on the interstate doing 65mph, it acted like it was running out of gas. when i took my foot of the accelerator to take an exit it died. i turned the key and all i heard was the starter spinning. i towed it home checked the battery (good), checked the timing belt (loose, but not broken), pulled the plugs and checked for spark (no spark). any suggestions could it be the ignition coil, dont have a lot of money to nickel and dime it, so i want start with the most likely culprit. thanks.

Possibly the igniter, they are good about going out. I would just get a new distributor off of eBay, thats what I did on my b18 a few years back and still running the same one.

took the dist. cap off and the rotor is chipped with alot of black dust inside the cap. gonna try replacing that first.

changed the rotor, still not starting. it is giving trouble codes 8 and 20. also tested the msd blaster 2 coil it is showing 4.99k ohm which i think is low.

hey is there a way that i can test the igniter and the distributor my repair manual doesnt show how to do this.

Not off the top of my head. I just jacked one from another distributor I had laying around and checked to see if that worked. I think I ended up replacing the whole distributor due to the bearings giving out in it.

Pull the rotor back off and remove the plastic covering under it(assuming it has one) check down inside there and see if there are any metal shavings. Code 8 is for the TDC sensor which is located down there, if there are metal shavings in it, it will throw that sensor off. The shavings are a result of the bearings wearing out. Code 20 is the Electronic Load Detector....no clue on that one honestly.

A new distributor isn't that bad on ebay, you will get a new coil and igniter with it, and new bearings.

Not sure which engine you have:
1.5 Liter (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-IGNITION-1-5L-DISTRIBUTOR-HONDA-CIVIC-CAR-PART-AUTO-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZYearQ3a1989Q7cModelQ3aCRXQ QhashZitem35aeba3579QQitemZ230564705657QQptZMotors Q5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)
1.6 Liter (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-IGNITION-1-6-DISTRIBUTOR-HONDA-CIVIC-CAR-PART-AUTO-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZYearQ3a1989Q7cModelQ3aCRXQ QhashZitem35aeb9cfb1QQitemZ230564679601QQptZMotors Q5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)

Not off the top of my head. I just jacked one from another distributor I had laying around and checked to see if that worked. I think I ended up replacing the whole distributor due to the bearings giving out in it.

Pull the rotor back off and remove the plastic covering under it(assuming it has one) check down inside there and see if there are any metal shavings. Code 8 is for the TDC sensor which is located down there, if there are metal shavings in it, it will throw that sensor off. The shavings are a result of the bearings wearing out. Code 20 is the Electronic Load Detector....no clue on that one honestly.

A new distributor isn't that bad on ebay, you will get a new coil and igniter with it, and new bearings.

Not sure which engine you have:
1.5 Liter (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-IGNITION-1-5L-DISTRIBUTOR-HONDA-CIVIC-CAR-PART-AUTO-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZYearQ3a1989Q7cModelQ3aCRXQ QhashZitem35aeba3579QQitemZ230564705657QQptZMotors Q5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)
1.6 Liter (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-IGNITION-1-6-DISTRIBUTOR-HONDA-CIVIC-CAR-PART-AUTO-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZYearQ3a1989Q7cModelQ3aCRXQ QhashZitem35aeb9cfb1QQitemZ230564679601QQptZMotors Q5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)

yeah i think i am gonna just bite the bullet and buy the distributor. i found one for 105 bucks so i hope that will fix it. thanks for the help. i appreciate it.

also the dist. shaft and timing belt dont rotate when i turn it over.

also the dist. shaft and timing belt dont rotate when i turn it over.

if you can turn it over and rotor button don't turn you may have the belt broke i've seen distributor crack before and rotor wouldn't turn pulled it out and it was about half way down crack. hope that's not it when you replace whole dist. it may be locked up i've seen that before to.

anyway good luck....

scrapper....

I would be looking closer at the timing belt then. If the belt doesn't rotate, the distributor isn't going to rotate.

I would be looking closer at the timing belt then. If the belt doesn't rotate, the distributor isn't going to rotate.

the belt looks in good condition, it is not broken or cracked or anything. took the starter off and it is spinning but the sprocket is not coming out of the starter to hit the fly wheel so gonna replace the starter and go from there.

went to junk yard and got a starter, brought it home tested it and it worked so i installed it and cranked and still the timing belt doesnt move. on the final crank it started sparking and i lost all power, got out to see where this was happening my negative battery cable was no longer connected to the clamp, it burnt through the exposed part of the wire. it needed to be changed anyway. gonna put a new negative cable on and probably a new engine ground cuz that is looking pretty corroded.

the belt looks in good condition, it is not broken or cracked or anything. took the starter off and it is spinning but the sprocket is not coming out of the starter to hit the fly wheel so gonna replace the starter and go from there.

yes thats the sylanoid is bad if not kicking out to turn moter over. but you said you got a used one so i'd just go threw with your plan.

scrapper......

changed the battery cable and found out wires were crossed on the starter so i adjusted it and now it doesnt spark. cranked the engine and saw the timing belt twitch a little upon further inspection, i believe the belt is too loose, because the crank is just spinning on the belt. i am gonna replace the belt and see if that is problem. that is probably why it is throwing a code 8.

Thats why I said take a closer look at the belt, you might have lost some teeth on it which would make it loose and wouldn't give the crank anything to grab to turn it.

Thats why I said take a closer look at the belt, you might have lost some teeth on it which would make it loose and wouldn't give the crank anything to grab to turn it.

yes thank you.

ok new timing belt on, turned the key fired right up and sounded pretty good maybe a little hesitation but when i took off first gear was good but went into second gear and it started hesitating really bad plus my gauge cluster went all screwy. (tach., gas, temp., and spedo. ) ecu still throwing code 20. i am thinking i might of blew something when the starter had a wire start sparking and blew off my neg. battery cable. idk lookin for ideas. thanks for the help so far.

ok new timing belt on, turned the key fired right up and sounded pretty good maybe a little hesitation but when i took off first gear was good but went into second gear and it started hesitating really bad plus my gauge cluster went all screwy. (tach., gas, temp., and spedo. ) ecu still throwing code 20. i am thinking i might of blew something when the starter had a wire start sparking and blew off my neg. battery cable. idk lookin for ideas. thanks for the help so far.


it was the ground wire(the one that goes from the valve cover to the front frame). replaced it now it runs fine no problems.

Its amazing what a ground can do. I actually don't have that one hooked up, but got another on the motor mount by it and made the other grounds better as well.