distributor issues on '92 Civic EX

A few weeks ago my distributor started making a kinda squeaking noise.. kinda hard to describe I guess.. basically something rubbing on something. My '90 TurboII (RX-7) was supposed to be running in a few days so I just left it alone.. It went away and no problems.. started doing it again a few days ago and went kinda quiet again until now the engine misfires and the check engine light comes on.. now it's in "limp home" mode and won't go over 3500 RPM, and totally misfires HORRIBLY when it's not in "limp home" mode (when it first fires up it's in "normal mode" and doesn't even want to run at all, then when it goes into limp mode it runs decent, idles real low (almost stalls) and won't go past 3500).

Anyone have any ideas on what this could be? I pulled the distributor cap and looked at the cap connections, they're a little worn out on two of 'em, so I tried to shake the distributor rotor, and it kinda jiggles a little bit, could this be the problem?

if there is a rust colored dust inside the cap,it's probably the distributor that failed,as for the rotor wiggling,there supposed to be a little movement there.

yeah there was, I just replaced the distributor cap and rotor, but that didn't solve the problem, it just came back after I replaced them. So you say there's supposed to be some wiggling? It's not HUGE, but it seems like it's excessive (I would think the distributor would be TIGHT)

the rotor is going to have a little bit of play simply because its just one piece wedged onto another. if there is too much play, then i could not see how the rotor would spin at all. it sounds to me like you need to get your ignition coil checked out. if the coil is failing then it would not be able to send enough power to create a spark at the plug. there needs to be quite a bit of power for an arc that large to be created. the misfiring would be caused by the lack of spark created by the coil. i think autozone checks that for free, but i might be wrong. good luck.

Since you say the check engine light is on, why don't you check what code is the ECU throwing out, then find out what to do next.

I've checked the ECU codes, it came back showing 4 and 9. That was like the Crank Angle Sensor and something else I forget, all dealing with the distributor. I checked the resistance across all 3 of the sensors and they all came back well within spec (444 ohms for the first one, 444 for the second, and 424 for the 3rd) and none of 'em had continuity to ground, which is "good".

The thing is, when it's cold, it runs pretty decent, but as soon as it warms up, it starts misfiring all over the place, which is why I think something is grounding out somehow.. just not sure.

And the play is actually not between the rotor and distributor shaft, but rather the actual distributor shaft has some play to it. Go ahead and pull off your distributor, and play with the rotor, it kinda rocks back and forth, dunno if that's normal (if you go mess with yours and there's like NO movement, then come back and tell me it's not normal).

Originally posted by Barwick

The thing is, when it's cold, it runs pretty decent, but as soon as it warms up, it starts misfiring all over the place, which is why I think something is grounding out somehow.. just not sure.

And the play is actually not between the rotor and distributor shaft, but rather the actual distributor shaft has some play to it. Go ahead and pull off your distributor, and play with the rotor, it kinda rocks back and forth, dunno if that's normal (if you go mess with yours and there's like NO movement, then come back and tell me it's not normal).
1.looks like the ignition module or the pick up coil inside the distributor is going south.
2.there's a little bit of play between the distributor shaft and the camshaft,that's normal,the rotor shouldn't move against the shaft.

sounds to me like your distributor is toast theres a bearing inside the distributor that will go out and once that happens it lets the rotor move around and eats up the cap as with other parts you will find a lot of metel shavings inside it will also make your check engine light come on becuase of all the sensors inside the distributor

if you look under the cap I bet you can see where the rotor was digging into the post

bad thing about this is honda wont sell just the bearing so you have to buy the whole distributor

I know this becuase its happened to me and everything you went over happend with my car anywho in the end it cost me 280 bucks for my B16 distributor thats with knowing people

if you have a EX or lesser model it shuold be ALOT cheaper the problem with B engines is everyone wants there parts so you can't find anything used...



good luck


Jeff

yeah I've been looking.. the dealership wanted $360 for the distributor (HA!!!) junkyards wanted around $250, one junkyard had one for about $100, ordering it from them, they say it's good.

Thing is, I'd like to get one from a pulled D16Z6 cause I KNOW there's plenty of people out there who pull their motors to do swaps, but nobody is around with them.. oh well. Junkyard it is..

Or I could just spend $500 and get a WHOLE engine/tranny/manifolds/etc and do the whole thing, and that way I'll get out of changing my clutch in a few months.

you got a good price problem with used is they go bad when ever since they have high miles on them

my 95DX engine had agood distrib I swaped the engine out for a b16a and within a month the distrib went out on me
hope things work out with yours and you have better luck then my 1 month blow out

after replacing it I found my car is much more rev happy and seems to not feel as held back so hopfully your car will seem much quicker

Jeff

On my friends 92 VX hatchback...honda said it was the Rotors(yes, as in brake rotors) and the distributor. He had the EXACT same problem as you and sure enough, doing all that fixed it.

swapping the distributor fixed the problem.

and while we are at it I think my new distribor is going out... ohwell atlest it has 10 more months before its outta warrenty