Ignition systems on our cars suck! Any options?

[doug294]

Does any one else have a bit of problems with there ignition system. I replaced my dizzy, 6 months later my coil and roter button, 3 months later another roter button. Now my car just shut off again while I was driving and I'm not getting any fire. Are there any other options?

(revised) Well got the car back yesterday after taking the dizzy back and getting another one. Well started to go to work today and poof, did the same thing. I'm thinking the coil again. My dad made a suggestion that made me wonder. Could my ECU performance chip be causing it? I know it advances your timing and givies more fuel. Still it shouldn't be messing up dizzys like this. What MSD coil and dizzy cap do I need?

[jacer]

the coils are known to burn out with upgraded ignition i.e msd. try a msd modified dist cap with external coil.... no more problems [email protected]

[doug294]

All I have is upgraded plug wires as far as ignition. But all three times my car has messed up has been after I have raced and reved high.

[BullShifter]

Did the screw for the rotor fall out? Usually the coil goes then the igniter or reverse.

http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual...s/91-23-63.jpg
http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual...s/91-23-64.jpg
http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual...s/91-23-56.jpg

[91civicDXdude]

the top honda drag racers all use stock honda ignition.

I would say your problem lies elsewhere, such as incorrect plugs for the car, faulty plug wires, or foreign substance inside the distributor..

[alexdog69]

The ignitor unit loves to fail on our cars, especially if it's not the revised NEC part.

Personally, I'm running a MSD Blaster SS E-core style coil.. 10.2mm triple core wires.. NGK Iridium plugs.. and a Mallory HyFire VI-A CDI box...

The main advantage is just the smoothness of the idle on my high mileage motor and the crisp low RPM operation.. also much better cold-running operation during the winter... the idle/cold running and the reliability problems I experienced with the stock coil are what motivated me to perform upgrade... I didn't notice a big power increase or anything... The stock ignition system seems to be "just fine"... it wasn't like going from points to CDI on an older car (THAT is a MAJOR upgrade that can transform your car)

Also, I replaced the stock ground wires with 4ga amplifier power wire with gold plated terminal ends... That made my idle better and more importantly, seemed to make everything happier in terms of taillight/headlight brightness...

[doug294]

(revised) Well got the car back yesterday after taking the dizzy back and getting another one. Well started to go to work today and poof, did the same thing. I'm thinking the coil again. My dad made a suggestion that made me wonder. Could my ECU performance chip be causing it? I know it advances your timing and givies more fuel. Still it shouldn't be messing up dizzys like this. What MSD coil and dizzy cap do I need?

[alexdog69]

Did your distributor come with a new ignitor?
What about the coil?

If you want to go to an external coil.. The MSD Blaster SS will work fine and its nice and cheap... You will need a MSD or a Crane cams cap... or hack your existing cap (add a plug terminal to it where it connects to the stock coil).. I think there is a kit you can buy from MSD that facilitates this process... but basically you will need to add a terminal to the cap for connecting the external coil instead of having the contact on the inside for the stock coil.. then you will need to run 2 wires out of the distributor that connected to the old internal coil.. and have those on your new external coil.. It's a pretty easy install...

I personally used the MSD Blaster SS coil and Crane cams cap..and it went ok.. the little terminal block that they include to connect the stock wires to your external coil harness .. is well, bullshit.. so you might want to get the MSD cap instead...

[alexdog69]

What does your ignitor look like?
Is it a black Hitachi part or a brown NEC one ?
The NEC part is the better of the two...

I take it that you are checking for spark by i.e. removing a plug and grounding the strap on it ... and finding no spark when you crank it over?

[doug294]

Yeah that is how I was checking for fire. What does the ignitor look like. Thats the only part I have no idea what it looks like.

[alexdog69]

here is a pic of the back side of it
http://catservices.wrencheadpro.com/...cs/1800218.jpg

the front is plastic and usually has a logo embossed on it.. Hitachi or NEC... and its either black or brown..

it's inside the dist and screwed down .. with terminals coming off it..

[BullShifter]

Originally Posted by doug294

Yeah that is how I was checking for fire. What does the ignitor look like. Thats the only part I have no idea what it looks like.

Originally Posted by jackasssi

Did the screw for the rotor fall out? Usually the coil goes then the igniter or reverse.

http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manua...es/91-23-63.jpg
http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manua...es/91-23-64.jpg
http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manua...es/91-23-56.jpg

Why do I even bother posting those links? Check out the first one for igniter.

[jacer]

if your looking into using the msd cap and coil. the part nimber at jegs is #121-8290 for the cap and im sure they have the coil too. i recommend switching to this cause like i said , the STOCK coils are the weak link!!!and THEY BURN OUT I REPLACED MY STOCK COIL THREE TIMES UNTIL MY BUDDY RECOMMENDED THE MSD CAP WITH EXTERNAL COIL.. SOLVED MY PROBLEM!!!

[doug294]

Update: The guy at autozone had over tightened the screw for the rotor button and snaped the screw in allowing the rotor button to come off. Thanks for all you guys help though!