88 Civic LX Sedan 1.5 no spark

[rsouth]

Hello Motorheads, My son drives this Civic. It has 190K and has always run good. Suddenly it won't start. It cranks fine, but no spark. There is 12V at the coil. ECU light under carpet flashes once when you turn the key, that's all. I can buy an ecu or distributor on eBay... but I'd like to isolate the problem before throwing parts at it. Starter turns fine, strong battery, no broken timing belt, just no spark. Ideas on how to troubleshoot greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,

Richard in Detroit

[4G4D Store]

Just make sure that you have good wires, plugs, rotor and cap - other than that it's distributor.

[civic_boy91]

make sure the rotor in the distrobuter is still screwed on there, they are known for coming loose

[1990civicdxhb]

actually,having no spark at the spark plugs or wires,
could be caused from many things,
1st try the screwdriver down the #1 wire,about a couple of cm away from unpainted metal!
if you see spark,its your spark plugs,
(you might want to try the other plugs to make shore some did not short out)

if you dont see spark,keep reading:

next try the screwdriver through the cap,where the #1 wire attaches to the cap,take that off,put screwdriver in it,about a couple of cm away from unpainted metal!
if you see spark,its your spark plug wires,
(you might want to try the other wires to make shore some did not short out)

if you dont see spark,keep reading:

take the distributor cap off,(check the metal prongs inside,are they burnt up or broke?)
rotor buttons in the middle of the distributor,(check the metal edge,is it burnt up or broke?)
next,
take off your ignition coil,(requires taking the rotor button off,)
you can then have this tested at any auto parts store,
advanced auto parts,autozone,ext...
if it test's good,the problem probably lies in your control module,
its located inside the distributor,at the bottom(front)
(remeber where the wires go,also when replacing use a high heat compund,so you dont burn it up)
take it off,you can then have this tested at any auto parts store also,
I've replaced a couple,but only bought one from a store,cost 100.00$,

thats usally the basic spark setup,on which hondas that I know of,
breaking down from no spark,

[cloneboy17]

You sure its a no spark issue?? try to crank it a couple times and then pull one of your plugs and see if it smells like gas. if it does then its spark and not gas..... have had the same problem twice and the first time it was the distributer and the second it was the damn shop that installed the distributer messed up the cap when they put it on.... replace the plugs first... then i would check the cap and rotor and the spark plug wires...

[89dx]

I wouldnt be suprised if you are having the same problem I have had 3 times now. It is a bad ignition module. I had the same problem as you, all of sudden my car wont start. No spark, I check everything, new plugs different coil, no luck. I cant find anybody that can check the ignition module for me. I buy used distributor off ebay for $15. (Luckilly I have another car to drive this whole time). Throw in the new dist. and it works for over 6 months, and then I get a real bad misfire. The car still runs this time, just barely though. I decide I am not going to buy a whole dist. again. On a hunch I throw my old I.M. in and the car wont run, throw my current one back in and runs like shit. I go buy a new I.M. and the car is running fine again. I dont know why they keep going, and I am suprised I havent seen more people with this problem, but I wouldnt be suprised if this is your problem. Please post the fix when you find it, I am curious if this is your problem also.

[V-K]

I had the same issue when I first got my car. Replaced the ignition coil and distributor cap and it's been running strong for the last 15,000 miles.