1995 Acura Integra Died, Won't Start, No Spark

My brother has a 1995 Acura Integra SE (non-VTEC) with a five-speed manual transmission. He was driving last night and the car died and would not start again. I drove across town to troubleshoot to no avail. The car has been towed to my mom's house but needs to be moving again soon since my mom is moving to another house this weekend.

Here is what I know:

The timing belt is okay because the I could see the cams turning under the oil cap The battery, starter and connections are okay because the starter motor turns with enthusiasm There is at least some fuel pressure; I disconnected the return line and gas shot out of it when my brother tried to start the car. There is no spark on any cylinders. The spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor were new as of about two months ago so I don't think any of that is to blame. I took the distributor with me. I checked the coil and it reads 0.7 Ohms on a DMM which is within spec (0.6-0.8 Ohm).

What are the common reasons for a no spark condition in a Honda B-series? I need to get this thing running! I'm thinking maybe ignition coil? Any other guesses? As I understand it Integras of this vintage aren't really subject to the main relay failures that plague earlier Honda models.

I will check the ignitor (aka Ignition Control Module) when I get back to the car. The test procedure involves putting the dizzy back in the car so it will have to wait a little while.

And to make a bad night worse, the tow truck driver didn't secure the car onto the flatbed properly so the car got loose and the front bumper tapped the front of the tow truck bed, damaging the front bumper. They were apologetic about it and said they will have an insurance guy out to look at the damages soon.

TreoWayne wrote: My brother has a 1995 Acura Integra SE (non-VTEC) with a five-speed manual transmission. He was driving last night and the car died and would not start again. I drove across town to troubleshoot to no avail. The car has been towed to my mom's house but needs to be moving again soon since my mom is moving to another house this weekend. Here is what I know: The timing belt is okay because the I could see the cams turning under the oil cap The battery, starter and connections are okay because the starter motor turns with enthusiasm There is at least some fuel pressure; I disconnected the return line and gas shot out of it when my brother tried to start the car. There is no spark on any cylinders. The spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor were new as of about two months ago so I don't think any of that is to blame. I took the distributor with me. I checked the coil and it reads 0.7 Ohms on a DMM which is within spec (0.6-0.8 Ohm). What are the common reasons for a no spark condition in a Honda B-series? I need to get this thing running! I'm thinking maybe ignition coil? Any other guesses? As I understand it Integras of this vintage aren't really subject to the main relay failures that plague earlier Honda models. I will check the ignitor (aka Ignition Control Module) when I get back to the car. The test procedure involves putting the dizzy back in the car so it will have to wait a little while. And to make a bad night worse, the tow truck driver didn't secure the car onto the flatbed properly so the car got loose and the front bumper tapped the front of the tow truck bed, damaging the front bumper. They were apologetic about it and said they will have an insurance guy out to look at the damages soon.

Hmmm. Doesn't sound like the main relay, though this IS a common Honda problem, especially in hot weather. In my experience (though not necessarily with the Integra,) the main relay going bad on a Honda will cause fuel issues rather than spark, and generally the injectors will not open; so you'll still have fuel pressure, but you'll get a CEL for a faulty injector.

I'm guessing you're on the right track with the ignitor or coil theory.

It was unseasonably cool yesterday in Omaha, NE, another reason I don't think it was the main relay.

Easy button = Ebay -> new distributor from Distributor King.

Hard Button = pull cap and start going through distributor component diagnosis.

I'm following this thread because I have a 1994 Accord that has no spark. I've replaced the main relay with a new one from Honda and replaced the distributor with one from a running parts car. I can't figure it out, either. The CEL doesn't illuminate - ever; not even with the key on in the "accessory" position.

Honda's had a few ignitor recalls in the early to mid 90's.

M030 wrote: The CEL doesn't illuminate - ever; not even with the key on in the "accessory" position.

Bad / removed bulb?

In reply to DILYSI Dave:

I worked on a Civic once where the CEL never lit up, it turned out to be a fried ECU...I'd never seen one fail before. I got another ECU and it fired right up.

Sonic wrote: In reply to DILYSI Dave: I worked on a Civic once where the CEL never lit up, it turned out to be a fried ECU...I'd never seen one fail before. I got another ECU and it fired right up.

This is also referred to the "North Georgia fix for any Honda product." I.e., "Tain't got no caburetor, so it must be that dag-gone danged ole ECU."

Bad / removed bulb?

Nope. Oddly, it worked before I replaced the headgasket. It had spark, too.

I called the Honda dealership yesterday and the "tech" told me that the ignitor is built into the distributor. Since the distributor I put in came out of a running car, I'm completely stumped.

I swapped ECUs with the parts car today, too, but to no avail. And yes, the ECUs have the same numbers on them.

Even though the belt is turning the cams doesn't mean it is still in time.

I just put a timing belt in this car about two months ago. I have done about six timing belts and I had factory service docs so I am pretty confident this one was done correctly and the cams are still in time.

And there is definitely no spark.

Honda's engineers do a lot of things right and some things wrong. An example of things done wrong is the cheap E36 M3ty pot metal screws that hold the distributor parts in place. Every single one of them stripped out with almost no torque. Use bolts or allens or something next time please.

I took the coil and the ignition control module (igniter) to Autozone for testing. The AZ employee tested the ICM several times and it always passed. The primary resistance of the ignition coil checked out OK but the secondary resistance was out of spec. Spec was 12.k-19k Ohms, my part tested at 11k Ohms. I bought the part so we'll see what happens tonight.

you have a bad distributor.

i've heard of MANY MANY times where autozone "tests" the coil, ignitor, etc, they pass, but replacing them makes the car run.

Installed new ignition coil into old distributor, installed distributor, car started on the first try.