Will a ignitor work only sometimes ? When my car is cold sometimes it wont start..then i'll tap on the ignitor and it will.Is this possible??... or is it they work or they don't type of situation? Thanx in advanced!

 

I'm sure an ignitor can be intermittent, but in my experience they are not.

What symptoms have you seen? Any work done already?

good luck

 

Last year it did this exact same thing..I kept on tapping on the ignitor to get it started.I figured i'll keep on beating on it till it breaks...eventually it stop doing it.Seems to do it ocasionally during the cold weather.A new ignitor is couple hundred dollars don't want to waste my money if its not the problem. Could the tapping in that area be effecting something else like loose wiring?

 

You could always open up the distributor & check for loose wiring connections at the ignitor. Or loose/dirty/corroded plugs just outside the distributor.

 

Check ebay for rebuilt or used distributors. I think you can replace yours for < $100.

good luck

 

If the 88 accord has the ignitor inside the distributor like 90+ accords, then are you hitting the coil?

 

Good point!

88 LX (carburator) has 2 different distributors, ignitor inside or outside.

88 LXi (fuel injected) has ignitor located inside the distributor.

 

I'm staying on the outside for now, ok maybe not.....Jim, the DX an LX do have ICM's....that strange silver thing on the outside of the dist.....

To the OP, yes. That can be the issue. However, Please test. The ICM can be what is causing the issue.

 

LOL, you're correct. (where's that smack-on-the-head smiley?)

I quickly looked at the parts picture & the funny-looking magnetic pickup didn't look at all like the electronic pickups in later distributors. I should've been paying better attention.

2 different distributors on the carburator engine. One type has ignitor inside, one has ignitor outside.

Hey Poorman, you act like you're afraid to correct me. Don't be. I make plenty of mistakes...

 

Yes it's on the outside of the dist. Thanks for your help!!