Oil in the spark plug tubes is likely due to the upper seals of the valve cover. Pick up a fel-pro set and replace the seals.

Oil inside of the distributor is due to the rubber grommet leaking. You can replace the grommet and I would also replace the o-ring. See the auto-parts warehouse link in this thread. https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...ad.php?t=23636

Honda dealerships sell the o-ring, but not the grommet. I can you instructions on how to change it.

Deserthonda wrote up a general DIY about how to determine the coil vs the ignitor in the main DIY section. I will re-read it to see how the testing will go with your accord.

 

Thanks PA. Do you think the oil can be the cause of all of my problems? If there is oil getting into the distributor, that could cause the ICM to malfunction, no?

 

I think that you have to test to figure out the problem. It is possible that both components are damaged (a bad ICM can damage a coil depending on how the ICM fails).

Desert's directions are ambiguous, so I would pick up a 12V LED test light at a parts store or a radio shack.

Before using a test light, I would check that you have 12V on both the blk/yel wire that goes to the coil and the yel (or blk/yel) wire that goes to the distributor (make sure coil is plugged in when you test this). Also test that you have 12V on the blk/yel wire that goes to the ICM just to be sure that you have voltage and there are no wiring problems.

I would backprobe the blk/yel and grn wires at the coil electrical connector. Back-probing is just sticking a needle into the back of the electrical connector at a specific wire, so you can test while the connector is plugged into the coil.

Just push the needle in, and make sure there is zero resistance between the needle and the "real" pin that plugs into the coil. You want to make sure that your needle is touching the pin you are probing.

Just connect the test light across those two back-probes. The test-light should be off when you turn the key to the II position and not cranking the engine. When you crank the engine, the test light should flash. Let us know what you find.

 

I have a 12V test light, but it is a regular bulb. Does it matter?

I did check the blk/yel wire on the 4P of the coil and I did have 12V even when I didn't have spark. That was just with the key in the II position.

So, I'm kind of confused by your directions. Are you saying I shouldn't have had 12V then?

 

Been working on the car for over an hour this morning, and I can't get it to fail. Grrrrr! Of course, because it is a Saturday, and I have decided I would dedicate the day to fixing the car, it's going to behave today. Uber- frustrating.

I did have a very small window of failure, and was able to observe the following:

1. Coil resistance - Not within specs (measured while engine was cold and not during failure window) *Note - got the specs from my ALLDATA online subscription
2. BLK/YEL wire going to coil input - Good 12V
3. BLK/YEL wire going to distributor - Good 12V (not sure if this is the wire you wanted me to check PA...it was off of one of the two 4P next to distributor)

By the time I went inside the house to get 2 paperclips for backprobing, and get a helper, the car started and hasn't failed since. The back probes were good because I was able to see the normal operation. The test light was flashing away as the engine was running. I did notice the additional load of the test light would slightly change the rpm of engine. I'm assuming that is normal.

Does any of this give a clue as to what is wrong? I just want the car to be dependable, so I can start using the damn thing.

 

Further observations. Good news....I have a NEC igniter. And I didn't see any oil on or around it. The oil seems to be getting into the cap where the gasket is. Going to replace cap, rotor, and plugs today. Next project will be O-ring on distributor and valve cover gasket.

All input tests to igniter pass...but of course the car is working right now. Will post more later.

 

Replaced cap, rotor, and plugs. Car started right up. Took it for a test drive and BAM....die on me while in gear. At this point, I wish I could tell you that I thought to look at the tach, but my instinct kicked in and I pushed the clutch in. By the time I remembered to look at the tach, it was at 0 rpm. But I still had some momentum, so I dropped it into second gear and let the clutch out. RPM shot up to about 2000, but the car didn't restart. I know that tells me something that the RPM shot up, but I don't remember what.

I also observed that the MIL were lit in the dash, so that rules out the ignition switch problem.

After pushing the car through a 3 point turn (less than 5 minutes) I had to jump in and close the door because another car was coming....I tried starting it, and it fired right up and I drove it home.

Of course it is starting every time that I try it now. Please please someone shed some light on this for me.

The only thing that is suspect to me at this point is the ignition coil. Thoughts?

 

Okay. Was finally able to back probe while it wasn't starting. I get no flashing test light when going between the BLK/YEL and GRN on the input side of the coil.

What does this mean?

 

It means the ICM is not doing its job, so you should replace it. I guess it is possible this is an ECU problem, but that is unlikely.

 

Thanks PA. I am going to buy a new ICM tomorrow from the parts store for $125. Any trick to replacing it?

I also wanted to mention that the distributor housing feels extremely warm. Could this be a contributing factor? If so, will I have the same problem with a new ICM?