I have a 1997 Accord with a F22B1 engine. The car was given to me for one of my kids. The guy who gave it to me never worked on it, he always had to little shop in his town do everything on it.

im having rough idle and stalling issue and am trying to get it running so when my youngest gets his license he’ll have something to get back and forth to school and work.

First thing I noticed when we got the car and I popped the hood is it has an external coil on a bracket that is just sitting in the engine compartment not bolted down anywhere. And it’s cracked! I think this is the issue but when I go to order the part I was told that this engine should have an internal coil in the distributor. Which is what I thought.

Im not a Honda guy (sorry never owned one) so I’m not sure WTF is going on here! Engine stamp is F22B1. It’s a Vtec. No where can I figure out where this coil would bolt down. So I’m assuming someone swapped the distributor out with a non internal coil distributor????

any help would be great!!

 

Let's get a pic of what you are looking at. Are you getting any codes if so post them please

 

Ah yes. The good old 97 version that none of the catalog places get right. If you have VTEC, you should have an external coil. I believe this called the Hitachi (don't quote me) version. My old 97 was the non-VTEC version, and had the coil built into the distributor. I ended buying the wrong stuff first, then sent it back and ordered again the right stuff. I do wish these places would call out the designation as VTEC, or non-VTEC, as it would simplify ordering parts.
If your existing coil has a crack in it, it's probably the cause of your problem. Also, the PO (previous owner) probably lost the bracket for the new coil, hence why you can;'t bolt it on, which is probably the root of your problem. I only say that, as some coils ground thru the bracket.

 

Ok so here are pics as requested

 

Toecutter has it backwards. The F22B1 EX distributor should have the internal coil. The LX/DX with the F22B2 non-Vtec engine has the external coil.

Your VIN will tell you the make/model of your 97 accord and will help us figure out what is going on. What is your VIN up to the A digit?

1HGCD5659VA.....the rest is the serial number for your accord.

1HG is Honda of America
CD5 is Accord Sedan
5 is 5-speed manual (6 here would be for an automatic trans)
6 is EX with leather
9 is a placeholder
V is for 1997
A is for the Ohio factory

 

1hgcd5636va

 

Your car started its life as an LX engine with a F22B2 engine. Someone swapped the engine where you have the EX F22B1 engine that did not have an external coil, so it makes sense that the external coil couldn't be mounted properly.

Now you will have to do some digging to figure out how the F22B1 was setup. Look at the Vtec solenoid and let us know how it is wired up. Also look at the wire harness to the distributor for any obvious signs of splicing. The other thing you can do is look at the PCM and give us the OEM part number. The part number will start with 37820-XXX-XXX.

The only 2 options I see is that they don't utilize the Vtec and kept the PCM/wire harness the same as the F22B2. Or they could have used a PCM for a F22B1 and wired to run the vtec (where you go from 130 hp to 145 hp).

 

All I know is that my old 97 Accord had a coil in the cap-distributor. It was an F22B2 non-VTEC engine. It's also one of the reasons I sold it, as I got tired of having to order parts for it twice to get the right ones.

 

Don't know if you got it fixed yet, but pull any DTC codes, if you say the coil that feeds the distributor is cracked, replace that first. if issue continues check distributor for oil leak, if oil found, at this point replace the distributor, because the ICM (Ignition Control Module) is inside the distributor and cannot be replaced separately. And will cause stalling/idle/starting issues, because of prolonged oil exposure. Also, The LX model come originally with F22B2 Non-VTEC, so likely not the original engine and ECM may not be setup for VTEC, which could cause drivability issues.

 

Yeah, so I replaced the cracked coil, new plugs, & wires.
Definitely not the original engine for sure but has the distributor and coil for the engine that’s is currently in it. Running much better after all this. Still a few issues but nothing like it was.