Check the Online manuals link in the Common DIY and Info. Thread sticky.

 

It still would be confirmed by testing, but you asked about loose wiring plug at the ignition switch. My limited experience says that wiring plug fits on pretty snug. And it doesn't move each time you start the car. On the other hand, the inner rotating part of the ignition switch (electrical part) wears & gets mechanically-sloppy.

To me, extra weight on the keychain seems like it would affect the lock-cylinder part, more than the electrical part. But it seems common from reading this board that heavy keychains seem to cause this in the electrical part of the switch.

 

Thanks Roader(the manual was a godsend!). Thanks Tom2rn, will look into the ECT sensor soon.

@poorman/jim blake,

1. The car was in a no-start condition. Popped the hood up, disconnected the electrical connector to the distributor. Hooked a multi-meter and turned the Key to IGN-2. connectivity established
2. Turned the Key to START, connectivity established. These 2 tests prove that the electrical switch was ok and power was coming to the distributor from as commanded by ECM? right?
3. Opened the distributor cap and checked the ignition coil for a spark using a screwdriver and turned the key to START. Spark observed
4. Slightly push the electrical leads to kind of bed them on the ignition coil. Close the dizzy cap and before checking for spark at the plugs, turn the key to START. THE GODDAMN CAR STARTS! WTF!
5. Several start/stops later, just could not make the car start.
6. Finally, when the car was running, I wiggled the key in START position and nothing happened. The car stopped only when I moved the key from START towards position II. It was just enough to kill the engine.
7. THEN THE CAR WOULDNT START. We thought we had reproduced the problem and SUSPECTED it to be the Ignition switch.
8. What do you know, in postion II, there was still power at the BLK/YELLOW wire of the dizzy. Same thing when the key turned to START.
9. Open the Dizzy cap and reestablish spark at the ignition coil.
10. Now, we decided to check the spark at the plugs and in another attempt, my colleague pressed the cap against the dizzy housing and asked me to crank. WTH, the car started! We tightened the screws on the dizzy and here we are!
11. Does this mean the Dizzy CAP or ROTOR are at fault? My colleague said I will be wasting money since there is spark at the coil. If there is spark at the coil and no spark at the plugs, what does that mean? Can any of these components be intermittent?

We messed with the Dizzy's electrical connector shoving it back and forth, one thing was established. There cannot be a loose connection of the connector to the dizzy or for that matter the dizzy is losing power suddenly.


We did the same for the key when the car was running. Hit the key, shook it, shoved it back and forth...and the only position to stop the car was when i moved the key towards position II beyond a certain point.



Thumping on the distributor when the car was running did no good.


This evening around 6PM, temperature was moderate compared to saturday evening when the outside temperature was hot.



Please let me know if I forgot to do anything. Any other ideas?

1. Do I bite the bullet and replace the ignition switch?
2. Can this be a bad dizzy, cap or rotor? I put in a new dizzy last year(NAPA)...is it time for a new one?
3. There is a small engine oil leak at the edge of the distributor cap, can this be causing any issues?
4. We never got to the point in both scenarios to check for spark at the plug when there was a no-start condition. But, last week, there was no spark at the plugs when there was a no-start condition. putting what I know together, if I said there is spark at the ignition coil and no spark at the plugs, what are the culprits?
5. Is there a quick test for the ECT sensor? Is it as simple as removing the electrical connector and starting the car?

please please help,

 

It seems like you are able to influence it's behavior (however unreliably) by pushing & wiggling stuff at the distributor. That tells me the issue is out there not at the ignition switch. But the paradox with that is your distributor & cap & rotor are new.

It IS possible to have spark at the coil and not at the plugs. That points to lack of continuity through the cap & rotor & plug-wires. Are your plug wires flaky?

 

Thanks Jim.

1. It is quite possible that new distributor has gone bad within a year, ever heard of that?
2. Can either the cap or rotor go bad and hence no spark at the plugs?
3. Is there a test to check the spark plug wires or I swap them out and give it a try? And Ohh, these are stock plug wires. I changed ONLY the spark plugs last year!
4. What about the oil leak into the distributor, when the cap was opened, there was a thin lining of hole at the mating poing of the cap and housing. Should I be concerned about this?

 

Any part can go bad quickly, so don't pretend that a bad distributor is impossible. Does the distributor have a warranty still in effect? But if it was me, I'd check a few other things first.

Plug wires can be checked for 2 different kinds of failure. Measure their resistance with a multimeter. Don't know the proper spec, think it's in the K-ohm range. Strange that all 4 would fail and cause a complete non-start problem. But I'd look for them to go open-circuit when flexed.

The other test for plug wires is "leaky" insulation. Complete darkness with a cold engine. Start the engine & look for arcing - even a dull blue glow. Normally causes sputtering & misfiring - not complete non-start problem.

Just so you don't take ANYTHING for granted. Inside the distributor cap, look at the center terminal. Did the little carbon brush fall out leaving only the spring? Leading to intermittent contact with the center of the distributor?

Not sure for specific year/model, but some distributor rotors (older) have a nice big piece of metal to conduct the spark from the center out to the tip. Seems to me my former 1998 Accord had something that looked like a printed-circuit board embedded in the rotor instead of a metal plate. Burned? Ugly-looking?

I've seen some pretty ugly-looking side-terminals inside the distributor cap, with crusty carbon-looking stuff growing out of the metal posts. But those still worked really well. Scrape that crud off & see if it improves?

A small oil-leak at the distributor shaft seal can let a small amount of oil in there. If it's well-behaved I guess it might be OK. If it's a lot of oil splashing around with those timing sensors in there, maybe not so good. That's a pretty vague answer, huh?? Those timing sensors are magnetic, oil isn't so much of a problem. If the inside were covered with rust-colored dust, then I'd be more worried.

 

I am past the 12 month period unfortunately, the distributor was installed march 2013. I have hardly driven 3000 miles since.

plug wires suspect - since how can all the 4 fail exactly at the same time and work intermittently? I am more inclined to say ignition coil or the igniter, right? Since if either of these dont work, the possibility of no spark at all the 4 plugs can be readily explained.

last night, popped the hood up and started the car. started just fine, no sparking/arcing observed.

when the distributor cap was opened, the insides looked very clean other than the oil running on the perimeter of the cap. There was no residues within the cap.

The only thing concerning me is the carbon brush you talk about. I will take a picture and post it later today.

I read on a thread on driveaccord.net (will cross link) that oil leaks sometimes lead to no spark situation. Is there weight to it? Reading your comment, it seems to be oil does not seem to be a factor. In fact, more people would have complained about no start-no spark situation since oil leaking into the cap seems to be fairly common.

i will check with local junkyards if they have a distributor in stock and bite the bullet...will update

 

First junkyard I visit, there was a 01 and 99 accord in the lot(freshly arrived!)

I looked at the 99 Accord (4 cyl, ULEV VTEC) and mine is a 2000 Honda Accord (SE) 4cyl LEV VTEC. I was apprehensive but the guy at the counter was very nice and explained that 4drs for the years match.

Went to the lot, pulled the stock hitachi distributor out and there was some oil (either from removing it or maybe an external leak). Removed the distributor cap to check for internal leaks, satisfied, purchased it for $53. I am crossing my fingers it will work!

I just cross-checked the partnumbers on hondaautomotive and both (99 accord and came up the same(30100-PAA-A02 001 001 DISTRIBUTOR ASSY. (D4T97-03) (HITACHI)). score!


I will replace the distributor and report here what happened. Before I do, please let me know if there are any concerns or precautions before the replacement?

 

Link to all pics - jolpot: distributor pics


Hmm, I thought there was no internal leak when I opened the cap at the junkyard yesterday. But, I did a stupid thing to let gravity do its work based on how I placed the dizzy on the floor mat. Oil on the engine side(cam shaft?) must have seeped, is this normal? You can see shiny/wetness on the cam shaft connecting the rotor.



Do I need a new Cap?




Do I need a new Rotor as well? The tip of the rotor is rough and serrated.




Finally, i dont seem to see a carbon brush around the spring in the distributor cap? Is this normal?

 

1. Oil doesn't look that bad......don't worry with it for now.

2 & 3. Compare your current cap and rotor to the ones in the pic and go with the best looking ones.

4. The "carbon" brush is the thing in the center of the cap. There is not one on the "coil" side that I can find.

Slap that bad boy in and see what you have.....hope the issues go away.