this is eitherloosepush connectors on the ignitor(likely, and free toadjust as well if you do it yourself!), abad ignitor(most likely), ignition coil(less likely from symptoms)or a bad ecu(unlikely).

the ignition coil is separate from the ignitor.

the new distributor assembly doesn't come with the ignitor or coil unless it was REALLY expensive. why was the old distributor replaced?

JohnL: i like your description of how the ignitor works, it is indeed magical. hehe heheheh


note: a few guys in the shop love to sell them in pairs(ignitor and coil) cuz they a lazy diagnostic'ers....

 

I also think it sounds likely to be a bad ignitor or it's connections are loose.

I like to describe the ignitor as an isolation amplifier. I think it's main job is to prevent voltage spikes (created bythe coil) from going back & frying the ECU.

If the coil caused the ignitor's problem, then a new ignitor may get fried before long. Better to fry an ignitor than fry the ECU.

Distributors can be purchased with or without the coil & ignitor. It would be interesting to know whether your ignitor & coilwere replaced back in August or it was just the same ignitor installed into the new distrbutor.

 

Awstraylya mate, geez can't you tell, bloody 'ell!

 

AfterI posted I started to think it was a seperate thing to the coil. At any rate, I do know for certain that they do cause erratic ignition cut outs when they go bad. Somtimes the engine will fire back up pretty quickly, sometimes it will but only after some hours. I'm pretty sure it's temerature dependant, i.e. the ignitor is more lilely to work again after it's cooled down, then stop againwhen operational / non operational temp threshold is reached. Eventually they will probably just die completely, but you'll probably have replaced them before this happens.

Excessive high tension resistance kills igniters (at least Honda ones), and this might include the coil (?).

 

It could be ignitor or coil, however it seems the coil is usually the culprit based on posts from others and my own experience.

The ignitor replaced themechanical distributor breaker points. It's a switch that trips the ignition coil primary circuit open when a timing (ignition) signal is received. When coil primary circuit opens, the coil magnetic field collapses through the secondary and induces the ignition voltage which dirive ths spark plug to spark.

good luck

 

Nice description TH ..... the only problem is that most people have trouble with the concept that the ignition spark is caused by a magnetic feild collapse. While your description is absolutely correct, it's easier for people to imagine that the coil is the same as a step-up transformer combined with a capacitor.

Just my $0.02 ..... may help some readers, may not.

 

I really appreciate all of your responses. Hey, you guys sound like experts to me! I know very little about my precious Honda, but I love her! Anyway, I honestly don't know if the coil and igniter were replaced. The guy who worked on my car said that the coil and ICM were inside of the distributor. I bought the part myself from a parts store and paid about $185 for it and also bought a new cap separately. Can you tell by the price if the igniter and coil would have been included? Also, the distributor was replaced because sometimes after driving she would crank but not start back up. The guy was sure it was the distributor and replaced it...kept having the problem...guy thought I bought a bad part and bought another...still had the problem. Actually, that issue was never fixed, it just kinda stopped on it's own. I assumed that it was heat related and subsided once the weather cooled...but still happens once every blue moon. I was thinking that these issues were separate since the issue in August would occur after cutting off the car and my current issue happens while I'm driving. Am I wrong? What say you?

 

Did you have to pay for this guy to NOT fix your car?

 

Um, yes, falkore...I did pay him. The issue was intermittent, so he'd already been paid when I realized a few days later that I still had the problem. Mind you, 1.distributor replacement...2.fuel pump/filter & main relay replacement...3.bad ECU diagnosis: these are all different guys! Actually, now I'm so disgusted from reading my own posts that I think I just need to take my baby to a Honda Certified tech for my own peace of mind.

 

This is a picture of the distributor assembly in your car.
#1 is the Igniter and # 11 is the coil. As you can see, both are inside the distributor. if the original mechanic really replaced the entire distributor with a new part, you would already have had a new coil and igniter installed. Unless he did not replace the entire distributor assembly and reused your old coil & igniter. But that seems pretty dumb to me. I wonder if he actually replaced anything or if he just charged you for it. Does anything under the hood look new?