hey guys. new to the fourm. been on here a couple times reading up on tips and tricks. but now i have a question that i couldn't find on here. some posts have gotten close but i still cant find a detailed answer.


i have a 90 civic hatch. bone stock everyday driver. can't beat the MPG vs. my truck. anyways i was searching your tech logs for ignition tips and wondering why ignition coil keeps burning out? i've replaced it about 3 times in the last 6 months. im thinking of cold weather? but i live in san diego. heat? never had a problem starting. but the first time it went out i was on the freeway. just blew out and motor stalled. second time just wouldn't start in the drive way. 3rd time same thing. parked it... next day wouldn't start.

any idea why my coil keeps going out? it gets all flakey and burnt out where the connection is to the cap. any suggestions?

 

have you inspected your ignitor,cap, rotor, also inspect your wiring,

 

High resistance in the spark plug wires will put stress on the coil. If the top of the coil is burnt, the cap will be too. I suggest replacing the whole high voltage system (coil, cap, rotor, wires) as a set with OEM parts not aftermarket ones. There are a few dealers online that sell genuine Honda parts at a discount.

 

the cap is a little burnt now that i've changed out the coil a couple times. the cap, rotor, wires, and plugs are almost a year old. i changed them out in feb.

what do u mean high resistance in the spark plugs? should i change to a different plug? i have the stock ngk's.

 

high resistance in the spark plugs is over 25,000 ohms, I believe.

NGK V-power plugs are fine... actually they are great. Stick with them. Just make sure that they are replaced when needed.

 

You need a new cap for sure. If its burnt it won't make good contact with the coil, leading to burning of the coil. Also I think there's supposed to be a contact spring in the top of the coil, make sure it's there.

 

so this morning im on my way to work and im thinking... hmmm.... i wonder what kind of discounts ppl have on the fourm? and then..... brrrrt brrrrt brrrrt! i freaking lose a cylinder on the freeway. not blown just missfire. so i rolled to work on 3 cylinders sounding like an i gotta a mega camshaft upgrade. so i guess i have no choice to but to go to the local toy store to pick up some parts.......

i was just trying to be a cheap @$$, trying to pin point the problem.

They say "don't fix it if it ain't broke"... well i say "fix it before it breaks!"

Thanks guys for the input. I think im just gonna change everything. might as well since its all giving me problems now. hopefully u wont see me on this post again.... with bad news. Thanks again for the input!

 

BAD NEWS: so i changed out the cap, rotor, wires, and plugs. coil is like a week old. still have a missfire.... something bigger then ignition? my missfire is in cylinder #2.
(4,3,2,1 left to right standing infront of the vehicle)
firing order is correct. didnt switch anything. checked the spark from the wire... plenty of spark. gap on plug is fine. when i changed the plugs i was thinking a fouled plug.... but obviously its not.

what do u think it is now? it can't be an injector... i only have 2 and its on the throttle body. any ideas? time for a new motor? new car... new year?

 

Swap the #2 plug with one of the others. Try one of your old wires (like #1) back on plug #2.

If #2 remains persistently dead, run a compression test.

Sometimes an air leak in the manifold gasket or one of the vacuum hoses can lean out a cylinder to where it won't fire, but that is usually only an issue at idle.