I have a 1989 Civic hatch with a 1.5 non vtec d15. I blew my ignition module recently when the spring loaded carbon piece broke loose in the cap and fried the modual. A friend of mine had a spare OBD1 "ls" ignition module and distributer it the connections were the same, and it bolted in and ran . . . . : heres the problem(s),

#1 - when i jump the yellow "plug in" under the hood to set base timing as per honda, even with the distributor fully advanced the timing marks still say the ignition is firing retarded (it idles the best with the distributor twisted fully advanced). the funny thing is someone else i know with the identical car and powertrain has the same advance problem (fully advanced distributor to idle right). SOMETHING isn't right, is this a common issue?

#2 - i've been driving with the "timing issue" and lately will have the check engine light come on when on the freeway. i quickly turn off engine the restart and go on my way. the code flashes 1 long and 16 short (26), i cant find this code breakdown

i can see this timing issue causing the coil to break down but why cant i set base timing?

 

i think your having issues with the differrence between obd1 and obd0, the distributers may look alike, but its my understanding that they are not the same, did you check wire colors to be certain they match at both ends of the plugs??
if you think its a good dizzy, you could simply make the holes longer where the mount hits the bolt.