We've had this Civic for maybe 4 years now (bought it used). It's always been a really good car. It's always taken maybe a second or two to crank....figure maybe thats just cuz we park it somewhat uphill.

The other day my wife called me and said it just stopped running and left her stranded. No check engine warning or anything prior. Towed it home (redneck style with a tow-rope) and disconnected line exiting fuel filter and turned it over and it put out a good bit of gas constantly. Starter turns motor over really well (good batt and alt). Tried several redneck ways to check for spark and couldn't get anything. Had a friend of a friend (who used to work for Honda as a mech.) check some stuff and he said the coil checked out good, but didn't like the readings from the ICM(Ignition Control Module). Bought one, put it on........still nothing. I was also told to see if timing belt broke, but it was still intact and looked really good.

I'm an idiot when it comes to automotive electronics by the way, but have a good multimeter. I'm just lost on what and how to check. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.[/align]

 

I assume you already checked for blown fuses, but it wouldn't hurt to double check.

Are you getting power at the distributor connector with the ignition key turned ON? If not, check whether the ground wire on the thermostat housing is tight and making good electrical contact.

What's the condition of the distributor cap and rotor?

By the way, one member on this forum claims that multimeter testing of the coil is reasonable but imperfect.

 

I'm with u. I keep checking fuses hopin I'm lookin at em wrong and that eventually I'll find the blown one....lol. Cap's in good shape. Replaced the rotor, but it too wasn't really bad. This thing just dead stopped and refuses to go. Tried startin fluid at the intake and nothin. I'm not really sure I understand about checking the dist conn tho. Tell me how and I'll do it.

 

With the ignition key turned ON, check for battery voltage from the BLK/YEL wire coming from the ignition switch and going to distributor ignition module and coil. Also, check that all wires attached to the latter components are tight and not corroded.

If you have power at the BLK/YEL wire, then consider replacing the coil. By the way, I don't think there is a reliable way to test the ICM in the distributor using a multimeter.

There should be a ground wire attached to the thermostat housing. Make sure it is tight and not corroded.

 

If I promise to buy u beer will u come fix it?............lol. So by checking the power as u say that means everything in between is good? How much voltage should there be........12v? And the connectors are all really clean. Again, as admitted b4 this auto-electrical stuff is a little above me. I'll have to look up ignition switch in my Hayne's manual to find the wire to check......I really AM that ignorant about this.

 

Yes

Remove distributor cap, rotor, etc to expose coil and igniter and the BLK/YEL wire. With the ignition key turned to ON, touch positive probe of multimeter to metal-exposed part of BLK/YEL wire and the negative probe of multimeter to ground (= a convenient metal engine part). If the distributor is getting power, the multimeter should read 12V.

 

I did as you said........touched pos probe to black/yel connector on coil and it read 12v. Checked (out of curiousity) the other connector on the coil and it showed 12v too. That mean coil's getting fire but not putting out? If it were a fuse or a sensor, would I still getvoltage to the coil? Wouldn't a bad sensor block the voltage? How can u test (and where is) the igniter? Thanks for pointing me in a good direction by the way.

 

As you have a new ICM (igniter) and the timing belt is not broken, then I would focus on the coil and the thermostat ground wire. A bad coil would be my guess:

 

I forgot to mention I looked for the ground wire at the thermostat housing and couldn't find it. Does it run from the dist? I'm thinking ur right, I'm going to get a coil now cuz the stores r about to close........and I've been told the resistance check isn't always a dead indicator. I'm hopin the coil get's it. Thanx bro.

 

Good luck.