Due to a rash of Honda thefts in my city I advised my wife to unplug a spark plug wire when she parked at night. After realizing that it could still run on 3 cylinders I then unplugged the thing with the blue and black/yellow wires (top left in the photo). It ran the next day and then my wife unplugged two spark plug wires and the next day put them back and it hasn't run since then. Using a simple circuit tester with a wire and light bulb I confirmed that there is current coming into the coil at the two screws at the bottom (bottom right in photo) but no current coming from the spring at the top of coil. I'm sure the wires have been put in the same position, I sanded the points and rotor, I took the ignition coil and control module to be tested and they both are fine, all the fuses that I can find are fine. Any suggestions? Please help.

 

Trying to run with spark wires disconnected is prone to blow the coil. Ohmmeter tests of a coil are not reliable (a lot of bad coils test good). If it won't throw strong sparks, replace it. Typically a coil that has been blown by firing into an open circuit will make weak yellow sparks to a grounded test wire held near the output spring. You need blue sparks that can jump more than 1/2 inch.

Your anti-theft measure would be better implemented by reconnecting the wires in the wrong order. The car won't start and the coil would be safe, and upon a cursory check under the hood it is unlikely the thief would see what was wrong. Or remove some other vital part such as the main relay or the fuel pump fuse. Many people put hidden "kill switches" in the fuel pump wire so the car can't start unless you know where the switch is.

 

Why not just get an alarm with a killswitch?

Especially for your Honda...hondas/acuras are the most stolen cars in the world.

I've owned 2 hondas now and the first thing I've done to each one is get an alarm and killswitch.

I've been very happy with the Viper 350 Plus, which I've put on both vehicles. You can get it installed with a killswitch for $150-$200, just shop around for quotes.