Hi all -

My 96 civic ex died and doesn't give spark. No spark at the plugs.. so I checked the coil ... no spark there either. The coil tested at the very top of the a-b range at autozone (.8 ohms). I went through the a number of coil and ICM tests per the manual and this nifty site: http://techauto.awardspace.com/ignition.html

From the tests I learned that voltage is getting to both the coil and ICM with the iginiton on. However ...the ICM isn't giving the coil any signal when the engine is cranked. The voltage from the ICM to the coil goes dead when cranked.

Timing belt is on. Fuel and relay kick in. CEL light behaves correctly. So my question is .....should I:

a) replace the ICM?
b) replace the entire disyributor? or
c) bring it to a mechanic for additional testing?

I don't want to spend needlessly on parts... would rather save that for gas.

Thanks for help solving the mystery.

btw - great forum.. learned a bunch already.

 

I had a problem with my ignition coil and it was going to cost almost as much as getting a rebuilt one.

 

Finally got my ignition control module from Rock Auto. Popped it in and she started on the 1st crank . $60 and 10 minutes of work. YES!!!Sure beats putting in a new distributor.

 

Do you have steady voltage on the other wire on the coil, the one that doesn't go to the ICM, while cranking? If it drops to zero too there is a problem with the car's wiring.