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Default Checking ignition in 1990 Honda Civic Si, 1.6 liter.

On Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 9:25:52 PM UTC-5, Peter Easthope wrote:
Hi,

A 1990 Honda Civic Si, 1.6 liter here.

The engine starts fairly easily. It begins to falter as it warms.
After driving for 10-15 minutes it's barely running. If the engine is
shut off or stalls, it won't restart until cooled to ambient.

With an old mechanical distributor I would remove the cap with high
voltage wires all connected. Rotate the crank shaft until points are
closed. With the inside of the cap facing up, place a coin between
the center contact and a spark plug contact, not touching both.
Switch on the ignition. (Not the starter of course.) Then lift the
points open with finger nail or screw driver tip. The spark should be
visible jumping via the coin. The spark at each plug is easily
checked by shifting the coin.

In the Honda distributor, no points are visible and high voltage is
created in a module inside the cap. No external coil as in the old
style ignition.

Can the coin test be done with this type of disributor?


Coin? No, but you can still check spark much easier than that. But...

I had friend's Honda do the same thing yours is doing, and it was a bad fuel pump that stiffened up as it ran. Put a gauge on the Schrader valve (fuel rail) and see if the pressure holds.

If the fuel pressure is good and you want to check ignition, pull a spark plug when the engine is cold (leaving it connected to the ignition wire) and ground the threaded part. Have someone crank it over and watch the spark. Repeat again once the car is hot and see if the spark stays a nice fat blue spark or if it's now a weak yellow spark or no spark. If the spark is strong when the car is hot, it's not ignition.

If it's ignition, you can buy a rebuilt distributor that includes the coil, pickups, and electronics, any of which can cause ignition problems. A distributor assy will cover all bases.