Ok… my car just died on me today, immediately after starting. It refuses to start again until I let it sit for a little while, then it starts up and runs fine for a few minutes. Then dies again.
Code 15 is coming up. Is this the ignitor? I’ve searched and couldn’t find anybody that knew for sure. How would I troubleshoot the ignitor?
when this happened to me, i ended up replacing both ignitor and ignition coil with acura oem parts just to be on the safe side.
heres how to test ignitor:
1.Remove the distributor cap, rotor and leak cover.
2.Turn the ignition switch ON check for battery voltage between the positive terminal and ground. Voltage should be present. If voltage is not present, check for an open in the BLK/YEL wire or a disconnected terminal.
3. If voltage is present, disconnect the BLK/YEL wire from the igniter. Check for battery voltage between the BLK/YEL positive wire and ground. If voltage is not present, check for an open in the BLK/YEL wire between the ignition coil and the igniter.
4. If voltage is present, disconnect the WHT/BLU wire from the igniter. Check for battery voltage between the WHT/BLU wire and ground. Voltage should be present. If voltage is not present, check for an open in the WHT/BLU wire between the ignition coil and the igniter or a disconnected terminal.
5. If voltage is present, check for continuity between the igniter body and distributor housing.
6. If all tests check good and the system still fails to function, replace the igniter.
ignition coil:
1.With ignition switch OFF, remove the distributor cap.
2. Remove the 2 screws to disconnect the BLK/YEL front terminal A and WHT/BLU from terminal B of the coil.
3. Using an ohmmeter, check resistance between terminals. Replace coil if resistance is not within specification.
Resistance will vary with coil temperature. Specifications are at 70°F (20°C).
4. Check that the primary winding resistance between terminals A and B is 0.6-0.8 ohms.
5. Check that the secondary winding resistance between terminals A and the coil tower is 9760-14640 ohms.
6. Replace coil if the resistance is not within specifications.
if testing procedure is off, please someone correct. i got these steps from autozone online thingy a while back. i’m sure theres also a helms scan of testing procedure as well.
That’s great, thanks for the info… but… it’s intermittent.
Sometimes there’s no code and it runs fine - I just started it and drove it around the block with no problem. Once it gets good and hot it dies and immediately and stores code 15. Turning the ignition key off, then trying to start it again afterwards throws a check engine light immediately, code 15, with no spark. After it sits a little while it fires up again with no CEL.
I tried cranking it with the coil disconnected - no check engine light. The coil tests out fine as well. Not sure if it matters or not, but it’s had a persistent miss that comes and goes on 1 cylinder (it’ll have a weak spark only on that one cylinder). Related? The miss has gotten worse lately.
I have a feeling that if I test the ignitor now that it’s been sitting for awhile, it’ll probably test within spec or very close, but I’m going to go ahead and give it a shot.
Also… anybody know what size the distributor bolts are? I thought 12mm, but a 12mm socket is very loose on them, and 11mm won’t go over them.
my problem was like that too. until one point it just wouldn’t start. so i would just replace those parts asap before you find yourself stranded on the freeway or streets like me, even though it comes and goes.
edit: distributor bolts should be 12mm unless the bolts were changed?
It’s definately not reliable enough for me to drive - I tried to start it for 15 minutes when it died earlier and no dice. It finally started after 30 minutes, then died driving across the parking lot. No spark when the tow truck showed up, but when the driver was dropping it off, it fired right up to drive off of the flatbed. I was able to drive it around to the back of the house where my driveway is and it died again pulling in. After awhile it started up again, and I was able to pull it into the garage.
Not going to risk it leaving me stranded again. Just gonna swap the whole distributor I think, waiting on da9b16 to call me back about one now.
would it be easier just to replace the ignitor and coil instead of distributor? that way you won’t have to deal with setting the timing. also this would be a good time to replace the cap and rotor too.
if your going to replace the ignitor, take the extra time to put some dieletric grease on the connectors, and make sure the connectors are nice and tight.
edit: make sure the ignitor and coil are good in the distributor your gonna swap in. don’t want that one to leave you stranded.
Well - setting the timing doesn’t bother me. Plus it looks like it has some star pattern screws holding the ignitor in (I’m not positive though?), I don’t have tools for that crap. It’s been getting kind of noisy too.
da9b16’s last post in the commerce section says he’s got 4 dizzys laying around, and I’d much rather deal with him instead of a store too =)
I just replaced the cap and rotor 2 weeks ago, so I’m not worried about those. They still look brand new.
<edit too>Yeah, I’ll definately be testing them. The coil that’s currently in my dizzy is only a few years old, and it’s an OEM part, so I’m gonna hang on to it. I’m gonna go ahead and get in there with my multimeter and see what the ignitor is doing.
coo 
hope it all works out fine and the car gets back up and running.
I take back what I said about the coil… I was getting 0.15 ohms across the terminals. It’s still hot, though.
It does look like the ignitor is toast though. I managed to lose one of the screws on the coil too 