Distributor cap and rotor
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Distributor cap and rotor
I was under the impression that 7th Gen Civics don't have distributors. The service advisor at my dealership says otherwise. I asked him why it said "inspect distributor cap and rotor" under the 20,000-mile service for 2001+ Civics. He said that there is a distributor cap or something like that. I asked, "Are you sure? I thought that vehicles with direct ignition don't have distributors." He just looked at me. Then I felt stupid because maybe I'm wrong. After all I don't know that much about cars. So what's the scoop? Am I being charged for something that doesn't exist in my car? Or is there some kind of distributor type thing in our Civs?
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Rep Power: 419 A distributor distributes the high voltage current to the spark plugs. Hence the name. There's one ignition coil in such a system. With our cars there's an ignition coil per spark plug. The ECU simply tells each one when to fire, so there's no such thing as a distributor in our cars. Your service advisor is either hella stupid, or wanted to make some extra money off of you because of the 20,000 mile service. BTW, I won't be going to mine. I'll do everything myself. I hate dealerships. They're dishonest and money hungry and they take their time to get things done wrong! [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-nono.gif[/IMG] 
There are exceptions, but stories like these enforce the stereotype that I believe to be true.
There are exceptions, but stories like these enforce the stereotype that I believe to be true.
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[hr]Originally posted by: Grey
A distributor distributes the high voltage current to the spark plugs. Hence the name. There's one ignition coil in such a system. With our cars there's an ignition coil per spark plug. The ECU simply tells each one when to fire, so there's no such thing as a distributor in our cars. Your service advisor is either hella stupid, or wanted to make some extra money off of you because of the 20,000 mile service. BTW, I won't be going to mine. I'll do everything myself. I hate dealerships. They're dishonest and money hungry and they take their time to get things done wrong! [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-nono.gif[/IMG]
There are exceptions, but stories like these enforce the stereotype that I believe to be true.[hr]
[hr]Originally posted by: Grey
A distributor distributes the high voltage current to the spark plugs. Hence the name. There's one ignition coil in such a system. With our cars there's an ignition coil per spark plug. The ECU simply tells each one when to fire, so there's no such thing as a distributor in our cars. Your service advisor is either hella stupid, or wanted to make some extra money off of you because of the 20,000 mile service. BTW, I won't be going to mine. I'll do everything myself. I hate dealerships. They're dishonest and money hungry and they take their time to get things done wrong! [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-nono.gif[/IMG]
There are exceptions, but stories like these enforce the stereotype that I believe to be true.[hr]
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I dont know if this is true, but The cam gear on our cars has 4 notches on it, and there is a sensor that reads the notches as it spins, I think this is what tells the ignition coils to fire, can anyone verify this....
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[hr]Originally posted by: Bartkat
I think that tells the ECU the valve/crank postion and then the ECU tells the coils to fire?[hr]
[hr]Originally posted by: Bartkat
I think that tells the ECU the valve/crank postion and then the ECU tells the coils to fire?[hr]
yeah but something needs to tell the ECU when to fire the ignition depending on which cycle the engine is in, I think the cam gear is what does that because of that sensor that i mentioned, the spark needs to fire at the correct time depending on where the cam is and how the valve ares opened or closed, nothing electrical can just guess this because it needs to be very precise. I know we don't have a distributor but I think the cam gear acts like one so it knows when to fire each coil.... later...
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Rep Power: 0 it also may have been a dealer standard form. i know sometimes, those 20,000 miles forms are all standard for every car. just cause it says it doesn't necessarily mean they did it or charged you for it.
and your service advisor knows nothing about what they did to the car in most cases. he just tells you what he knows (which obviously isn't much)
and your service advisor knows nothing about what they did to the car in most cases. he just tells you what he knows (which obviously isn't much)
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