buckeyes483

ok..so i just sold my gas guzzling truck and bought a 97 and 98 civic lx sedans. 97 automatic and 98 manual. like i do on any used vehicle i buy i like to go through and do a tune up right away. on the 97 civic i changed the oil, put in new plugs and wires (NGK) and did the cap and rotor button. and replaced the air filter and front brakes. it was driving great for about 2 weeks. then two days ago my wife had trouble starting it and finally got it started but had some idle issues, mostly at low rpm's and at complete stops. it want to stall out... she got it home and i decided to look at it the next day since it was late. went to start it the next day to see what was up and it would not start. tested a plug and was getting no spark at all. so i bought a new ignition coil. put it on and it started right up. let it run for 15 mins no issues.. sat for 15 mins..wife went to leave and had worse idle issues then before. when u put it into to gear it would just die out..at that point i figured it was the icm... was going to replace it till i realized that i would have 170 dollars in the icm and ignition coil..and a new distributor all together was 209 with a life time warranty..so i just replaced the whole thing. started it right up idled great! then i got in to drive it around the block and turned the defrost on and the idle seemed to drop very low...turn the defrost off idle went back to normal...went to leave and it seems to have a lack of power at take off..once u get over 5 mph it runs great! no issues. but taking off it is weak seem to have to give it more gas than u should..but it doesnt sputter..just a lack of power...i am lost at this point..i am in need of help..lol

buckeyes483

I just glanced through a civic manual and saw that the dizzy can be turned to the left or right to adjust ignition timing. When I put it on I just set all the wy to the right or clockwise which I think is the lowest setting for ignition idle..maybe I should adjust that? Will that help with the issue?

buckeyes483

I just adjusted my dizzy counter clockwise to advance the timing to see if it would fix the issues I was having after putting the new dizzy on. I adjusted it 15 degrees and advanced the timing and it def made a difference. Everything is running perfect now..no take off lag and a good idle at a stop and in park....must have got lucky or fixed what I did wrong in the first place...lol