civic98?

SO I swapped out motors in car. 98 civic 1.6 and the yard I got the motor from kept distributor. put mine in and didn't have a plug wire in cap all the way i suppose 2 days later car wouldn't start . how i found the wire out! since then I have no spark would this cause the coil to go bad or what ? I found a new distributor on amazon for $60 with everything just wondering if it is that or a crank sensor or something else no spark at coil also.

mikey1

check for spark at a spark plug, is the first thing i would do,

if you DO HAVE spark, then your timing is probably off, you will need to set it using a timing light

civic98?

No spark I drove the car for 2 days after swap.

Wankenstein

Having trouble following this statement. Are you saying you found a loose spark plug wire and then after you connected it properly it will not start?

Aftremarket distributors aren't a good choice for Honda engines.

Are you guessing it doesn't have spark or did you check for spark as Mikey mentioned?

civic98?

There was a wire out of the cap. put it back in. still wouldn't start. no spark at wire or coil. why don't aftermarket work?

Wankenstein

Not saying it won't work..more likely won't last nearly as long as OEM. Also an aftermarket may not include an OEM coil and igniter. IIRC some 6th gens used TEC and some used Hitachi ICM's

Please post a link of the distributor you've purchased or intend to purchase.

Have you read this thread?: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/2...eck-spark.html

ezone

Short answer is YES it can kill a weak coil.

civic98?

I have no spark at plugs or coil best I can tell . The coil looks to have a burn mark like a short on the side of it. I would of thought crank sensor had the plug wire not come out of cap which is probably my fault I didn't have it in all the way I guess. The used motor I put in ran fine for 2 days parked it went to drive it to work and wouldn't start. opened the hood seen the plug and tested what I could fuses, coil so on . new distributor comes tomorrow let you know how it goes. I didn't go all out on it cause it's a beater car my son drives and it has a 1 yr warranty on dist.

civic98?

Just wanted to update. I installed new distributor runs fine so far. after looking at old one seems that the coil may have arked off the housing as the coil has a burn mark on the side of it.