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Newb here, don't know anything about cars besides changing my oil, but I've got the desire to learn. Looking for help on this problem - I've read a ton of threads on here trying to figure out what I should do but still haven't found a plan for a beginner.

Background -
I've had a problem with my Civic not starting occasionally, sometimes after running a quick errand and sometimes after it sits outside all day when I'm at work. Then I either wait 10 minutes or come back a couple hours later and it starts up fine. From what I've read, it seems like this could be a problem with the distributor (with multiple things possibly wrong inside the distributor).

More recent -
It still occasionally doesn't start but what matters to me more is for the last few months or so, the car starts to "miss" as I climb the gears, especially in 2nd and 3rd gear. It cuts in and out but usually gets better if I just shift up. So I've been babying it and trying to shift at 3000 at the max. I've also noticed as I'm cruising on the highway, the tachometer "fluctuates." It goes up a few hundred and just kinda bounces around. Nothing noticeable in my power, it almost seemed like the gauge was messed up or something.

Now -
The problems have become more severe. As I'm cruising the highway, sometimes the RPM bounces around and then suddenly drops down to like 1000 and it cuts out like it does when I'm climbing 2nd and 3rd gears (still cuts in and out here too). It even died once (luckily in the city, not the highway) but yesterday it was TERRIBLE on the highway. It got into its funk and was bouncing all around, up to like 4000 and 5000, then dropped down to 1000 again, and back up. I just nursed it and dropped my speed, praying I could make it home okay. It was fine after a few minutes (although I didn't push it by driving faster).

I'm so sick of this intermittent problem and it's so hard to figure out since it's so hit or miss. I don't want to get charged out the wazoo for having it looked at and have them not find anything.

I bought a distributor yesterday from Napa for $220. The guy told me I could get a coil or cap individually but said those could be up to around $100 themselves, and since it seems like there are so many things that could go wrong with the distributor, I just decided to get a brand new one. I haven't decided if I want to put it in though - is it worth the risk on a car with 217k miles? Should I wait till the problem gets worse? Tough choices. I think the car is in good shape otherwise and I change the oil more than enough. Another thing I need to think about is getting the timing belt replaced since I'm not sure when it was done by the previous owner. But if it craps out anyway due to this problem, why spend the dough?

It seems like some kind of cylinder firing problem, like one cylinder is not getting a spark every time and this messes up the engine's timing, but what do I know. I appreciate any input. Like I said I don't know squat about fixing cars, but I'd love to learn all I can.

Also, if I do decide to replace the distributor, does anyone know a DIY page or have any suggestions? Is there a manual on this somewhere? I saw some manuals for 7th gen Civics but couldn't find anything on a 93.

THANKS

 
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No love for a poor college student, huh?

I decided to get a distributor cap to see if that was the problem (fingers crossed). I'll let you all know what happens when I install it since you're eagerly awaiting my response.

 
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The original symptom of not starting after short intervals of being turned out was the result of the master relay/fuel pump relay going bad. Although a bad fuel pump relay could be the cause of the 'missing' you describe, I'm not 100 percent sure. The fuel pump relay is relatively cheap and easy to replace so you might try that. You might also try checking the fuel filter.

 
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Kinda sounds like the catalytic converter is plugged.

 
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I appreciate the suggestions. I was unaware that I was receiving suggestions - thought I had this set to email me when people respond. Oops.

Anyway, I have an update for those interested in this very common problem with Civics.

I replaced the distributor cap about 5 weeks ago and thought the car performed better for a few weeks. With the knowledge I now have, the cap was obviously not the reason my car was misfiring, randomly shutting down, etc.

For the last couple weeks, the problem got worse and worse. The car was shutting down (not sputtering, just turning off) while I was driving in town and on the interstate, pretty much every time I was driving it. Frustrated with my limited knowledge (although I knew the problem probably was the distributor or a related electrical problem with the research I'd done), I took the car in to a mechanic. He told me I needed an entire new distributor and said you could tell because you could "take a hammer and tap the distributor and the engine would sputter." Wow, really? Of course it would even if it was good! They wanted $483 for a new distributor and labor. HA.

With my "newfound knowledge" that my problem was "definitely" the distributor, I decided I would replace it myself, since I had read it was not too hard to do. I purchased a remanufactured distributor and rotor (since I didn't get one with my recent cap) and set out to further diagnose and possibly replace my distributor. After further consultation with my dad and some more research on the internet, we found out that really there are only two components that can go wrong in the distributor - the ignition control module and the ignition coil.

We took apart my distributor and tested the ignition control module as per the Civic service manual. The manual is ambiguous and not clear - we couldn't get it checked out correctly. O'Reilly said they could test it so we brought it in. It checked out fine. All of the other signs pointed to the coil. We had tested it and it tested fine as per the specifications in the manual (around 15-20k ohms between the positive and negative terminals and 0.6-0.8 ohms between the primary and secondary coils). HOWEVER, this is not a good test for your coil. Bad coils can check out fine when you're just pushing 3 volts through the coil with a multimeter. When the car is running, you get upwards of 20k volts flowing through the coil, which is far different. This is why the test does not really help you decide if you have a bad coil.

We found some pics on the internet of bad coils. One thing to check is take the coil out, take it off of the casing it comes in (that brass looking casing) and look at the sides of the coil (the black area). If you have arching or weird markings on the coil, it is likely your coil is bad! Mine looked worse than the ones we saw online! Apparently this is a very common problem for honda distributors. I will post a picture of my coil on here soon so you all can see for yourself. Basically, the coil wears out over time, the wires inside get old or corroded. When this happens and your car warms up, pushing all the volts through your corroded coil, the current struggles to find the correct way out of the coil and instead flows out the casing, making the weird markings. This is what causes the distributor to lose its current, which then shuts the engine down or misfire.

BAM - replaced the coil for $80 (OEM equivalent). Took back the $200 distributor. Also did the rotor since it looked a little burnt.

It's been 1 day - so far no problems. I'm crossing my fingers, since this problem has been intermittent and may very well come back. But we're very confident that this coil was the culprit. It looked fried. I will post a pic.

 
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Since I've replaced the ignition coil about 3 weeks ago, I have not had a single misfire! Looks like I solved the mystery.

Don't go out buying a distributor or paying someone a ton of money to replace it for you. Check your ignition coil first.

Check out the pics of my fried ignition coil. You can see where the current came out of the chamber and warped the casing.

 
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my 95 did both of those things you are definatly going to want that distributor its like three bolts to take off,and that relay is ****in stupid it might be that but it could also be the ecu . get a haynes manual and a multimeter it will show you how to test that relay which is right under the drivers side dash