pslsnakes

Alright, about a week ago, the car ('95 GSR) started to misfire at WOT.

I first suspected the cap and rotor, and began to try to take the cap off. Well, one of the bolts/screws snapped off into the distributor.

I coundn't do much it with, except drill it out and retap a thread.

Since I had to pull the distributor off to drill the old screw out, I'm guessing I messed up the ignition timing.

The car would just misfire and sputter whenever I would go WOT, pretty much at any rpm, load or no load on the motor.

So, I tested the primary coil, and it came back to 1.1 ohms, and 0.6-0.8 is acceptable. The secondary coil came back to about 15k ohms, with 12.8k to 19.2k being in-spec.

Me and a friend have tried playing with the distributor, setting it at different angles and places, and have finally adjusted to the right spot, to where it doesn't misfire anymore at idle, and only misfires and sputters occasionally at WOT, I'm guessing the coil that's bad has something to do with that - it just keeps going in and out...

I'm going to go ahead and get a distributor from a friend, or just buy a brand new one.

What do I need to do to get the ignition timing back to stock?

We tried messing with a timing light earlier, but we don't really know exactly what to make of each dot and line and such on the crank, plus it wasn't one of the lights with the dial-in feature.


Thanks much, HAN, you guys have been great for info so far.

A-series

Don't be fooled by the reading on the coil, the secondary reading is all that really matters. That's what's going to be out of spec if the coil is bad, and the specs quoted for the primary (AtoB) is off. I've tested several new coils, as well as one that was bad, and all of them were out of spec for the AtoB reading.
I first thought I was interpreting the readings on the meter wrong, but people always seem to get that same, misleading result. At least with Civics and Integra coils.

To set the timing (anytime you adjust the distributor position) you need to jump the connector under the dash. Not sure what to tell you on your 'teg, but a service manual would make it very clear. I'd guess it's located under far edge of pass. side of dash, when you jump the correct one, the CEL will illuminate.
You should be able to check the ignition timing w/out the jump., - but if you try to adjust it w/out jumping, it will try to correct for your changes and you can't get an accurate reading w/ the timing light.

It needs to be a full warm idle to get an accurate reading, so if the idle is off for any number of reasons, it won't be quite right. The timing starts to advance as the rpms increase, even if only by a small amount.
The mark on the crank pulley that you're trying to line up with the pointer and v-mark, should be red. It can be hard to make it out, helps to check it at night. The white mark (which can blend in w/ the red mark during the day) is TDC, so if the white mark was lined up with the pointer and v-mark, it would be at max. retard.
Rotating the distributor counter-clockwise (towards cabin) will retard the timing, clockwise (towards radiator) will advance it. EDIT Not that it's a big deal or anything :hsugh: but I believe it's the opposite of that, and I've misstated it more than once before (despite setting my timing correctly). Whether you're using a timing light or not, and you should, you'll figure out which way is which regardless, but nonetheless - if your Honda has a dizzy, it's counter-clockwise to advance, towards cabin. Just happened to adjust my timing and realized I keep remembering it backwards h: dyslexia maybe :shrug:

If centering the distributor, or even putting it at max. retard, doesn't solve the misfiring, something else is wrong.

pslsnakes

Hmmm, seems pretty simple.

You mean jump both connectors of the plug with a piece of wire right?

do I have to watch and write down how many times the light will blink or anything like that? Or do I have to do that just for the sole purpose of the ECU not trying to correct anything?

pslsnakes

If it's not the coil, I have no idea what the hell it can be than..

I've changed litteretly everything.

Cap, rotor, plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, etc. The car is getting fuel, but when at WOT, it misfires.

I'm just going to try to get a distributor from a friend and try that and see what happens.

A-series

Yeah, just jump it, the CEL will be solid, so that you can adjust the timing without trying to compensate for your changes.


Good luck with the new distributor. I doubt it's the coil, but maybe it's a problem with the dist. itself (sensors) or maybe the ignitor/ignition module. Either way, if that's the problem, a new dizzy will fix it.

I'm assuming you've looked over your plug wires just to be sure there are no noticeable cracks in the insulation (wouldn't hurt to test resistance on them). I don't think that's the problem since messing w/ the dizzy seemed to help, sorta, but just in case as it's easy and free.

mdb20

Check out the timing advance thread from the other day that I posted.

pslsnakes

Alright, I understand it a bit better now.... What I don't get is how do I adjust the ignition timing. The timing light is clamped to the plug wire for cylinder #1. Point the timing light at the crank pulley, and see if the TDC marks all line up on the crank pulley.

For the distributor, how do I tell where it's set to? I don't fully understand what the timing light does. To my knowledge, it lights when plug #1 gets ignited. How/what am I actually looking for if the light goes off so fast?

And it's not the plugs.. I checked them. They're had the normal redish brown on them. Did not see any cracks or anything. I even went and bought brand new plugs...

mdb20

Check out the link below. I used this yesterday along with the instructions in the Haynes manual to adjust the timing on a '95 and a '97 LS Integra. The instructions are pretty self explanatory and easy to follow. The timing marks are hard to see, so I would suggest doing it in an area not in direct sunlight. Also, we used a little spray bottle with water to spray in the general area to clean off the crank pulley markings so we could see them better. This helped clean off some of the dirt and grime.

http://www.team-integra.net/sections...p?ArticleID=60

pslsnakes

Yea, I looked at all that, and saved the articles.

As it turns out, the belt stretched, and caused the T belt to jump a tooth, or just the fact that it's stretched, and let the exhaust stay open just a crack. Thank god it didn't bend any valves. I shot air into the cylinders, and air was hissing from the exhaust. Brought the cams exactly to TDC, and no hissing from any where..

This fuck sucks now, because I'm flat ass broke.

Would a Dayco timing belt from AutoZone be good, or do I need to go spend $90 on an OEM one? I wouldn't even be able to buy the damn tensionor from Acura.. that's how broke I am. I have like $32 in my wallet, and none in the bank because all my direct drafts for bills went thru this past week.

A-series

^any new or good-condition belt is going to be better than one that's overdue and stretched. I'm confident it will get the job done and for peace of mind you can change it down the line (well before it's due) with oem or whatever.

As for setting the timing, once you've jumped the connector/plug/whatever in the interior and the CEL is solid, you just rotate the distributor (w/ bolts barely loosened) and keep checking until, while pointing the timing light at the crank pulley, the red timing mark lines up with the pointer and v-mark above the crank pulley. The timing light's job is to illuminate that pointer, the way it flashes on and off makes your eyes only pick up the "image" when the light is on, so when the timing is correct, it will look to your eyes as if the red timing mark is always lined up with the pointer and v-mark.