Okay, need some help. I am having trouble with the ignition system on my car. It's Honda Civic, about 10 years old. It's just reliable enough to get me to and from work, but that's all I need it for.

I replaced the battery. Now, the battery turns over, but the it takes quite a bit of time to actually spark and get started. And, once it's running and warmed up, I can shut it off, and start it up again with no problem.

It sounds like the logical fix would be the spark plugs, but I remember having a tune up 2 years ago. I assume they replaced the plugs then. And I don't put too many miles on it, about 5,000/year. It seems like they should still be functioning well.

Any suggestions? Alternator?

Thanks,

Dave

Maybe it's dirty spark plug wires. They could have replaced the plugs but left the connectors dirty.

Also possible the carb is dirty, and or the choke isn't functioning properly, if it has one. Hope this helps.

Did you replace the ignition system?

Shouldn't there be a lesbian who can answer this question? GatorJamie, where are you when we need you? wink

There are at least three separate electrical systems of interest to us in the engine compartment of a car. They all come together at the battery.

The first system of interest is the starting system. It consists of the battery and the starter motor. The acid test for a battery is: can it supply sufficient current to the starter motor so that the starter motor can turn the engine over fast emough for the engine to start, assuming the ignition system is in tune? It does that, so the battery and starter - the starting system - are eliminated.

The second system of interest is the charging system. It consists of the alternator, voltage regulator, and battery. Sometimes the regulator is built into the alternator. The alternator plays no role in starting a car. The acid test for an alternator is: does it charge the battery? If it's keeping the battery fully charged, then it is eliminated as a source of trouble. You didn't say that your battery was running low; based on that, we can direct our attention away from the alternator.

The third system of interest is the ignition system. It consists of the alternator, battery, spark plugs, ignition coil (possibly more than one), distributor, and associated cables.

A ten-year-old car will not have a carburetor. It will be fuel-injected. It will also be loaded with sensors that measure engine conditions - rpm, oil pressure, coolant temperature, electrical system voltage, amount of incoming air, oxygen content of exhaust, and so forth. The sensors send this information to the car's computer.

The computer processes this information and sends control signals to actuators located in the engine compartment. These actuators determine choke position, engine idle speed, how much fuel is injected into the cylinders, and so forth. In sum, what the computer does is:

1) acquire data from sensors
2) process this information and use it to
3) instruct actuators.

The computer also makes note of incorrect conditions in your car and stores the corresponding error codes in its memory. Thus, the number one act to perform right now is to read the error codes stored in the computer. My newer car, a 1989 Oldsmobile, has a computer system that is not particularly sophisticated. Accordingly, it is possible for me to check my error codes with an extremely inexpensive device called a code scanner. I plug the code scanner into a data port below the steering wheel and wait to see what the computer has to say. It might say that I have a defective oxygen sensor, or maybe a throttle position sensor is bad. Once I have that information, I know what to do.

New cars require more technical expertise to work on than old cars, but you can work on them. You just need additional tools and interpretative skills.

What does your computer tell you?

[ January 15, 2004, 10:03 AM: Message edited by: twin58 ]

An update. No, have not had the ignition system replaced. And it's still firing up eventually, so, one of these days, I'll diagnose it with a professional. Thanks for the responses

Aw, shoot. I thought this was a thread about the old Adam and the Ants song. frown

I had the same problem with my Honda 1992 Civic EX. Take it to your Honda dealer, which will cost more but they usually find the problem immediately. Turned out to be dirty wires or something like that, I was just relieved to get it done. It's been working like a charm since then and the damn car is about 13 years old!

Is it worse in wet weather? If so, then the next time you have the problem try wiping down your spark plug cables with an oily rag. If the car then starts right up, that tells you the cables are cracked and "shorting out", and need to be replaced. It's cheap and easy to do. Just be sure you do 1 at a time, so you don't mix up which cable goes to which spark plug.

Bad spark plug cables are easily detected at night. You can see the sparks arcing from the cables.

No need to get your hands dirty, thus losing gay fashionability.