Question:

My Honda Civic quit on me the other day while I was going to work. After having it towed to my house and scanned for codes, I could not get any code. Testing for spark, there is spark and I can smell fuel. Reading ATS lessons, it is mentioned that the main relay is the cause of this problem. Can you confirm?

ATS Advisor:

When your engine quit while driving, the most common culprit is your distributor which houses the igniter and control the spark. Although you tested the spark and found none, you might have tested it after the engine cooled down. The best way to test it is to use a warmer like propane torch and apply heat on the distributor. When that is done, the no spark symptom will appear.

Another simple way to test the distributor is to remove the cap and check for presence of “red” dust inside the distributor. When you see that, it shows the components inside the distributor is worn.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 21st, 2007 at 7:51 pm and is filed under Check Engine Light FIXES. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.