k so what i noticed is the spark from the spark plus isnt consistant.. im not always gettign spark. im not sure why, the plugs are fine and the cables are good. distributor cap is new and same with the coil. im baffled here. as for the timing belt i have that same manual you refered to. everything is at tdc as far as i know because i redid that but i guess its worth another look see. i just dont see why the spark isnt consistant

 

Have AutoZone test the igniter unit in the distributor.

 

you know, this sounds a lot like my problem that I am having now with my civic.

 

okay so i bought an entire new distributor, bran new igniter and distributor, after market part not honda, and now the car runs, dosent stall dosent die dosent studder. BUT now the pick up is rediculously slow and every gear shift its slow as well, like approaching a speed where i know my car should shift into another gear its slow and this never happend with the old distributor and igniter when it did work even when it died it still had the pick up and the gear shifting wasnt an issue, so im thinking that with the knew igniter i may have to reset my computer. but i dont know, what do you think ?

 

Check the ignition timing.

 

really would ignition timing cause the problem i explained ?

 

Yes.

When you removed and replaced the distributor, how did you absolutely ensure that the new distributor was positioned identically to the old distributor? Without advanced planning, it would be easy to position the new distributor with the ignition timing out of spec.

 

Congrats on fixing your car but it is essential now to adjust the timing. You describe the classic symptom of retarded ignition timing -- no "pep". Also the gas mileage will be terrible.

The timing a distributor gives at a certain position varies from unit to unit. That's why it's adjustable. It must be adjusted with a timing light after installing a different distributor.

 

how do i reset my ecu ? i think i did it but it seems way to simple to work, end the ignition timing has nothing to do with the problem i have.. any ideas to what going on would help ALOT

 

yeah i own a timing light, and it seems to be set properly, i mean the problem itself seems different, when the pick up takes more gas to get going and at certain speeds where i know my car should change gears, its slow and also takes more gas. i used the timing light to set the position of the distributor making sure not to retard it to much or advance it too much but the problem i listed is still existant