1998 Accord LX 180,000 miles auto trans.

My daughter has a car that "hiccups" once in a while on the road. I drove it and know it is not missing and that it is not the fuel pump. There is a little kick like it is missing, but it is just an instant of maybe all the spark plugs are not firing for 1 cycle. It only happens once every say 5-20 miles.

Last year I changed spark plugs, wires and distributor/rotor.

I am suspecting the ignition coil. Could this be it?
Also what brand should I get? I see Duralast is $68 with lifetime, but Hatachi is $72 and 1 year warranty.

 

Many things can cause this symptom. A weak coil is possible but should give problems more frequently than you describe. Difficult to diagnose w/o sophisticated tools. Replacement is probably only way to know. Sometimes a weak coil will cause rpm fluctuations (loss of signal).

Some other possibilites:

1) Weak fuel pump or partially blocked fuel filter leading to low fuel pressure. Check fuel pressure meets specs at idle and under a quick throttle blip.

2) lazy O2 sensor causing too rich/lean mixture at times. Check Long Term Fuel Trim (LTFT) w/ OBD2 scanner looking for high/low fuel trim (> or < 10%)

3) intake air leak causing lean condition occasionaly. Check LTFT. Inspect for intake air leaks by spraying throttle body cleaner and listening for a change in idle speed as fuel is pulled in.

4) partially blocked fuel injector causing a lean cylinder. Again LTFT will provide a clue.

You don't mention whether Check Engine light is on/off. If On get codes and post them.

good luck

 

Now that you mention "check engine light"...

There is one, but I doubt this is the problem. The code is P0420 Cat eff. below threshold.

This light has been an issue for over 4 years. The reason I ignore it and clear it is that it only comes on maybe once a month to every few months and ONLY if I drive over 45 MPH. However, if I get gas at Sams, it never comes on. So I would think the car may be sensitive to the type of gasoline. If I could just get my daughter to only get gas at SAMS, then the light will never come on.

On the other hand... seeing your suggestion #2 might make me think about changing the O2 sensor on the CAT. There is one on the exhaust manifold, but that was changed just before I got the car. and this could also cause the P0420.

I will be changing the coil tonight. I already changed everything else that is electrical, so might as well make it all new.

Still scratching my head a bit....

 

I was looking at a diagram of the distributor and noticed a part. What is an "ignitor"?

30120-P06-005 IGNITER UNIT (HITACHI)
1) What does it do and could that be a problem that was described in the first post?

2) Also looking back to yesterday, there was just a tiny bit of oil inside at the bottom of the distributor cover (maybe a 1/2 drop smeared at the bottom). I guess the seal is leaking just a little bit. I am not worried about this, since I don't see oil on the rotors, etc... but I would like to replace it since it will only get worse over time. Is this easy to replace?

 

Unless you've checked for codes recently, there may be another code besides P0420 present. If so, this may be best clue to problem.

1) Ignitor is solid state switch which triggers coil field to collapse and generate spark. They can be a problem, but I've never seen such an intermittent activity.

2) Distributor shaft seal is not easy to replace. See attached files for instructions. The tiny amount of oil is not the problem. It is also possible that seal will leak worse afterwards, as happened when I tried this on 94EX.

A rebuilt distributor w/ new seals can be purchased for similar cost to coil, ignitor, and seals.

good luck

 

Thanks for this info... I will go head and change the coil. At 180,000 miles, I might as well get that out of the way. Then everything in that area is new except for the ignitor. Will drive it around a while and see how it goes.


As for the code, it's the only code that has ever shown up. I clear it every time, so that if there is a new problem, the light will come on and I will see it.