I don't have a V6 so I haven't been following everything in this thread...

But it sounds like you've done a lot of checking, and you may be at a point where you need oscilloscopes & stuff to check any further. As much as I don't like throwing parts at it, I probably wouldn't be able to justify buying a scope for this.

You have a Helm repair book, right? Look at the wiring drawings to verify that the tachometer signal really comes from the coil. That would be different fromHonda's normal 'tradition'. In the '98+ 4-cyl cars the tach signal comes from the ECU. Prior to that it comes from the ignitor. But my Helm book has nothing of the V6 circuits.

 

I think DH intended for you to test the blue wire at the connector to the ignition coil, not at the TCM. Read it again and see if you agree. However, he didn't say what to test. I assume you should check for fluctuation voltage when engine is running. It may be so rapid your meter will simply show zero.

If you disconnect the coil, you can check primary winding and more importantly secondary winding resistance. Two of the connectors should be for the primary winding and it should show a very low resistance. For the secondary winding One connector should be a common ground for primary and secondary and other connector is the output spark lead. Measure resistance from ground to the output tower. You need the specifications for your coil to compare.

It doesn't matter which lead is connected to these points. Only when measuring voltage must leads be connected, red to + and blk to -.

good luck

 

Thanks JimBlake and TexasHonda.
I am still a little confused as to what DH wants me to do. The first post he says to disconnect the A(26) connector at the tcm. But then it seems as if I need to test the wires at the coil, which would make more sense to me than to test at the TCM. But another post by DH says not to test the coil, but the wires from coil to TCM. I'm still confused.
Anyway, two weekends ago I was at my dad's house and tried to do continuity tests at the coil. I have a digital multimeter and my dad has one with a needle guage on it. On one side of the coil is the high tension lead to the distributor. On the other side is the 4-p electrical connector. We disconnected both leads and checked for continuity at the 4-p connector. Neither one of our Voltmeters would register anything. We could not check for continuity at the coil becuse we would have to have removed the distributor and the coil itself to do so (the probes would not fit in there, this V6 engine bay is cramped!) It was too hot outside and the car had not been acting up so I didn't feel like doing that.

 

Your symptoms are indicative of coil failure, intermittent and rpm fluctuations. I have heard that a failing coil can cause the ignitor to fail, but I don't know this to be accurate.

I think your best option is to buy a used coil for < $30 and see if that fixes your problem. Check car-part.com for a part w/i driving distance. OEM new part was $73 + shipping from Bill Kay Honda online store.

good luck

 

I looked around for a used one, but the 95-97 Accords with the2.7L V6 seem to be a pretty rare breed. I shopped around for the best price on a new one. Advance Auto Parts had one for about $73. They had to order it, but it will be in tomorrow. The Honda dealer that I buy genuine Honda parts from had a few in stock, but they wanted $93.
I bought the one from Advance and will install tomorrow evening hopefully. I'll let everybody know how it goes.
I may even take pictures while changing the coils out to post a "how to" thread, but I'm not sure how many people would even be interested since I haven't noticed too many 95-97 V6 owners out there.

 

So...I picked up the coil last night.I gounder the hood to change it out. There are only two connections and 3 bolts holding the coil (I knew this.) The bolts were almost impossible to get to with the distributor wires in the way, so I labeled all of them and unhooked them all. The space is so small that I can't fit a socket onto the bolts. So I go at it with my open end wrenches. A 3/8 was too small and a 7/16 was too big so I'm thinking "ok it must be a 10mm." Guess what? I don't have a freaking 10mm open end wrench! AHHHH!![sm=headbang.gif] In fact, I just realized I don't own a single metric open end wrench! I just wanted to vent a little here[sm=icon_flaming.gif]. I'm going to buy some this afternoon. I'll let yall know how it goes.

 

[sm=happy046.gif]I got the new ignition coil put on and the car cranked right up!
Just as I suspected the bolts were 10mm. It took me about an hour and a half because the bolts were so hard to get to. I finally wound up removing the distributor cap for easier access. Those bolts were so thin though, I was nervous I was going to strip them. Once I got the old one out, I got the new one in in about 5 minutes. Installation was surprisingly much , much easier than removal.
I let the car warm up and took it for a test drive. No RPM fluctuations.
The CEL is still on though[:@]
I am going to take it to AZ to pull the codes again and keep my fingers crossed that now only the O2 sensor code will show. If it still does, I know I have seen plenty of threads regarding the O2 sensor. maybe I'll print out that Honda recall mentioned earlier in this thread and take it to a Honda dealer.
Thanks to everybody that helped me out here!![sm=smiley20.gif]

 

That's what you get for running bosch plugs in a honda.... J/k glad you got it fixed! It only took 40+ posts *L*

 

Haha...I actually have Denso's in there. Nobody in town had NGK's and I didn't feel like waiting. I'll probably change them out if they start to act up, but I have read that Denso's work pretty well in Honda's too (plus they've been working great so far.)
Now I just have to do some research on the pesky "ABS" light too[:'(]. It has been on since I met my wife (her car) and no one has been able to figure it out. I have seen tons of posts on the forum about it. So...the search begins![sm=type.gif]

 

If it's on the 95 then I believe there was a common issue with the o-ring going out on the master cylinder and causing problems.... you can find a lot of info on that...