I have a 1991 Accord EX I am trying to fix up to be a daily beater while I save for something else.

It was parked originally because it bogged down and tried to stall, which I tracked down to what I think is the MAF. Well, I let it sit instead of fixing it and in that time the valve cover gasket and the rubber grommets that go around the spark plugs went bad. Long story short I got tired of working on it and towed it to a family friend who does mechanic work on the side. After we took it off the trailer, it wouldn't start, not even with a fresh battery. The starter will turn, I am just not getting a spark. The plugs, wires, rotor button, compression, etc. all checked out. He traced it down and I am not getting spark to the distributor. He thinks either the computer is bad or there is faulty wiring along the way.

My father has a 1990 Accord LX that I was hoping I could "borrow" the computer and MAF from to see if either of those are the problem. Question is, will they fit? If so, that would be a blessing!

Also, if it does fit, is it just as easy and undoing the battery, peeling back the carpet and unplugging it?

Thanks for the help,
Sly

 

I am pretty sure that the ECU are not interchangeable between the two cars.

I don't think that there is a MAF sensor, but maybe you mean the map sensor?

When trying to figure out what you can switch between cars, look up the OEM part number at a Honda site like Majestic Honda, or hondapartsdeals.com for the two vehicles. If they have the same part number, then you can definitely swap them.

Have you tried to check for ECU codes? O'Reillys can test the ICM for you to see if it is working.

 

Man, what a bummer. That would have been too easy.

So I can just take the computer out and to O'reilys and they can test it for me? I guess I will just do that then.

 

Not the computer, but the ignition control module that is inside of the distributor. It has 4 wires plugging into it.

You already determined that you have no spark, so typically the ICM or the coil would be bad. The ECU could also be the source of the problem, but I would have the ICM tested first.

 

Since I have access to a running accord, would it be worth trying the distributor from it on my car to rule that out?