91 Honda Accord SE/Ignition

KFRESE

MEMBER
1991 HONDA ACCORD
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
170,000 MILES

Hanks for having me guys. I have a 1991 Honda Accord SE. The Problems all started when I thought I could do the timing belt change myself. Had issue with tension, so got help from friend, got it aligned then went to start no spark. Bought new coil, didn't work, got ingnitor then I got spark, but ran light crap. Hired mechanic from craigslist, came out, said I had bent valves, got refurb head back on, ran great after that for about 3 weeks. Then when car would get warmed up, the tachometer would start to jump erraticaly while drive, bogging out car and then sometime die. Problem got worse and worse until very weak to no spark. I bought new distributor from ebay. Installed, same thing. Got car to shop, they said bad ignitor, car started burning up their ignitors, and another distributor. Then they said that the battery was overcharging to 18 volts. They stated the alternator was putting out fine, so they put new battery same thing. So thats where we are at, usually once care drives for a little while ignition starts to fail horribly. Please help, my shop is scratching there head. Whats left? Computer? Voltage Regulator? Bad Wiring? I can tell you when I tried to do timing belt I ran the car for 3-4 minutes with no alternator belt hooked up, could I have done some damage? Hope this helps! Thanks guys
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5 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

If the battery is over charging it will be the regulator in the alternator at fault, this is the only item the controls the charging output, get the readings fore the alternator, they should be no greater than about 14.5V, post the actual reading here if in doubt.

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Saturday, July 16th, 2011 AT 11:27 AM

KFRESE

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Apparently the shop put a new battery, they said the previous battery was defective, they called me to pick up car, said they replaced computer and they drove for a day no problems, when I picked it up and drove off, it started again, tachometer going erratic, then to zero and dying.

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Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 AT 11:48 PM

RIVERMIKERAT

MECHANIC
6,110 POSTS

Check the wire feeding the tachometer for faults to ground. What kind of voltage and current is the alternator putting out?

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Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 AT 3:54 AM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,885 POSTS

IT sounds exactly like he mentioned. If you are producing 18V to the battery, it will destroy the battery and burn out electrical components. The alternator has a voltage regulator in it. That sounds like where the problem is coming from. Have the alt checked at a parts store. Most will do it for free and post what they tell you.

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Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 AT 3:55 AM

RIVERMIKERAT

MECHANIC
6,110 POSTS

Jacob, it seems like a few states have banned that practice, because consumers were being misled and misinformed. AND because the aftermarket auto repair industry loses money from it. California parts stores are no longer allowed to offer diagnostic assistance.