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Jumpy tach and engine stutter... and *not* the distributor?

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    #1

    Jumpy tach and engine stutter... and *not* the distributor?

    Hello! First post here, and I'm a bit of a mechanical n00b, so apologies if I've missed something obvious [or if I missed the answer when going through search]...

    Recent history- My '93 LX wagon [manual] shut down on the highway - engine shuts of, engine light comes on, coast to the side of the road. Towed to my mechanic, next morning the engine starts fine. With that amount of information, he couldn't diagnose the problem, but he found a leaking seal [cam shaft seal onto the timing belt] so we went ahead and did the timing belt/seals/water pump/etc routine since I was nearly due anyways. Get it back, drive it about 10mi before the same shut down happens, but this time it's broken enough that we can ID the distributor as the problem.

    Current issue- Get my car back after the distributor replacement, and notice a couple issues:
    a) The tachometer twitches around. This manifests as both an intermittent small twitch [couple of hashes around the correct reading] and as intermittent large spikes if I'm running at over 2k rev, to 3.5k-4k [does not happen in neutral].
    b) The engine occasionally [but not always] stutters jarringly on acceleration, in what seems to be specific ranges. It's happened 50-55mph a couple times, and I made it happen somewhere in 3rd gear, but my eyes were off the speedo/tach when it happened.

    Based on looking around here [most of what I saw said jumpy tach = ignition control module], talking to my father, and logic [never happened before the distributor swap, happens after], best guess seemed to be that the new [I'm guessing rebuilt] distributor was faulty, so I took it back to my mechanic and had him exchange it [he also says he cleaned out the throttle body]. However, this has had zero effect - tach still jumps, engine still stutters.

    What else should I be looking into as a potential culprit?
    Tags: None
    #2
    Did he change igniters when he change dizzys?

    Comment

      #3
      To clarify the post above... there is only one igniter in the distributor. It is almost ALWAYS the culprit in a twitching tach, especially if the engine does not respond to the tach movements (as in, it's not revving to make the tach twitch.) A new distributor doesn't always come with one, and if your old one was reused, that could be your problem.

      Also, don't ever, EVER, assume that just because you replaced a part that it can't be faulty. I've seen people on this site get a bum part from a shop and dump hundreds into replacing other parts because they failed to admit their new part was broken right out of the box! It happens.

      My advice would be to hit a junkyard and snag a handful of old igniters. They're not difficult to remove or install, and you can get them cheap or free (my yard lets me take them for free.) They're about $60 new, so a handful of used parts that can be swapped out to see if they fix the problem would be a much cheaper (if slightly more involved) way of testing it.


      Other than that, make sure all battery and ground connections are clean and tight. Loose or corroded connections there can do some really strange things to your car.






      Comment

        #4
        Originally posted by deevergote View Post
        To clarify the post above... there is only one igniter in the distributor. It is almost ALWAYS the culprit in a twitching tach, especially if the engine does not respond to the tach movements (as in, it's not revving to make the tach twitch.) A new distributor doesn't always come with one, and if your old one was reused, that could be your problem.

        Also, don't ever, EVER, assume that just because you replaced a part that it can't be faulty. I've seen people on this site get a bum part from a shop and dump hundreds into replacing other parts because they failed to admit their new part was broken right out of the box! It happens.

        My advice would be to hit a junkyard and snag a handful of old igniters. They're not difficult to remove or install, and you can get them cheap or free (my yard lets me take them for free.) They're about $60 new, so a handful of used parts that can be swapped out to see if they fix the problem would be a much cheaper (if slightly more involved) way of testing it.


        Other than that, make sure all battery and ground connections are clean and tight. Loose or corroded connections there can do some really strange things to your car.
        Stupid computers lol I didn't mean to put an 's' but agree totally, I know I have an igniter stack sitting here, specially after I drove from Dayton to Cleveland like that

        Comment

          #5
          what about the vss?

          Comment

            #6
            @ wagllib + deevergote

            Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into picking up an igniter. Just so I know I'm looking for the right part - igniter = ICM? Would the igniter also explain the stuttering, or does that just cover the jumping tach?

            I was definitely not assuming the new distributor was good - I had him exchange the first [new] one, too. It just seemed unlikely that *2* new distributors would fail the exact same way.

            My shop just called me back and he's telling me that it's the idle control valve, but I don't know. I'm really starting to loose faith in him, considering he told me there was no way the tach issue was the distributor [I had to basically beg him to exchange it]. grrrrr.

            Comment

              #7
              Originally posted by mitsubishiv5 View Post
              what about the vss?
              That causes speedo issues, not tach issues.
              Originally posted by Mishakol129
              Do not disrespect my intelligence. I am the smartest person I know : )

              Comment

                #8
                the igniter is the icm, and it will cover both issues

                Comment

                  #9
                  Yeah, the jumping tach is very often the igniter/ICM (as said, same thing.) I don't know anything else, other than a faulty cluster, that would do that... and I actually haven't even seen a faulty cluster do that! The igniter is just a removable part in the distributor, so the entire distributor itself may not be bad... but they often come equipped with the igniter installed, and it's just easier and possibly cheaper to just exchange the whole thing.

                  And yes, the VSS is most likely not going to be a culprit. That would cause the speedometer to malfunction, not the tachometer.






                  Comment

                    #10
                    i wonder if there's the tsb info on honda icm's and ignitors on this forum?

                    if so, it states to even replace some of the factory ignitors with a newer updated one. there's only two brands that you should be using. anything generic or specified by this tsb should be thrown away.
                    I <3 G60.

                    0.5mm Oversized Stainless valves and bronze guides available. Pm me please.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Originally posted by wed3k View Post
                      i wonder if there's the tsb info on honda icm's and ignitors on this forum?

                      if so, it states to even replace some of the factory ignitors with a newer updated one. there's only two brands that you should be using. anything generic or specified by this tsb should be thrown away.
                      I wasn't aware of that. I bet the info is not on this forum... and it should be!






                      Comment

                        #12
                        Originally posted by deevergote View Post
                        I wasn't aware of that. I bet the info is not on this forum... and it should be!
                        *beings digging*

                        here's one but it isn't the one i was specifically looking for
                        http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ignit...ure/index.html

                        it's not accord specific and i thinkk i have the copy of the tsb at home but itll work. same shit.

                        http://www.acuraworld.com/tsb/1993/B93-003.pdf
                        I <3 G60.

                        0.5mm Oversized Stainless valves and bronze guides available. Pm me please.

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Hey, I just wanted to update y'all...

                          Unsurprisingly, it was the ICM! Finally had the time to install it Wednesday and have had no issues since. Thanks so much for the assistance!

                          Comment

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