Can Igniters be fixed?
 

Well, I just replaced a coil that didn't need to be replaced (I can be an
idiot some times), and found that the igniter was the real culprit. A good
learning experience at any rate.

With the old igniter on my table, I discovered that the top can be taken
off. I realize that it is probably impractical and untrustworthy, but I'm
wondering if these can be fixed. This is just to satisfy my curiosity. Has
anyone every tried? Better yet, has anyone ever succeeded? I was hoping to
see an obvious spot where something was burned or broken, but no such luck.

The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
top.

Thanks,

Jason

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> Well, I just replaced a coil that didn't need to be replaced (I can be an
> idiot some times), and found that the igniter was the real culprit. A good
> learning experience at any rate.

Don't know if you know this, but--

Take heart. The ignitor and coil seem to fail around the same mileage. One may
also argue that a malfunctioning coil will screw up an ignitor. (I have less
faith in the other way around, though.)

Just humble speculation from another 1991 Civic owner who's seen a few coil and
ignitor failures in her car's 150k life.

> With the old igniter on my table, I discovered that the top can be taken
> off.

You got all the way to the guts? I tried with a recent, old NEC ignitor and
didn't get far until I concluded a large hammer would be helpful.

Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups a
few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of gunk.

> I realize that it is probably impractical and untrustworthy, but I'm
> wondering if these can be fixed. This is just to satisfy my curiosity. Has
> anyone every tried? Better yet, has anyone ever succeeded? I was hoping to
> see an obvious spot where something was burned or broken, but no such luck.

Dunno. Lots of people talk about ignitor problems here, so hang on. Or try
searching google.groups .

> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
> top.

FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
ignitors. Anymore)

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> Well, I just replaced a coil that didn't need to be replaced (I can be an
> idiot some times), and found that the igniter was the real culprit. A good
> learning experience at any rate.

Don't know if you know this, but--

Take heart. The ignitor and coil seem to fail around the same mileage. One may
also argue that a malfunctioning coil will screw up an ignitor. (I have less
faith in the other way around, though.)

Just humble speculation from another 1991 Civic owner who's seen a few coil and
ignitor failures in her car's 150k life.

> With the old igniter on my table, I discovered that the top can be taken
> off.

You got all the way to the guts? I tried with a recent, old NEC ignitor and
didn't get far until I concluded a large hammer would be helpful.

Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups a
few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of gunk.

> I realize that it is probably impractical and untrustworthy, but I'm
> wondering if these can be fixed. This is just to satisfy my curiosity. Has
> anyone every tried? Better yet, has anyone ever succeeded? I was hoping to
> see an obvious spot where something was burned or broken, but no such luck.

Dunno. Lots of people talk about ignitor problems here, so hang on. Or try
searching google.groups .

> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
> top.

FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
ignitors. Anymore)

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> Well, I just replaced a coil that didn't need to be replaced (I can be an
> idiot some times), and found that the igniter was the real culprit. A good
> learning experience at any rate.

Don't know if you know this, but--

Take heart. The ignitor and coil seem to fail around the same mileage. One may
also argue that a malfunctioning coil will screw up an ignitor. (I have less
faith in the other way around, though.)

Just humble speculation from another 1991 Civic owner who's seen a few coil and
ignitor failures in her car's 150k life.

> With the old igniter on my table, I discovered that the top can be taken
> off.

You got all the way to the guts? I tried with a recent, old NEC ignitor and
didn't get far until I concluded a large hammer would be helpful.

Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups a
few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of gunk.

> I realize that it is probably impractical and untrustworthy, but I'm
> wondering if these can be fixed. This is just to satisfy my curiosity. Has
> anyone every tried? Better yet, has anyone ever succeeded? I was hoping to
> see an obvious spot where something was burned or broken, but no such luck.

Dunno. Lots of people talk about ignitor problems here, so hang on. Or try
searching google.groups .

> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
> top.

FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
ignitors. Anymore)

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> Well, I just replaced a coil that didn't need to be replaced (I can be an
> idiot some times), and found that the igniter was the real culprit. A good
> learning experience at any rate.

Don't know if you know this, but--

Take heart. The ignitor and coil seem to fail around the same mileage. One may
also argue that a malfunctioning coil will screw up an ignitor. (I have less
faith in the other way around, though.)

Just humble speculation from another 1991 Civic owner who's seen a few coil and
ignitor failures in her car's 150k life.

> With the old igniter on my table, I discovered that the top can be taken
> off.

You got all the way to the guts? I tried with a recent, old NEC ignitor and
didn't get far until I concluded a large hammer would be helpful.

Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups a
few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of gunk.

> I realize that it is probably impractical and untrustworthy, but I'm
> wondering if these can be fixed. This is just to satisfy my curiosity. Has
> anyone every tried? Better yet, has anyone ever succeeded? I was hoping to
> see an obvious spot where something was burned or broken, but no such luck.

Dunno. Lots of people talk about ignitor problems here, so hang on. Or try
searching google.groups .

> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
> top.

FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
ignitors. Anymore)

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

On 1/20/04 19:15, in article
0pkPb.21136$zj7.4618@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink. net, "Caroline"
<caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:

> "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
>> Well, I just replaced a coil that didn't need to be replaced (I can be an
>> idiot some times), and found that the igniter was the real culprit. A good
>> learning experience at any rate.
>
> Don't know if you know this, but--
>
> Take heart. The ignitor and coil seem to fail around the same mileage. One may
> also argue that a malfunctioning coil will screw up an ignitor. (I have less
> faith in the other way around, though.)
>
> Just humble speculation from another 1991 Civic owner who's seen a few coil
> and
> ignitor failures in her car's 150k life.
>
>> With the old igniter on my table, I discovered that the top can be taken
>> off.
>
> You got all the way to the guts? I tried with a recent, old NEC ignitor and
> didn't get far until I concluded a large hammer would be helpful.
>
> Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups a
> few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of
> gunk.
>
There was a bead of silicone around the top. I went around that with a
razor blade and scraped some out with a screwdriver. I then pried off the
top. It is very clean on the inside. I think I saw a picture of the one
you mentioned.
>> I realize that it is probably impractical and untrustworthy, but I'm
>> wondering if these can be fixed. This is just to satisfy my curiosity. Has
>> anyone every tried? Better yet, has anyone ever succeeded? I was hoping to
>> see an obvious spot where something was burned or broken, but no such luck.
>
> Dunno. Lots of people talk about ignitor problems here, so hang on. Or try
> searching google.groups .
>
>> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
>> top.
>
> FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
> ignitors. Anymore)
>
Which are OEM? I read that what came in the car was a different brand, but
was replaced by NEC due to failure. NEC is what I got from the dealer this
morning. Which other brands have you tried?

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

On 1/20/04 19:15, in article
0pkPb.21136$zj7.4618@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink. net, "Caroline"
<caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:

> "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
>> Well, I just replaced a coil that didn't need to be replaced (I can be an
>> idiot some times), and found that the igniter was the real culprit. A good
>> learning experience at any rate.
>
> Don't know if you know this, but--
>
> Take heart. The ignitor and coil seem to fail around the same mileage. One may
> also argue that a malfunctioning coil will screw up an ignitor. (I have less
> faith in the other way around, though.)
>
> Just humble speculation from another 1991 Civic owner who's seen a few coil
> and
> ignitor failures in her car's 150k life.
>
>> With the old igniter on my table, I discovered that the top can be taken
>> off.
>
> You got all the way to the guts? I tried with a recent, old NEC ignitor and
> didn't get far until I concluded a large hammer would be helpful.
>
> Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups a
> few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of
> gunk.
>
There was a bead of silicone around the top. I went around that with a
razor blade and scraped some out with a screwdriver. I then pried off the
top. It is very clean on the inside. I think I saw a picture of the one
you mentioned.
>> I realize that it is probably impractical and untrustworthy, but I'm
>> wondering if these can be fixed. This is just to satisfy my curiosity. Has
>> anyone every tried? Better yet, has anyone ever succeeded? I was hoping to
>> see an obvious spot where something was burned or broken, but no such luck.
>
> Dunno. Lots of people talk about ignitor problems here, so hang on. Or try
> searching google.groups .
>
>> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
>> top.
>
> FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
> ignitors. Anymore)
>
Which are OEM? I read that what came in the car was a different brand, but
was replaced by NEC due to failure. NEC is what I got from the dealer this
morning. Which other brands have you tried?

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

On 1/20/04 19:15, in article
0pkPb.21136$zj7.4618@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink. net, "Caroline"
<caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:

> "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
>> Well, I just replaced a coil that didn't need to be replaced (I can be an
>> idiot some times), and found that the igniter was the real culprit. A good
>> learning experience at any rate.
>
> Don't know if you know this, but--
>
> Take heart. The ignitor and coil seem to fail around the same mileage. One may
> also argue that a malfunctioning coil will screw up an ignitor. (I have less
> faith in the other way around, though.)
>
> Just humble speculation from another 1991 Civic owner who's seen a few coil
> and
> ignitor failures in her car's 150k life.
>
>> With the old igniter on my table, I discovered that the top can be taken
>> off.
>
> You got all the way to the guts? I tried with a recent, old NEC ignitor and
> didn't get far until I concluded a large hammer would be helpful.
>
> Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups a
> few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of
> gunk.
>
There was a bead of silicone around the top. I went around that with a
razor blade and scraped some out with a screwdriver. I then pried off the
top. It is very clean on the inside. I think I saw a picture of the one
you mentioned.
>> I realize that it is probably impractical and untrustworthy, but I'm
>> wondering if these can be fixed. This is just to satisfy my curiosity. Has
>> anyone every tried? Better yet, has anyone ever succeeded? I was hoping to
>> see an obvious spot where something was burned or broken, but no such luck.
>
> Dunno. Lots of people talk about ignitor problems here, so hang on. Or try
> searching google.groups .
>
>> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
>> top.
>
> FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
> ignitors. Anymore)
>
Which are OEM? I read that what came in the car was a different brand, but
was replaced by NEC due to failure. NEC is what I got from the dealer this
morning. Which other brands have you tried?

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

On 1/20/04 19:15, in article
0pkPb.21136$zj7.4618@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink. net, "Caroline"
<caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:

> "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
>> Well, I just replaced a coil that didn't need to be replaced (I can be an
>> idiot some times), and found that the igniter was the real culprit. A good
>> learning experience at any rate.
>
> Don't know if you know this, but--
>
> Take heart. The ignitor and coil seem to fail around the same mileage. One may
> also argue that a malfunctioning coil will screw up an ignitor. (I have less
> faith in the other way around, though.)
>
> Just humble speculation from another 1991 Civic owner who's seen a few coil
> and
> ignitor failures in her car's 150k life.
>
>> With the old igniter on my table, I discovered that the top can be taken
>> off.
>
> You got all the way to the guts? I tried with a recent, old NEC ignitor and
> didn't get far until I concluded a large hammer would be helpful.
>
> Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups a
> few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of
> gunk.
>
There was a bead of silicone around the top. I went around that with a
razor blade and scraped some out with a screwdriver. I then pried off the
top. It is very clean on the inside. I think I saw a picture of the one
you mentioned.
>> I realize that it is probably impractical and untrustworthy, but I'm
>> wondering if these can be fixed. This is just to satisfy my curiosity. Has
>> anyone every tried? Better yet, has anyone ever succeeded? I was hoping to
>> see an obvious spot where something was burned or broken, but no such luck.
>
> Dunno. Lots of people talk about ignitor problems here, so hang on. Or try
> searching google.groups .
>
>> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
>> top.
>
> FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
> ignitors. Anymore)
>
Which are OEM? I read that what came in the car was a different brand, but
was replaced by NEC due to failure. NEC is what I got from the dealer this
morning. Which other brands have you tried?

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups
a
> > few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of
> > gunk.
> >
> There was a bead of silicone around the top. I went around that with a
> razor blade and scraped some out with a screwdriver. I then pried off the
> top. It is very clean on the inside.

Thanks.

The guy who put the photo up posted more detail about the ignitor in the last
several months. See http://www.gcw.org.uk/rover/igniter.htm

He might chime in...

> >> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
> >> top.
> >
> > FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
> > ignitors. Anymore)
> >
> Which are OEM? I read that what came in the car was a different brand, but
> was replaced by NEC due to failure. NEC is what I got from the dealer this
> morning. Which other brands have you tried?

You're right: NEC is the updated ignitor and the one to use.

I don't remember the last brand I had, except it was *not* NEC. Firestone
installed it. Lasted under 50k miles, IIRC, but this may have been related to
coil problems I had.

From discussions before on this, the OKI brand of ignitor does not last.

This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
replacement?

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups
a
> > few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of
> > gunk.
> >
> There was a bead of silicone around the top. I went around that with a
> razor blade and scraped some out with a screwdriver. I then pried off the
> top. It is very clean on the inside.

Thanks.

The guy who put the photo up posted more detail about the ignitor in the last
several months. See http://www.gcw.org.uk/rover/igniter.htm

He might chime in...

> >> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
> >> top.
> >
> > FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
> > ignitors. Anymore)
> >
> Which are OEM? I read that what came in the car was a different brand, but
> was replaced by NEC due to failure. NEC is what I got from the dealer this
> morning. Which other brands have you tried?

You're right: NEC is the updated ignitor and the one to use.

I don't remember the last brand I had, except it was *not* NEC. Firestone
installed it. Lasted under 50k miles, IIRC, but this may have been related to
coil problems I had.

From discussions before on this, the OKI brand of ignitor does not last.

This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
replacement?

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups
a
> > few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of
> > gunk.
> >
> There was a bead of silicone around the top. I went around that with a
> razor blade and scraped some out with a screwdriver. I then pried off the
> top. It is very clean on the inside.

Thanks.

The guy who put the photo up posted more detail about the ignitor in the last
several months. See http://www.gcw.org.uk/rover/igniter.htm

He might chime in...

> >> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
> >> top.
> >
> > FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
> > ignitors. Anymore)
> >
> Which are OEM? I read that what came in the car was a different brand, but
> was replaced by NEC due to failure. NEC is what I got from the dealer this
> morning. Which other brands have you tried?

You're right: NEC is the updated ignitor and the one to use.

I don't remember the last brand I had, except it was *not* NEC. Firestone
installed it. Lasted under 50k miles, IIRC, but this may have been related to
coil problems I had.

From discussions before on this, the OKI brand of ignitor does not last.

This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
replacement?

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > Is the inside pretty clean-looking? This came up in one of the Honda groups
a
> > few months ago. Some guy posted a photo of his old ignitor's guts. Full of
> > gunk.
> >
> There was a bead of silicone around the top. I went around that with a
> razor blade and scraped some out with a screwdriver. I then pried off the
> top. It is very clean on the inside.

Thanks.

The guy who put the photo up posted more detail about the ignitor in the last
several months. See http://www.gcw.org.uk/rover/igniter.htm

He might chime in...

> >> The igniter in question is from a '91 Civic and has "NEC MC-8132" on the
> >> top.
> >
> > FWIW, OEM ignitors are said to last longer. (And I'm cheap, but not with
> > ignitors. Anymore)
> >
> Which are OEM? I read that what came in the car was a different brand, but
> was replaced by NEC due to failure. NEC is what I got from the dealer this
> morning. Which other brands have you tried?

You're right: NEC is the updated ignitor and the one to use.

I don't remember the last brand I had, except it was *not* NEC. Firestone
installed it. Lasted under 50k miles, IIRC, but this may have been related to
coil problems I had.

From discussions before on this, the OKI brand of ignitor does not last.

This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
replacement?

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

On 1/20/04 19:40, in article
JMkPb.21168$zj7.13747@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink .net, "Caroline"
<caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:

<content edited>
>
> You're right: NEC is the updated ignitor and the one to use.
>
> I don't remember the last brand I had, except it was *not* NEC. Firestone
> installed it. Lasted under 50k miles, IIRC, but this may have been related to
> coil problems I had.
>
> From discussions before on this, the OKI brand of ignitor does not last.
>
> This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> replacement?
>
>

Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The distributor
was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
igniter then or used what was in it. Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
time...

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

On 1/20/04 19:40, in article
JMkPb.21168$zj7.13747@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink .net, "Caroline"
<caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:

<content edited>
>
> You're right: NEC is the updated ignitor and the one to use.
>
> I don't remember the last brand I had, except it was *not* NEC. Firestone
> installed it. Lasted under 50k miles, IIRC, but this may have been related to
> coil problems I had.
>
> From discussions before on this, the OKI brand of ignitor does not last.
>
> This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> replacement?
>
>

Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The distributor
was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
igniter then or used what was in it. Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
time...