running on 5 cylinders ?

[Martin_VTEC]

I was waiting for the traffic lights, and when finally drove away, It seemed that my NSX was running on only 5 cylinders and had no power at all.....

I immediately stopped after 100 meters at a gas station to check this out..
I have no CEL on my display, after 20 minutes waiting, the same problem when I started it again.

Called the garage and they carried the NSX away. 1 hour later by the honda dealer I start the engine and everything was fine

Please help me, I don't want to have this problem again.
It's a 1991 NSX

I did some research on Prime, is it maybe the IGNITER UNIT (NEC/ELESYS) (MC-8430) ?? part.# 30120-PR7-A01 ???

or is it a faulty iginition coil or sparkplug or a bad fuel injector ?
Is their a way to test the ignition coils or de Igniter Unit while the car is running fine now ?

Thanx,
Martin

 

[Vega$ NSX]

Listen for a ticking/clicking sound when the engine is on idle. But not to be confused with the ticking of the LMA's. It's a distinctive sound if you know what you are listening for.

 

[adrenaline_nsx]

most likely the ignitor unit. I had the same problem feels like some of the cylinders are not firing. Swapped it out and everything ran fine.

 

[Martin_VTEC]

@ Vega$ NSX:

I know the sound of the LMA's, but do u mean the igniter unit is ticking/clicking?


@ adrenaline_nsx:

Is there a way to check or measure the igniter unit ?
I want to be sure because that unit costs €450 or $700 here in the Netherlands

 

[rsevo6]

Definitely sounds like the igniter, been there, replaced it. took me a lot of time to find out.
Igniter cannot make any sounds as it is fully encased in resin so cannot be opened either.
There is NO procedure to measure the igniter :frown:, only way is to exchange with a known good one.
Usually the symptoms will be incidental irregular running, mostly the problem will occur when accelerating. When having shut off the engine and starting again after some time all runs normal again. The problem will occur more and more often, until it is permanent.
Usually when the problem occurs and you still keep trying to accelerate, after a minute or so, you should get a malfunction code listed as "random misfire".
Where in Holland are you?

 

[Martin_VTEC]

@RSEVO6:

Sint Nicolaasga, Friesland :smile:
I had an appointment this morning with the Honda dealer in Drachten for an MOT for both my Accord Type-S (TSX Type-s), and the NSX, and when I was accelerating from standstill it was running on 5 cylinders.

She has a new MOT now and I can pick her up again tomorrow morning.
hopefully she keeps driving on all of her 6 cylinders.:tongue:

Did u get a new Igniter from the Honda dealer in the netherlands ? what did u paid for it? or did u got 1 from the USA ?

 

[rsevo6]

I got me a 2nd hand igniter and it is still running OK.
From the symptoms that you describe I am 99% certain it is your igniter. It will cut out 1 cilinder more and more often until it is on 5 cil permanently.

If I were you I would contact one of the 2nd hand parts sellers advertising on Marktplaats and get one there, possibly Adnan may have a 2nd hand one too.
Igniter is the same for ALL years of NSX, mind you only NSX, NOT on Legends

P.s,
If I remember correctly, I paid about 100-125 E for my 2nd hand igniter, but that was from a fellow NSX owner that I knew. A parts trader will probably want more, possibly in the region of 175-225 E

 

[Martin_VTEC]

I've orderd a used igniter-unit from Ebay from a 1996 Legend.
Maybe later I order a new one.

 

[rsevo6]

I seem to remember from when I was looking for another one that a Legend igniter is NOT the same as NSX, you better check the part number

 

[Martin_VTEC]

The Honda Legend from 1991 to 2005 has the same partnumber, #1

Honda Legend (1991-1996):

http://www.hondaoriginalparts.com/h...ck_01=17SP001&block_02=B__1300&block_03=21402

Honda Legend (1996-2005):

http://www.hondaoriginalparts.com/h...ck_01=17SZ301&block_02=E__0500&block_03=21229

Honda NSX (all years):

http://www.hondaoriginalparts.com/h...ck_01=17SL001&block_02=E__0700&block_03=21672

All this models have:
PFKL452223
IGNITER UNIT (NEC/ELESYS) (MC-8430)
£416.08 (€453.53) ($665.73)

 

[Jin1976]

Very good information. I paid an equivalent of USD250 for a new one about three years ago. It certainly has gone up this time.

The Honda Legend from 1991 to 2005 has the same partnumber, #1

Honda Legend (1991-1996):

http://www.hondaoriginalparts.com/h...ck_01=17SP001&block_02=B__1300&block_03=21402

Honda Legend (1996-2005):

http://www.hondaoriginalparts.com/h...ck_01=17SZ301&block_02=E__0500&block_03=21229

Honda NSX (all years):

http://www.hondaoriginalparts.com/h...ck_01=17SL001&block_02=E__0700&block_03=21672

All this models have:
PFKL452223
IGNITER UNIT (NEC/ELESYS) (MC-8430)
£416.08 (€453.53) ($665.73)

 

[Martin_VTEC]

It's still around $250 at the Acura dealer, in europe however, its double.

 

[jdm racer]

had a similar problem, ended being moisture in one of the spark plug boot. replaced the spark plugs and luckily for me that was it.

 

[angus]

Yes, moisture in the plug boots and corrosion are the two main culprits of misfire at idle.

 

[Martin_VTEC]

I never drive when it rains, so no water can go there,
luckily the other igniter-unit solved my problem.

 

[rsevo6]

Good to hear the problem is solved.
Still weird that several electrical components seem to be so failure sensitive (igniter, coils, main relay, CC circuitboards, Bose amplifiers) on Honda's ultimate prestige car, the NSX.
In my opinion Honda miserably failed out on getting good component manufacturers/suppliers for these.

 

[kookoo4nsx]

Can someone please explain what an igniter is/does? Thanks.

 

[rsevo6]

Can someone please explain what an igniter is/does? Thanks.

The igniter is the small black box mounted on the intake man just under the top vacuum connections. It has a (if I remember correctly) 8 pin connector on one side and a 6 pin connector on the other side. From the igniter the signal goes to the individual ignition coils, so it manages the ignition coils
Is this enough explanation??:wink::biggrin: