I did a compression test on the Prelude. Pulled plugs, cranked thru the test, but did not ground out the ignition. Put it back together and no spark. Changed the coil, no start. Changed the ICM and it coughed and sputtered, then cleared and ran well. Shut it off, then it wouldn’t start. Sometimes it starts, sometimes not. Air temp doesn’t seem to effect it. Honda shop told me it was out of time, then I left Honda, kicked it into V-TEC and went onto the freeway with 3rd gear maxed out. Timing isn’t the issue. The battery is fully charged and it has great fuel pressure. So far I have replaced the coil, ICM, distributor, battery and main relay. Still won’t start. Could it have burned the ECM? I have run thru the wiring with a meter and cannot find anything wrong. HELP!!!
What year Prelude are we talking about here?
Have you replaced the igniter as well as the coil?
Timing may still be the issue - just because you can run it at redline doesn’t mean the timing isn’t off - it might just mean you were damaging your engine while doing that. Check to make sure your distributor is bolted down securely and can’t rotate - if it can, then the timing’s being messed with every time it moves, which could explain the intermittent no-start.
Also, when you replaced the distributor, did you replace the wires and cap/rotor as well? Sure you got the rotor screw tight enough? When it doesn’t start, what’s the weather like?
@shadowfax is right. Check the ignitor.
Here’s how: http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/startproblems.html#badigniter
Honda Prelude
Model-Year ?
CSA