Hello,

Having an issue with my 1991 rover 216 honda. Starts cold fine but after about 5-10 minutes of running at idle it abruptly stalls and then shows no sign of life. I've seen on here that the main relay can cause problems like this but I can hear the fuel pump going when I turn the ignition. Dizzy issue? Must be something simple!

The first thing to ascertain is whether there is a spark when it won't start. This sounds as if it could be a fuel issue or no spark. In my experience, when the main relay starts playing up, it doesn't cause the engine to cut out, it simply won't start when the engine is warm (like when you're been parked up for a short period).

I agree. Check if there is a spark is the first thing. If there isn't, it could be that the ECU isn't asking for one because it's not getting a timing pulse from the crankshaft position sensor. I'm not familiar with the Honda engine, but I've had a sudden stop on our 214 which was an intermittent crankshaft sensor. It was temperature sensitive. Once the engine cooled down it would start again.

Yeah there's no spark. could be dizzy. Will do more investigations when I get it back home

Quick update, stripped down the dizzy for bit of testing coil seems to be working fine. Also to be sure it wasn't the fault, I inspected the main relay and tested it. So I've ordered a ignition module as I suspect it could be that.

Is there any way to test the three sensors in the sohc dizzy? If so is there also anywhere to get replacements?

Don't forget the ignitor inside the dizzy body - small silver part with 3 or 4 small spade connectors on the visible edge.

They fail, especially when they get warm...

They have a heatsink to dissipate heat, which is a clue to how hot they get

So the ignitor unit worked (I think I read somewhere that referred to it as a ignition module). Got it through its mot and I have been driving it for about 1500miles.

Unfortunately it has now developed a cutting out fault when on the motorway. I do about 3 hour drives quite frequently and after a while going at 70, the rev counter started fluctuating. This then developed to a complete cut out at 70mph and around 4000rpm. At least it would start straight back up and could drive it at under 3000rpm with little issues. it has now started idling at around 500rpm and sounds pretty rough. I suspect I will end up having to get a new dizzy. I've bought a new ignition coil in off chance its that as new dizzy seems to be £300. In meantime any ideas? cant seem to see anything posted of someone having the same symptoms.

With the caveat that I only really know about the 1.4 K-series, here are a couple of ideas. If the tacho is fluctuating, check where it's getting its signal from. Is it the ECU? If so, maybe that tells you that the ECU is not receiving a solid timing signal from the flywheel. Mentioned I'd had a fault a bit like this and it was a faulty crankshaft sensor (temperature sensitive). If the idling is now a bit defective, can you do any diagnostic readings from the ECU? With the faulty idling, are all spark plugs giving a consistent and healthy spark. It is a step forward if you've now got a more solid idling fault to troubleshoot.