HITACHI Electronic Ignition Systems - HONDA: Operation
The reluctor is mounted on the distributor rotor shaft and turns with the distributor shaft. See Fig 1 and Fig 2. It is secured to the shaft with a roll pin. As the reluctor turns, its 4 external teeth come in line with the 2 stator upright teeth. As the reluctor approaches and passes the stator teeth, variations occur in the magnetic field around them.
This causes the pulse generator, located inside the distributor housing, to signal the ignitor (mounted inside the distributor and integral with pulse generator on Civic models and California Accord and Prelude models with automatic transmission; mounted remote from distributor on other models). See Fig 3 and Fig 4.
Each time the reluctor teeth come in line and then pass the stator teeth, transistors inside the ignitor are turned off and on. This results in a magnetic field building and collapsing in the primary circuit of the ignition coil. When this field collapses, a voltage surge occurs in the secondary circuit of the ignition coil.
When this occurs, a high voltage spark is fed from the coil, through the distributor's rotor and cap to the secondary wiring and spark plugs.
On models with pulse generator/ignitor assemblies, two wires lead from the ignitor to the ignition coil. On models with only an internal pulse generator (an external ignitor), two wires lead from the pulse generator to the ignitor. The ignitor then is connected with 2 additional wires to the ignition coil. A fifth wire from the ignitor leads to ground.