vtec not engaging - Honda Prelude Forum

Doggypth · 05-31-2009, 05:09 AM

ok first of all hey all im new but have searched for a while to solve my problem.

personal info.

im driving a 4th gen H22A2 vtec lude with 4ws and i have a p13 chipper ecu in it.
pulling out a nice 210 hp on the engine.

my problem is this my vec does no longer engage.
ive had trouble engaging vtec some times it did the other moment it didnt or when i was almost at rev limit without vtec it suddenly kicked in.
then when i was driving on the highway at 120ish km/h my waterpump failed on me causing overheating so i had the timing belt and waterpump and all replaced(damn i couldve done this myself)

then it caused to head up over the usual mid way turning on a 4th and something 5th bar. so i replaced my thermostat and coolant.
it still didnt fix it eventually i found out that my cilinder head was overheated that much that it was curved. and i had to get it revised.

well since it was getting a revised head i replaced all the gaskets that were comming out even the head bolts and valve seals valves were newly polsihed and placed correctly in the ports.

well from here on when i placed all teh bits and pieces back onto the engine and took it for a test drive after a good hour of bleedin the coolant
(also new oil filled to max)
i tried hitting vtec it didnt engage at all and it still doesnt.

ive tried several things but eventually took it to the honda dealer to have a reading of the solenoid.

i saw with my own eyes i had enoug oil pressure to engage vtec and the solenoid was given the comand to punch it.
but no extra power or increased exhaust sound(using an nvidea catback with DC sports ceramic manifold so defently hearable)

he told me solenoid broken wich is an expensive part to replace so i searched for a second hand one wich i found and it came of a running engine also replaced the oil pressure switch with it.

still no vtec oil pressure is ok according to the dealer
no CEL
swapped ecu's edm p13 4w with a jdm p13 2w(edm is mine)
checked wiring had he right values on solenoid and pressure switch.
solenoid gasket is new not clogged.

ofcourse im not pushing the engine until its heated up perfectly giving me the gogo at a oil temp of 175 F

funny thing is with my edm p13 i dont get cel's
when i put in the borrowed jdm p13 i do get them i get 20 ELD and 23 knock sensor.

if the h22a2 has a knock sensor i never took it off atleast not knowing i took it off.i dont even know where it should be according to my manuell it should be in the middle right under my intake.

honda-tech cant help me much either.
so im kinda shrug on what to check next.

anyone got an idea please help.

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 12:46 AM

that sounds like a mess. id say you might have a crap ecu if youre not getting cels with it and you do with the other ecu. knock sensor is in the block under the intake runners above the oil filter. if you do get that code you might want to start there. make sure its still connected you might have pulled the wire off when you did all that work?

Doggypth · 06-01-2009, 02:15 AM

ecu is fine i had vtec before i had my overheating problem.

take in mind im swapped a EDM p13 with a JDM p13 theirs some differences in these if im right.

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 02:47 AM

im pretty darn sure the jdm p13 should recognize the knock, if you had a p28 it wouldnt. i dont know anything about the edm p13.

what i was aiming to suggest is.... that during all that work post overheating problems, maybe the knock sensor got disconnected, since you are throwing the cel with the jdm p13, could be putting you in limp mode. as i dont know edm p13s i cant begin to say why you might not get the cel with it. if you had another ecu handy we might be able to surely rule this out.

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 02:51 AM

more questions:
that h22a2, whats that from? is that an edm motor? its been a while sorry.... h22a was jdm, h22a1 was usdm 4th gen. a4 was usdm 5th gen

is your chassis usdm?

what engine wiring harness are you using?

honestly those cels scare me. just because you dont get them in the CHIPPED ecu doesnt mean they arent a problem, or thE problem.

who chipped that ecu? do you know? are you sure?

Doggypth · 06-01-2009, 03:32 AM

A2 is EDM im running obd1

id have to check if i could perhaps arrange a 3rd ecu to check with.

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 03:35 AM

did the engine harness come with the motor?

Doggypth · 06-01-2009, 03:39 AM

oh i didnt swap the engine in the car it came with the car.

i cant tell u who chipped it, it was allready chipper when i bought it.

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 03:41 AM

the eld cel - electrical load detector that could mean a bad alternator or fuse box or something else maybe. maybe a ground.

maybe you dont have enough juice to power vtec ??? maybe it was on the fritz leading up the overheating problem and thats why it was cutting out sometimes, thats a long shot maybe

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doggypth

oh i didnt swap the engine in the car it came with the car.

i cant tell u who chipped it, it was allready chipper when i bought it.

ok, but at one point it had been swapped, this car is from the US right?

Doggypth · 06-01-2009, 03:44 AM

battery is almost brandnew like 3 months old perhaps.
alternator is charging good too.

think m cooling problem was caused by a f20 radiator i used and a almost dead waterpump wich both have been replaced now.

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 03:46 AM

you gotta a link to the honda tech thread or do i gotta search for it lol

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doggypth

battery is almost brandnew like 3 months old perhaps.
alternator is charging good too.

think m cooling problem was caused by a f20 radiator i used and a almost dead waterpump wich both have been replaced now.

f20? is that another edm motor, youre not in the states are you

Doggypth · 06-01-2009, 03:50 AM

f20a4 is a normal 2.0 litre engine and yes im not form the states im from the netherlands. sorry shouldve said that in op

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doggypth

f20a4 is a normal 2.0 litre engine and yes im not form the states im from the netherlands. sorry shouldve said that in op

alrighty then... now we might have something to work with.... here in the states our low end prelude hass the f22. the f22 does NOT have a knock sensor. this might explain at least the knock sensor code when you plug in the jdm p13. you probably will not be able to hit vtec with that jdm p13 until you are sure that the wiring is complete for the knock sensor from the sensor all the way to the ecu

Doggypth · 06-01-2009, 04:00 AM

the jdm p13 was just to test its a loaner wich has togo back into the original car where it came form eventually.

but u mean teh p13 ecu's are from an F22? F22 is jsut a normal 2.2 non vtec right?

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 04:08 AM

no im sorry, i guess i wasnt clear... the p13s are all from the vtec motors. i was just saying its possible that the car didnt come wired for a knock sensor if it didnt come with a h22 from the assembly line. the usdm and jdm p13s and maybe the edm p13s will look for that knock sensor

X01VTEC · 06-01-2009, 04:11 AM

and yes the f22 is not a vtec... well most of them arent, the ones that came in the us preludes were not, they were sohc no-tecs, probably quite similar to the f20

Doggypth · 06-01-2009, 04:13 AM

heres the link for honda-tech sorry i didnt post it earlier i never saw u request it.

still no vtec. - Honda-Tech

Doggypth · 06-01-2009, 04:15 AM

ok so a p13 is originally VTEC ecu?

so basicly this ecu im using might not read the knock sensor?