bscoffey

I've got a '95 accord ex with a 2.2 v-tec & 5 speed trans. The car has just turned 200k and runs fine till I decide to pass someone. When I pull it down into a passing gear ( 2ond or 3rd) it will tach up to 4k then it drops on its face. Im holding the throttle down but nothing is happing. Then it will pick back up and take off and tach up to 6k or more. It only happens while its in gear (hot or cold), sitting out of gear it will turn 6k all day with no problem. It has been doing this from around 130k . I've tuned up, replaced timing belts & water pump(all oem honda), replaced distributor, cleaned v-tec valve and replaced screen & gasket, replaced fuel filter. I did put a bosh o2 sensor on , dont know if that could be the problem. I would like to get some input before I start replacing parts. I did get a crankshaft position sensor code ,thats why I replaced the distributor. I havent checked the codes lately. The car still gets 31-35 mpg so I dont want to get rid of it especially now. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

5thgen4door

Check ur codes again n see if its throwing any.. it sounds like a vacuum leak.. has tha motor been replaced? Or tha timing belt coulda jumped a tooth

bscoffey

motor is original . i checked the belt ,even advanced it one tooth and retarded it one tooth and still does the same thing. i did check all my vacuum line but thats not to say i mighta missed something. i even went as far as to take the cover off the egr passages and cleaned them. I never had a problem like this before . It runs well when it wants to. yesterday i couldnt get it to do it at all. last night comming home from church it wouldnt stop doing it. thught someone else might have had this problem also.

5thgen4door

I'm kinda havin a similar problem but mine goes into shutdown mode n it only does it in forward gears.. then doesn't wanna start for like 2min but hopefully u find tha issue n good luck

bscoffey

just checked the codes and i have no codes. the cel light just stays on (no blinking). checked all vacuum lines and none seem to be worse for wear. usually i can fix these kind of problems but this one has me stumpped.

5thgen4door

Same here mines driving me crazy n nobody can tell me Why its doin it...

MAD_MIKE

That sounds like the VTEC is not working correctly. VTEC will not work under three conditions, there is not enough oil/oil pressure the ECU will protect the engine from oil starvation. The VTEC solenoid is faulty and does not always work. There is a hard fault and the ECU goes into limp mode.
Any engine will rev to the moon with no load on it, even engines missing a cylinder or two.
I've had issues with Bosch O2s, they are lazy buggers. But I do not think this is related to the problem you are having.
Make sure the wiring harness on the car is not damaged.
Only when you jump the connector? When you jump the connector and the CEL stays on solid, it means there are no codes.

Does the problem only happen after the car has been sitting for ~1hour? Or is it random?

Shooting from the hip theories;
Your oil is too low for correct VTEC operation
The oil sensor that allows for VTEC is faulty
The VTEC solenoid is failing
There is a problem with oiling system in the engine.

curtie94

does it backfire out of the intake. If it is it might be a fuel pressure regulator

bscoffey

forgot to mention ; fuel reg has been replaced.tore the vtec valve apart and it was fine . cleaned it ,hooked it up to batt to make sure it was engaging, it was working fine, screen wasent clogged. bumpped the timing up to the middle mark (was on the 1st mark).checked the plugs , wires ,cap etc everything is fine. The cel isnt blinking when i cross the wires( checking the codes) witch means no codes. i'm thinking its in the ecu. found a place online that sells them for 200.00 rebuilt. thats better than the 550.00 the honda place wants for them. I just hate throwing parts at a vehicle to see what fixes it. but i did take it to a local mechanic and the local honda stealership and thats what both of them were going to do except charging labor with the parts.

MAD_MIKE

Did you test it when the problem was occuring? Heat soak may cause the electromagnet to not work correctly.
Did you verify that the pressure switch on the side of the VTEC solenoid assembly is working correctly as well?
Did you verify there is no oil pressure issues?
Did you verify the oil level in the pan is up to the full mark?
Until you confirm that the oil level, oil pressure, oil pressure switch, and solenoid are all with in parameters when the VTEC does not work, that is exactly what it is that you will be doing.

bscoffey

hey mike,
i did check the solenoid on and off the mtr,hot and cold . I think you are right the electromagnet is failing. I swapped in a lx computer and it didnt fall on its face. Granted the lx isnt a vtec engine and it didnt activate the vtec solenoid. Oil level and pressure is within parameters.It feels like the solenoid is engageing but drops out like its had the power shut off then pops back in .seems like its not holding in ,not staying engaged. I did check the oil pressure swith and it did check out . The solenoid also checked out but i have worked with faulty solenoids before and have seen them act this way.

bscoffey

got the rev prob fixed. took the "plug" out of the equation . I wired the v-tec solenoid straight to the harness, removing the plug altogether.