nuclidex

Hello Honda Fans,

As this is my first post let me give you gentlemen a background:

I am a die hard Ford Mustang fan, I love them for what they are.

I also love my new honda because it can get great gas mileage. I want to keep the miles off my cobra.

I first worked on hondas when I bought my wife an 03 MDX. Things i worked on were simple like air conditioning motors and interior stuff.. I recently purchased a 1997 honda civic EX with a D16Y7 motor swap. I have already removed the complete interior and re-installed with new clips and pins so everything fits properly. I installed a rear Disc conversion kit. Installed 18 inch wheels and rolled front fenders and cut/sanded rear pinch weld fenders.

Some questions:

Why is there a single yellow w/ red line wire that goes no-where under the upper intake? (where does it go?) (looks like it pops into a ground somewhere)

How many V-Tec connectors are there on my car? (so i can rule out disconnected sensors under my CAI)

Whats the best way to seal the valve cover gasket? (hondabond, etc)

Is a white milky substance solely on the top of the valve cover condensation due to a leaky valve cover gasket or a blown head gasket? (no oil issues, no coolant issues)



Thank you all very much for your input as it will help me boundlessly,

Ed

nuclidex

Here is the wire in question:

Yellow w/ red stripe

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

That wire has been tapped and extended. Looks like the previous owner did a hack job. It could be a couple things, but from a quick browse through the FSM, it's most likely either your MAP sensor, or an AT control wire. Is your car throwing a CEL or D4 code? Do the bulbs work?

There should be two, if memory serves correctly. One for the VTEC solenoid, and one for the VTEC pressure switch.

The FSM way. Replace the valve cover gasket and spark plug grommets with an OEM kit. Only apply a small bit of HondaBond to the four corners where the cam caps are.

Could be both, could be neither. Remove the valve cover, thoroughly clean it, and reinstall with a new gasket. Once you've done that, buy/borrow/rent a block tester. It's a simple tool that'll check for exhaust gasses in your coolant, and is fairly definitive when it comes to diagnosing head gasket failure. You can also do a compression test, which is less than definitive, but will definitely give you an idea of how healthy the motor is.

While you're doing all of this work, check and post your head stamp. It should be on the front of the head, near the far left exhaust runner, and should be either P2F or P2J.

It's what the community is here for!

nuclidex

That wire has been tapped and extended. Looks like the previous owner did a hack job. It could be a couple things, but from a quick browse through the FSM, it's most likely either your MAP sensor, or an AT control wire. Is your car throwing a CEL or D4 code? Do the bulbs work?

map sensor is working correctly. i have a manual tranny. I am throwing codes but cant be sure which ones are fixed and which ones are real since i had a lot of disconnected plugs i connected and need to recheck. (the check engine light is on) (will do this tomorrow)


There should be two, if memory serves correctly. One for the VTEC solenoid, and one for the VTEC pressure switch.

I see two, one w/ one wire having a green w/ yellow stripe wire and the other w/ 2 wires being blue w/ black stripe and solid black.


The FSM way. Replace the valve cover gasket and spark plug grommets with an OEM kit. Only apply a small bit of HondaBond to the four corners where the cam caps are.

I put new spark plug grommets and new valve cover gasket but didnt do the hondabond. will do this today with new gaskets all around!

Could be both, could be neither. Remove the valve cover, thoroughly clean it, and reinstall with a new gasket. Once you've done that, buy/borrow/rent a block tester. It's a simple tool that'll check for exhaust gasses in your coolant, and is fairly definitive when it comes to diagnosing head gasket failure. You can also do a compression test, which is less than definitive, but will definitely give you an idea of how healthy the motor is.

I will rent a block tester tomorrow once the hondabond is dry. (will let you know of the outcome) also considering buying a vtec head...

While you're doing all of this work, check and post your head stamp. It should be on the front of the head, near the far left exhaust runner, and should be either P2F or P2J.

head stamp is located under the valve cover?

It's what the community is here for![/QUOTE]

Thank You so much! (i responded within your quote)

nuclidex

it looks like a ground wire and i need to figure out where it goes

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

It's possible the car was originally an automatic and was converted by the PO.

Codes are fairly simple to retrieve. See this thread within the FAQ's sticky. Pull the codes, reset the ECU, and pull the codes again to see which ones return. If you aren't 100% sure on the codes, feel free to make a video of them with your camera phone, upload it to youtube, and post it here.

Your VTEC wires sound correct.

If you only recently replaced the gasket and grommets, you don't need to replace them again. honestly, if it isn't leaking, I wouldn't even worry about the HondaBond.

HondaBond is a semi-drying liquid - it'll never be really dry. You also don't need to wait for it to dry to use a block tester. All you need to do is remove a small amount of coolant and either apply it to a litmus strip, or mix it with a powder, depending on which kit you buy/rent.

The head stamp is on the front of the head. You don't need to remove the valve cover to read it - it'll be right up front, near your left-most exhaust runner.

Ground wires should all be black. If it's yel/red, it isn't a ground wire.

tech8

On the MAP sensor, check that there are three wire on the harness connector:

Yel/Red (Reference voltage)
Red/Grn (Map sensor input)
Grn/Wht (Sensor ground)

nuclidex

Thank you. Yes these colors go to MAP.

nuclidex

its a d16y7 engine. is that what you are talking about when you say head stamp?

i replaced the gaskets and it is leaking so i need hondabond... i will apply in the 4 corners.

Glad i can identify which plugs are useless to me right now *vtec*

i will get a list of codes today,

if all the ground wires are black, what is the wire i listed earlier for? there must have been a reason the previous owner spliced it..

checked on the honda site my car is a 1997 civic ex manual tranny from the factory...

TomCat39

What is meant by head stamp is the casting code of the head.

Some pics as an example in this post.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

D16Y7 is the block stamp. I'm looking for the head stamp. An EX should have a D16Y8, so I'm trying to help you figure out if the PO did a mini-me swap (VTEC head on a non-VTEC block).

It definitely sounds like the PO did a major hack job on that car. Grab the head code and the CEL codes, and we can work from there.

94EG8

That wire is for the oil pressure sending unit on the back of the block.

nuclidex

Excellent! So there is a nipple some-where on the back of the block that this will connect to? Any schematics or tips where to find it?

nuclidex

Also, there are the codes I am throwing

P1381

P1509

My ECM is
37820-P2E-L32
974-326197


Current build is a D16Y7 non vtec with a Y8 Mani. (97 Civic EX Manual shift)

This ECM is for the non-vtec correct? Will the P2P help with these codes since I am running the Y8 Mani? I plan to replace the head with the Y8 head, since my head gasket is leaking and theres a couple stripped bolts. I heard I can find a head for around 50-100 bucks, and for a 21HP increase this is cheap!

I tried to read this ECU list on the site, but it is all garbled HTML code
http://hondaswap.com/threads/honda-ecu-list.29129/

Anyone else having this problem? I can even find the P2E listed here...

Former User

One wire sensor located near oil filter.

Reset the ECU to see whether the codes return.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

This is what that site is trying to say, without the HTML code.

nuclidex

I found it! You guys rock. The dealership techs couldnt figure it out, or they just didnt care.

nuclidex

OK, so i have the right ECM for this engine..
P2E 2 no 1996-1998 Honda Civic DX

So will a y8 mani throw it off? Run rich, etc

Anyone bolt these y8 manis to y7's?

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

P1381 is CYP intermittent interruption. P1509 is for your IACV. Like RonJ said, reset your ECU and see if the codes return.

When you switched to the Y8-style IM, did you rewire your IACV? If you have a voltmeter, tested the CYP is fairly straight-forward, if that code returns.

Yes, EX-style IM's are a common replacement.

nuclidex

The Supra Eater


The civic you guys are helping me with:

nuclidex

Resetting now,

THe car is an EX, so it has the EX harness.

No rewiring. Mani came w/ the car.

How do i know which IACV is the correct one? I have 3 different style IACV that came with the car, each have diff numbers on them. Do i need to rewire? Do i use IACV for y7 or y8?

Checked all the wires really well and redid a lot of wiring chops...

Former User

The Y7 P2E ECU requires the 3-wire IACV.

nuclidex

that makes a lot of sense. which iacv and what wires do i redo?

nuclidex

Just talking a quick peek, it is 3 wire already. This is the wires

Yellow w/ blue stripe
Green w/ black stripe
Red w/ black stripe

nuclidex

also does this mean that the y8 has more than 3 wires? maybe im missing a chop somewhere since i have the y8 harness?