rlippy001

Okay so I have searched and haven't really come up with a definite answer to my problem. My girlfriends parents bought her a 1998 civic ex and while test driving no one was smart enough to actually see what it had. She brought it to my house and me and some friends took it out for a drive. The problem we found is that the car will not rev past 5200-5500 rpms. It has a redline type of thing there. Has anyone experienced this? If so what was the problem? Any help/suggestions are wanted. Thanks guys...

motegicivic

Stick or auto?

Rev how, when idling or when running?

I am wondering if it is Vtec issue.

Former User

Please place simple tech questions directly into the thread title - edited.

apexi_rsx

might be a bad distributor. make sure it has the correct ecu. is there a CEL on? it sounds like the motor is in limp mode.

LoLoCivic

iTrader: (1)

im guesing a bad distributor X2

xile6

any check engine light? if so check the code. IT could be vtec oil pressure switch which would stop the car from revving pass 5something

rlippy001

The car is manual. There is no cel and no codes are thrown that i know of. We were thinking it could be the ecu so we were going to get another sometime soon. If that doesn't work I guess we could try the distributor...my first thought was limp mode as well but wasn't sure. And lastly its when the car is moving, we have never tried it at a stop/idle...oh and I was told it could possibly be the vtec solenoid but I don't see why that would cause it to not go past 5200-5500 rpms. Is there a possibility that the car could have an auto distributor..?

rlippy001

Another thing to add...its an ex with a y7 motor which is weird to me...i thought all ex's were y8.

CdLem1

yes rlippy001 you are correct all ex's have d16y8 engines...who ever previously owned the car must have switched out the y8 for the y7 (blown engine idk) and you might still have your y8 ecu with a y7 engine making it not rev past 5500....since y8 engines are vtec they might have (tried) to reused the y8 ecu thinking it would work normally with the y7 by de-pinning the vtec part of the ecu and thats why its not running normally like it should...

long story short...looks like you might need to get an ECU from a d16y7 engine that was also a manual tranny and replace it with the one you have on the car...since your running a vtec ECU with a Non-Vtec Engine its running limp with a early redline...you could probably look one up on Ebay or Craigslist or try even the honda tech market place..

GOOd Luck with the repair bro

apexi_rsx

the p2p(ex ecu) looks for a knock sensor and the y7 motor does not have it. does this motor have a y7 or y8 head on it? is it vtec?

rlippy001

Thanks man. This is one of the best answers so far so this is what Imma try first. I will post up the out come.

It appears the whole motor is y7. Its non vtec for sure because there is no vtec solenoid..

HopperIsMyCar

What was the engine swap for? You can tell by what's under the hood. If it's stock, then the swap was needed. If there's an intake and other street mods, you can be pretty sure that someone tuned it wrong and there is a possibility that nothing is wrong with your car, just that someone has messed with the ecu settings. (i.e. rev limiter or something like that.)

rlippy001

If I knew what the swap was for I wouldnt be here...it bone stock.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

What ECU is in it?

rlippy001

not sure...didnt get around to checking yet

pwebb0207

what speed does it happen in each gear?

jvrtaboli

I have a 99 DX hatchback with a D16y7. Replaced headgasket, water pump, timing belt, thermostat, and radiator last week. Now its doing the same thing as rlippy001 described but I cant see the RPM, 1st gear stops accelerating at 20 mph, and also my gas mileage is at a terrible ~20mpg.

CdLem1

[QUOTE=rlippy001;46434937]Thanks man. This is one of the best answers so far so this is what Imma try first. I will post up the out come.


No problem man. Hopefully your gf's car will be up and running with tht y7 ECU...yeah hopefully outcome = no 5500 rev lim

furious94ls

I'd contact the seller. That's some **** there. I'd be really pissed off.

NOFX

DO NOT GO OUT AND BUY ANOTHER ECU.

If it were a D16Y7 (1.6L SOHC non-VTEC) running a P2P EX ECU (D16Y8 / 1.6L SOHC VTEC), then it should throw a code because VTEC isn't operating at all.

I'd suspect it's the right ECU, but pull your passenger kick panel away (the one on the floor right in front of the door) and you can confirm the ECU by the part number on the casing.

Check the car for codes just in case. Most auto parts stores will scan for free or you can rent the code scanner from Autozone for $150 iirc, which is refunded when you bring the undamaged tool back.

Your CEL should blink on for about a solid second when you turn the car on btw. If it does not then the bulb could be blown or removed.

doublezerohatch

My car just decided it didn't want to rev past 52-5500 . . .I spun a bearing. im throwing codes for knock sensor and crank fluctuation . . .surprised it will still spin to 5k+ knocks like a jehovahs witness on sunday morning at my door!

Former User

If you have a technical question, please create a new thread.