So I've been having this problem for a month or so now. Anytime the motor goes over 4.5k it cuts out and decelerates on its own until it reaches 4.5k when the gas pedal actually works again. During the fall from whatever RPM down to 4.5k, pushing on the gas pedal nets no result.

Motor is a 97 JDM ITR, plugs, cap, rotor, and wires have all been replaced recently. Also, the motor is in a 97 Civic with stock fuel delivery items.

I don't know what to do. Its getting very annoying not being to enjoy the motor. If I'm cruising down the freeway at 4.7k or so it starts to chop. BAM then back again. Very weird!

Any ideas guys? Thanks a million!

 

Did you ever change the ecu? That exact thing happened to me when I put a different ecu in mine.

 

Are you throwing a code? Its prob in Limp dick mode.

 

Sounds like it is running in fail safe mode. It must be coding a major error.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ausmith &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sounds like it is running in fail safe mode. It must be coding a major error.</TD></TR></TABLE> Spot-on. Also, check your speedthernometer cable for disconnection.

 

I actually am having problems with my VSS, the needle is all over the place. Even sitting at a red light the needle randomly jumps to 80mph and slowly falls back down. I'm affraid that the problem with the VSS might be a wiring issue, maybe faulty soldering or a short somewhere.

It will sometimes rev all the way to 8,000 rpm. Usually in first gear I'm fine, second I'm ok, but in 3rd gear it almost always cuts out. Could it randomly pop in and out of safe mode?

Do you guys think it might be a clogged fuel filter?

 

Have you ever checked the engine oil?

 

I have 3 ideas for you.

1. check to see if you have coolant in the vss, unplug the gray plug and look. If you have any anifrezze or moisture in the vss it will do something like you are experiencing. If you do, blow it out with compressed air.

2. check the coil, shold be at about 13.9-19.0 ohms. check with the coil disconnected.

3. possible ground problem at thermostat.


Chris

 

i had this exact problem but when i had my mechanic check my vss sensor, he couldnt find anything and the problem was gone when he gave the car back to me

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 98DC2R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have 3 ideas for you.

1. check to see if you have coolant in the vss, unplug the gray plug and look. If you have any anifrezze or moisture in the vss it will do something like you are experiencing. If you do, blow it out with compressed air.

2. check the coil, shold be at about 13.9-19.0 ohms. check with the coil disconnected.

3. possible ground problem at thermostat.


Chris</TD></TR></TABLE>

Awesome ideas, I'll give those all a try today.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by integtonx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i had this exact problem but when i had my mechanic check my vss sensor, he couldnt find anything and the problem was gone when he gave the car back to me</TD></TR></TABLE>

Still have his phone number? Just kidding.

Thanks for the help so far guys, I'll be back with updates...

 

it is actually a wire from your harness that grounds at the thermostat housing...not a "thermostat ground" although thats what i call it to.... look there...that ground MUST be on.
but again...this is a guess at the problem.

 

Well my problems went from bad to worse. I tried unplugging the VSS and plugging it back in, and now the needle is completely dead and the car is 100% in safe mode - no vtec, horrible idle, everything is screwed up.

It has to be some kind of electrical error. The codes I am getting now are 17 for VSS and also 1 for primary O2 sensor. I'm positive this is some kind of wiring issue. I can't think of anything else. Damn this is very frustrating, I cant get to the wires because they're behind the motor and everything is tightly put away in the wire loom.

I checked the ground on the thermostat, the wire runs from the loom onto the housing and is bolted on tightly.

 

thats really simple your car need a new engine if it can't take the pressure of you reving over 4.5k something is not functioning right in it and sry to say that my thoughts i could be wrong or something probably broken in it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Omni &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thats really simple your car need a new engine if it can't take the pressure of you reving over 4.5k </TD></TR></TABLE>

What?

It sounds like either a ground issue, or another very common problem is corrosion on the VSS wire harness plug. I would try replacing the VSS plug by splicing in a new/used one.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Omni &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thats really simple your car need a new engine if it can't take the pressure of you reving over 4.5k something is not functioning right in it and sry to say that my thoughts i could be wrong or something probably broken in it</TD></TR></TABLE>

Your H-T future looks promising

 

simple fix

just pour sand in our oil cap.

 

distributor???

 

Wow now I'm really in deep ****. My friend told me to pour some some two stroke oil into the tranny from the VSS hole. He said it would help lubricate the gears on the VSS, but now, when I shift into first, I hear a sound like there is sand in the tranny. Did I do something wrong?

Anyway, so today I drove around with the car in safe mode. Its funny, I kind of like it in safe mode because I can rev to the moon without the motor cutting out. Ausmith, you have a very good point. I took an old toothbrush to the sensor yesterday but that unfortunately didn't do any good, however I did notice some blueish green crustyness inside the sensor. I'll use some compressed air on Thursday to clean it out if I get some free time.

One other question I had for you guys is what correlation the primary O2 would have to the VSS? Do they share anything for them to both go out at the same time?

Thanks again for the help guys!

 

I wouldn't listen to friend about car help anymore. Stop driving your car and drain your tranny ASAP. Fill it back up with genuine Honda manual transmission fluid or GM synchromesh fluid. Both are very good tranny lubricants and you will need 3 bottles. Approx 2.5 litres for a complete drain & re-fill.

If you were smart, you would stop driving the car around like that and fix the problem. The bluish green crustyness you mentioned in the plug is corrosion and is not allowing the VSS signal to reach the ECU and the gauge cluster properly. Try this out, it should end your problems:

1) Check to make sure that the three wires leading into the VSS plug are not fraying or damaged near the plug itself. If the wires appear damaged you will need to get a new plug from a scrap yard and solder it on properly (as mentioned earlier). If wires are not frayed or damaged try #2

2) This might sound very weird, but trust me, it does work. First, disconnect your battery. (very important!) Unplug the VSS plug and place it in a small tub of Coke overnight or for 10-12 hours. The Coke will clean the VSS plug contacts on the harness side. Next, remove the VSS sensor from the tranny (one long 10mm bolt, I believe you did this to put in the 2-stroke oil? LOL) Also put it upside down in some Coke (another small tub). Only enough so that the contacts are covered, do not immerse the entire sensor in the Coke only the top section with the pins. The next day or after 10-12 hours, clean the VSS pins with brake cleaner and re-install it in the tranny. Then spray the VSS plug with the brake cleaner, let it dry a minute and plug it in to the VSS. Re-connect the battery and start it up. These steps will remove the corrosion (bluish green crustyness) from the VSS and the VSS plug and should fix your problem.

If I remember right, there is no correlation between the primary O2 and the VSS. I will suggest however looking at those connections to see if they are also corroded. If so, clean them the same way. Other than that, a bad primary O2 sensor will make the car drive very choppy (It happened to me) Make sure the connections for the O2 are clean and tight. If the O2 code keeps returning you may need to get yourself a new sensor. (not cheap!)

A quick question for you: What ECU are you using to run your motor? Is it OBD1 or OBD2? (for example a P28/civic si ecu is OBD1 or a P73/ITR ecu is OBD2)

You can thank us when we hear you fixed your problems. JK Good luck, just read my directions very carefully and you'll be fine. Keep us posted

 

Cool! Good idea, I'll tackle that this weekend. Today at some times it seemed to work fine, and then whamo! It was back like the plague.

So shooting the sensors (plug and pin side of VSS) with carb cleaner won't cause any damage to them? If not, that whole coke deal sounds like it might just do the trick!

Oh I was just kidding about the two stroke oil by the way. Haha. Since that guy said to put sand in the oil cap I thought I would be cute and say I put two stroke oil in the tranny

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nervous ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Cool! Good idea, I'll tackle that this weekend. Today at some times it seemed to work fine, and then whamo! It was back like the plague.

So shooting the sensors (plug and pin side of VSS) with carb cleaner won't cause any damage to them? </TD></TR></TABLE>

There is no problem with spraying the plug and pin connections on VSS with carb or brake cleaner. This is should be done after they have been soaked with the Coke to remove the stickiness the Coke may leave behind. The Coke will clean off the corrosion and the carb or brake cleaner will remove the Coke residue.

Another good idea would be to buy some dielectric grease from any auto parts store and put a small amount of it into the VSS plug before you re-install it. This will help to keep the corrosion from coming back.

Good luck and don't forget to tell us how it goes.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nervous ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oh I was just kidding about the two stroke oil by the way. Haha. Since that guy said to put sand in the oil cap I thought I would be cute and say I put two stroke oil in the tranny </TD></TR></TABLE>

Very cute joke. You had me going there but, I thought to myself there is now way he did that to his tranny. Talk with you later.

 

Check the fuse under your dash, it should be an Alternator fuse... if thats blown your VSS won't work... also your electricity will be crazy... replace it and you should be fine.

 

EGgsrAM, you are THE man!! I did exactly as you instructed, poured the coke, let it sit, flushed it out and plugged her in. So far, even during rain, she's running like a champ. I can't thank you enough

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nervous ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">EGgsrAM, you are THE man!! I did exactly as you instructed, poured the coke, let it sit, flushed it out and plugged her in. So far, even during rain, she's running like a champ. I can't thank you enough </TD></TR></TABLE>

I am glad to hear that some of my "secrets" worked out for you. If you lived closer to me all I'd ask for is a few beers in return. Don't worry about it though (LOL), I have no problem helping out fellow H-T members every now and again. Happy new year, Mike.