The Vtec in my honda won't kick in any more. I've checked the oil, and it's fine. It's weird because after I start up my car (when it's warm) Vtec will kick in only once, then after that, If I floor it, the engine has a hard time going up in rpms, and then the check engine light shows. this just started happening today. and I do know when Vtec kicks in.
Stock air intake and muffler.

 

jumper the blue 2 pin connector under the glove box toward the kick panel, then turn on the key and count the CEL flashes to find out the code stored.

It just might be that the ECU is running the engine in 'Default" mode.

 

you know what? I was wrong. It's not the vtec. I was just driving it around this morning, and I figured out that The Vtec is still kicking in. But, the car won't rev past 5000 rpms (even when it's in neutral or park) It might be the timming belt, but The thing is if I turn off my car, the turn it back on, It will be fine, untill the second time I Vtec it. then it's the same problem.

 

i'd be intersted in the error code and fix you find. i've subscribed to the topic, simply because it's an interesting problem i haven't seen before.

 

It just might be that the ECU is running the engine in 'Default" mode

 

x2


Your car is running in limp mode, pull the code asap.

 

im having a problem somewhat similar to this except my check engine light doesnt come on and it seems to happen randomly, secondly its not always 5000 rpms, it sometimes boggs down at 5500. when it happens it feels as if its hitting the rev limiter but the car should redline at 6200. (I do hear the VTECH kick).any ideas?

 

check your oil level. That was the problem when I made this thread ( when I was young and had no knowledge about My car haha)
Check to see that you have oil, and also check and clean the Vtec solenoid shield.

 

It's definitely not the oil, i let it run low once and trust me i learned my lesson, but i will try cleaning the solenoid.

 

noob question. i cant tell the difference if my v-tec kicks in or not. how can u tell? i dont hear any difference when i rev up my engine.

 

VTEC doesn't engage when you're in Neutral revving up your engine. You gotta drive it in gears and VTEC engages at certain RPMs only. I believe on the B1, mine kicks in at 5.7K or so, its been awhile since I got a SOHC. lol H22 all day now.

I can never tell if my VTEC was working or not but my B1 I had pulls hard. Wait til you get into an H22 Accord, You can truely feel VTEC cross-over.

 

Ha Ha when you were young. This post isn't that old.

I know, I know. A lot can be learned in a year or two

no hyphen in VTEC - fixed!

As for hearing it kick in. as stated above your not going to hear it engage sitting in park. Also, it's not as noticeable in the grocery get'n SOHC F22B1 Accord as the DOHC VTEC chassis. The F22B1 VTEC is set to engage around 2300-3200 RPM and it is based on vehicle speed, engine load(MAP) and coolant/engine temperature.

 

our redlines are 6200? i didn't know that. mine bounces at around 7000 or so. i usually don't take it up that far, the thing falls on its face around 6k. lol

 

haha yah I've been working on the car alot over and I'm always on the forum reading and learning haha
But Vtec you REALLY have to listen to it carefully to hear it engage. In my car it kicks usually at around 3500-3700, but as Ghost said it varies.

jhammond: 7000 Rpms?? wow what ECU are you using? The Limiter in mine kicks at about 6500

 

oh ok i knew it kicked in at about 2-3.5K but can never tell. im going to drive around a bit and try to hear it although its going to be hard to hear with my exhaust system. thanks guys.

 

ok, here's the thing. idk what ecu it is in there, whatever was in the car when i bought it. you guys are saying 3500-3700 for vtec cross over. i'm guessing mine crosses over at around 4k, cause it gets LOUD at exactly 4k, and pulls hard to about 6k, then, like i said, it falls on its face. i've only ever hit the rev limiter a few times, i try not to. it almost sounds like a gsr when i get to 4k. i'll have to take a look see at the ecu some time to see what it is, maybe its chipped? idk. i never looked at it since i got the car to be honest with you.

 

On my old B1, my rev limiter kicks in at 6.3K and bounces off. 7K on a F22Bx is insane!

 

oh. well then, maybe that explains my current spun bearing issue i got...

 

Silent: you should start listening for it around 3k, it’s a deeper noise plus if you have a cold air intake and headers on it is much easier to hear.

Davey: I haven’t had a chance to clean the solenoid yet but, while driving today I discovered that every time I hit 5k rpm’s I hit the rev limiter. (I assume this has been the truth all along I just don’t rev my car up that high very often, usually just getting on the interstate)

 

Yup, cause the block is only made to go up to 6.2K rpm.

 

When vtec isn't working in my car it cuts in and out at about 4K. Try brining it up to the limiter with 1st and 2nd gear and see if the CEL pops up. If not, then maybe it's in limp mode.

 

Funny

 

i guess its the same reason so many ls/vtec engines fail. hmm, maybe i'll take apart the ecu this weekend to see if its chipped or something. idk, i mean, i don't take it up there on a regular basis, but i guess it only takes once without supporting oil pressure to cause that to happen. sorry to thread jack op.

 

No CEL pops up shifting at high rpm’s in 1st and 2nd gear, (although if I shift at high rpm’s the gears scrape in 1st and 2nd, oddly enough if I shift from 3rd-5th or 4th – 5th it scrapes going into 5th I have to let rpm’s drop below 3.5k so it doesn’t, and yes I definitely have the clutch all the way in plus clutch is only few months old).. Went back and checked ECU for any codes, nothing just solid CEL light when I checked it. I assume that is the standard default code when there’s no errors, not sure though, so I assume the car isn’t in limp mode.