Well I've been out of the car scene for a long time and before I had a DSM so I've forgotten pretty much just about everything concerning Hondas, so please forgive me if this has been beaten to death, but I honestly don't know where to start.

I've been looking at a EM1 for a bit now, and going to pick it up tomorrow. Needs paint and some TLC, but heres the primary thing that I'm concerned about. The motor was refreshed not too long ago, about 5k. Says the compression is good and there is nothing wrong with the motor, but Vtec will not engage. It needs a new o2 but I don't think that would be the sole culprit of why its not engaging. Besides the solenoid, what else do I need to check?

 

Is the CEL on?

 

Did Vtec engage before they did the "refresh"? Sounds like there could be a bunch of underlying issues they tried to just cover up.

 

Could be something simple...^ or like said above...could be countless in depth issues.