I am very new to Honda's, so please do not make fun of me. I am an amateur mechanic but I am in over my head with an engine swap gone wrong. ($1500 spent over the past two years) trying to get an Accord running. It's a long story so I won't go into all of the details unless you want them. The short is I've been screwed over by 4 different people, but I am strapped for cash and really need to get this car running in order to pay bills. I have a surgery pending so time is of the essence. Please help me!

I have several questions but will start with these few and go from there.

I ran the VIN to figure out the car I have is a DX. What engine would have come in a 1997?

What is the difference between a OBD1 and a OBD2?

How can I find out if my car was originally a VTEC or not and how can I use this to make sure I buy the right engine this time?

I have two ECU's for two different kinds of engines but by this point I have no idea which one is which and which each one goes with. How can I sort them out?

Thank you for the help that anyone can give on here!

 

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I am 99% sure that a 1997 DX Accord would come stock with a F22B2 (non-VTEC) OBD-2 engine.

If you post the part numbers for the two ECUs we can tell you which one is which. They should look something like this format: 37820-P0A-A01

 

So what happened? My guess is you swapped the wrong engine. In that case, you could of just used parts from you old engine and put them on the new one and been good to go.

I ran the VIN to figure out the car I have is a DX. What engine would have come in a 1997?

"DX and LX models came equipped similarly to the previous generation and were fitted with a revised version of the previous generation's 2.2-liter non-VTEC 4-cylinder engine." Honda Accord - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What is the difference between a OBD1 and a OBD2?

Onboard Diagnostics. OBD one is older version, uses blinking of a check engine light to give codes. OBD II uses a code scanner. Its more advanced.

How can I find out if my car was originally a VTEC or not and how can I use this to make sure I buy the right engine this time?

Your car is non-Vtec, but you could very easily put the Vtec engine in your car.

I have two ECU's for two different kinds of engines but by this point I have no idea which one is which and which each one goes with. How can I sort them out?

What he said. Part number on the ECU its at least in two different places on the ECU housing.

Thank you for the help that anyone can give on here!

No problem!.. And I was a newb once. Best way to learn is experience!