Hello guys !!

I'm new to the Honda game.
I bought 94 civic DX for 1k from a friend.
it need piston rings Burning hella oil so I started saving up.
thinking what best swap I could've got.
Well I was going go with Z6 but one of my friend started talking to me about how fast B18 was well guess what happened next lol I bought LS tranny,p28,axle, mid shift bah bah bah almost full swap just needed motor.
I found b16 pr3 head fully built for $600 I bought it no idea why I bought it but I bought it lol
The next week I found b18c1 short block for 400 I went and bought it .
Started buying new gaskets and all stuff I needed to drop my swap.
I found out after I started the motor the oil pressure sensor was cracked!! There was oil everywhere!! I was **** like a Mf so I tap it and put bolt on it and bought a oil pressure sandwich kit and adapted the oil pressure sensor from there.
I thought it was easy fix but
Now the swap is done running great!! But now I got a problem Vtec don't engage!!! Idk what the hell to do !!! I tried re wired the Vtec wire , tried two ecu p28 and gsr and nothing
Next I checked the oil level and straight wired the VTEC solinoid to the battery and it engages so I don't know if it could be harness or oil pressure sensor that not getting right pressure? Because it running on sandwich kit ?
I'm new and I tried my best but this problem out of my knowledge need someone has more experience can help ? Thanks pm me

 

Any check engine lights? What the code if you got one

 

Similar issue. Speedo also not working. Ek with 2000 si cluster. Vtec solenoid is in working condition. Speed sensor getting voltage. Grounds are good. No CEL, b20v.

 

Troubleshoot and fix your speedo. You will not get vtec without it.

 

Any ideas? Everything else on the cluster is working and have tried 2 different speed sensors. Checked wiring as well.

 

Did you clean the screen on the selonoid?

 

Was removed from a race engine, cleaned and installed onto this motor.

 

When you say you "straight wired" the VTEC solenoid, did you do it with the car running going down the road to see if the car felt differently once you engaged the solenoid or did you just "pop" the solenoid a few times by running a straight wire from the solenoid to the positive battery post while the car was parked and off ???

The reason I ask is because of the possibility of the VTEC oil passage being plugged in your head. You stated that you purchased the block and head individually...

So, to verify this, you either need to remove the cylinder head and check the VTEC oil hole to see if it is plugged (passenger side rear corner near the head stud hole) or bypass the original passage all together. If you don't want to pull the head, you can run an external oil feed line from your oil filter sandwich plate up to the 3/8" pipe plug at the passenger side rear corner of the head (there is a copper colored plug in it from the factory).

I have seen this type of problem on a few people's cars in the past, and it has boiled down to them purchasing a used cylinder head that had been previously been used in a LS/Vtec or CRVtec application and the plug wasn't removed before being installed on a VTEC block.

 

I'm using a lsvtec head, and I had to remove that plug on the under side of the head, and plug the plug used in the lsvtec set up. If op didn't remove that plug from the under side, oil would not get down the block, and would cause issues(as far as I know)so he might be on to something.

 

What harness are you using?
Just because you rewired the selonoid, don't mean vtec would just work.. It's an ecu thing. Both ecus are chipped for a b series vtec map? And this might be a shot in the dark, but all the vtec components in the head are all there? Like the pins that lock the vtec rockers are in place? I'm not even using the oil pressure sending unit and vtec works fine. Something is wrong with your head. Inspect it. I have pics in my build of what shouldn't be there..

 

Code 22

 

Vtec pressure switch. Start there. Do you have one installed?

 

Yes straight test to the positive battery .
The old owner had the head on lsv engine your right about that but I took Allen key off the corner of the head Where the oil run for Vtec.
my Friend was telling me somewhere on the head by cam by Number three I might be missing the pin that go in there ?

 

I went to pick and pull got 3 of them and still doing same code.

 

Lift up each of the side lifters and see if you see each pin on the side.

 

Okay. You need to get a DVOM and a service manual and go through the troubleshooting. Check for continuity from the switch pin to the ecu pin. Go from there.

 

Put a paper clip in the vtec pressure switch to ground it out. Disconnect your battery for a while to reset ecu. Drive and try activating vtec. If it works, youll engage vtec for a while and itll drop out and the cel will come back on.. If that dont work, then you have an electrical issue

 

If the o ring in the center cam cap on the vtec head around the dowel isnt there vtec wont work..

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I would suggest that the extra oil capacity of the sandwich vs the original screw in position for the oil pressure sensor (which triggers the vtec) is causing a loss of oil pressure to the sensor & that is why the vtec isn't engaging.

Vtec won't engage if the oil pressure doesn't read correctly, this can be bypassed via ECU but I wouldn't recommend it. It's designed as a safety feature so the engine has to have good compression & be operating at a normal temperatures before it will engage.

I would retap the oil pressure switch thread that goes to the Vtec solenoid & remove the sandwich.

If that fails to engage vtec but the 22 Code is gone then I would look at the oil pump next.

 

Okay so I Straight wire Vtec to my ecu engine light was gone then I drove it to the high way it came back one.

 

What do you mean? The vtec oil pressure sensor? If thats what you mean, then yeah i mentioned that would happen. So vtec did work for like 3 seconds before you dropped out of it?your issue is at the vtec selonoid directly i would think. How did you clean it?

 

might be clogged, i dissasembled mine completly when i swaped it for the SK2 unit, there was lots of grime inside and omn the filter, also open and clean the top screen on the solinoid theres two gaskets/screens that might be dirty or need to be replaced.

 

Completely forgot about those other 2 gaskets. OP change those, and see whats up after.

 

Vtec won't engage with most check engine lights, and certainly won't engage with a code 22. Why don't you try a new vtec solenoid with a different pressure switch?

 

Any Luck on this yet?