Ok so heres the deal, i have a 96 civic hatch with a jdm type r motor swap in it. I changed my oil last sat. and right after that drove it to the store. On the way there my check engine light turned on, which was weird because its never happened in the past. When the check engine light is on the engine feels a little sluggish and vtec is not that strong. When I turn the car off the check engine light turns off and when i turn the car back on, i have to drive a little bit before it turns back on. So today I brought it to a shop to run a diagnostic test on it and the device cant read anything from the obd. He checked all the plugs and connections just in case and couldnt find anything wrong. I left the shop and when I was going to pull out of the parking lot I noticed that the engine was idling weird. It would jump from 900 rpm all the way up to 1500 rpm and then back down then backup again and then came to rest at 800-900 rpm. I've checked the spark plug as well as the wires, nothing wrong with them at all, so im out of ideas... Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! I want to try everything before I go to my local import shop and pay a **** load of money to get my car fixed... Thanks again...

 

need help...

 

put a jumper wire in the service connector and check codes. this will point you in the right direction...
check the FAQ's at the top for more info on how to check codes and look them up.

 

Are you running OBD1 or OBD2 ecu?

 

and having a jap spec computer would be difficult for shop to scan

 

are you leaking any of your new oil, from anywhere?

 

I tried geting a diagnostic test but it wont read.

Im running an obd1 ecu

No oil leaks as of yet.

 

Our US spec OBD 2 scan tools will not read JDM ecu's, however the self check does still work with the jumper wire...
Same thing happened to me when I swapped in a jdm ITR swap into my 98 hatch...

 

It sounds as if a live squirrel is making things difficult

Take it to the dealer