Civic EG

i just bought my second 95 ej1 gonna give u some info on it to better help u help me
it has a 94 obd1 gsr engine/tranny swap
it has a stock p28 7500rpm limit no CELs
did compression test before buying and all 4 cylinders were between 210-215
previous owner said he rigged it so that the butterflies (dont know theyr proper name lol) in the stock intake manifold are always open .. opninons on that?
oil was above first dot but not exactly in the middle i plan on doing oil change asap

now the problem, vtec was engaging fine when i test drove it and took it home, later that night i took it for a spin and vtec was not engaging
the only thing the owner said was that it would not engage when cold
car was not cold and the only thing i did was change the intake

all help and input greatly appreciated

vtec is a thing that works under perfect conditions i.e. warm temps electricity to the solenoid and enough oil pressure....

seeing as your oil is only at the first dot which means about a quart down id say you may not have enough oil pressure first id change the oil and see if that helps

and a way you can double check the solenoid is to ground it and just touch the power to a positive lead if you hear a click its working so itd most likely be oil pressure

yea i was thinking the cause was the kind of low oil, im gonna change the oil asap

in the mean time ill check the solenoid like u suggested and possibly take it off and clean out the mesh

thanks for the help btw

Oil has to be very low in order for VTEC to not engage. We're talking more than two quarts low.

There is engine RPM, vehicle speed, oil pressure, oil temperature (I think), and water temperature. That is what the ECU looks for in order to engage VTEC. Check the coolant level, change the oil, and make sure all of the grounds on the engine are good with full positive contact. Might be a good idea to grind down the paint on the grounding points to ensure a positive ground. You're going to want to protect the bare steel once you get the ground properly attached, so clean it up as best you can and apply some silicone RTV or the like to keep moisture out.

!st thing i would look at is using the proper ECU for the motor. Stock p28 in the US is for the d16z6 and red line being at 7500 confirms that even more. So running a SOHC ecu into a DOHC which needs more fuels is goin to make it run like crap.. Either HONDA S300 that bad boy or find a stock p72 obd1..

then go from there. About the butterflies remainiing open there are some advantages to that just making the oem intake manifold free flowing but no one says it will remain open it might have closed on you. just get a Skunk2 manifold or AEBS unit and call it a day. But first ECU and un "RIG" that butterfly..

Good call on the ECU. Totally forgot about that part...and the butterflies... Fix it up right with the proper parts. Don't drive it hard until you get it all working properly.

That One Dude wrote:There is engine RPM, vehicle speed, oil pressure, oil temperature (I think), and water temperature. That is what the ECU looks for in order to engage VTEC. Check the coolant level, change the oil, and make sure all of the grounds on the engine are good with full positive contact. Might be a good idea to grind down the paint on the grounding points to ensure a positive ground. You're going to want to protect the bare steel once you get the ground properly attached, so clean it up as best you can and apply some silicone RTV or the like to keep moisture out.

That One Dude wrote:Don't drive it hard until you get it all working properly.

thank u for the info and i will check all of those and yeah im most definitely babying the car until i get all the little issues worked out

EG6b20R wrote:!st thing i would look at is using the proper ECU for the motor. Stock p28 in the US is for the d16z6 and red line being at 7500 confirms that even more. So running a SOHC ecu into a DOHC which needs more fuels is goin to make it run like crap.. Either HONDA S300 that bad boy or find a stock p72 obd1..

then go from there. About the butterflies remainiing open there are some advantages to that just making the oem intake manifold free flowing but no one says it will remain open it might have closed on you. just get a Skunk2 manifold or AEBS unit and call it a day. But first ECU and un "RIG" that butterfly..

im currently searching for a p72 to trade my p28 for
i only plan on doing bolt ons so in the future a chip and professional tune will do right?
also i dont want to get shafted when i get the p72 so anything to look for?
and the best way to make sure it functions is to plug it in and make sure it works right...
and as for the manifold yeah im gonna unrig it once i get the p72 and later on probly go after market like u mentioned

thanks for the help everyone

could someone possibly give me a thorough step by step on how to check the solenoid , i dont wana mess anything up lol thanks

unplug the clip that goes to the solenoids

touch a wire that is connected to the battery to the solenoid side of the plug if you hear a click its good if you dont its bad

finally got a hold of a p72!
got an obd1 stock p72
still no vtec though -___- lol
with the new ecu it is throwing a code 23 (knock sensor)
gona change out the knock sensor tomorrow for one i have on a spare b16a block
should this resolve my vtec problems?