No Vtec... Rusted Solenoid?

[LostyJai]

Hey guys,

My friend test drove my car and said my vtec was not working. He opened the bonnet and said the vtec solenoid was rusted.

http://i.imgur.com/n1DQll.jpg

What do you guys think? How can I test it? How much does it cost to replace the solenoid?

[ECU-MAN]

rush shouldnt be an issue

check out this link for diagnostics

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68997

[LostyJai]

Thanks for that ECU-MAN!

Will have a look when I get home.

[LostyJai]

Everything in the car is stock. Does it sound like VTec is kicking in?


http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150103445572529

[rhys.l]

not to me

[GSi_PSi]

stock wont be able to hear much, try removing the resonators in your front bar and take the lid of the top of your airfilterbox then go for a drive.
i think it is kicking in your just driving it really slowly lol not giving WOT

[integragsi96]

i agree with gsi_psi. i think it is there but your not flat footing it.
plus with the car being stock you wont hear so much when you hit vtec....i think i could slightly hear it but hard to tell....

[will13]

you could hear it sam? in your car?

[LostyJai]

The lid of the airbox was taken off and there was a pod filter. Even topped up the engine oil.

[SuperJDM.]

stock wont be able to hear much, try removing the resonators in your front bar and take the lid of the top of your airfilterbox then go for a drive.
i think it is kicking in your just driving it really slowly lol not giving WOT

haha sometimes i dont go all out in my B16 and you can still hear the crossover

[LostyJai]

Would anyone know where I can source an OEM Vtec solenoid?

[markismaximus]

from honda

[GSi_PSi]

mate go do the diagnostic test if nothing comes up then i dont think there is any no vtec related problem

[LostyJai]

Okay... I'm going to ask a very stupid question cos I know NOTHING about cars.

I don't see any MIL or engine light on when I turn my car on (not start).

Do I need to use a paper clip and connect it to the connector before any error codes will show up?

Also how do I find out what ECU I have? OBD0? OBDI? etc...

[EDIT]
I assume GSR is VTIR? So the ECU is OBD-2?
http://www.hondata.com/techecuid.html

[WATAJK]

Okay dude...
Seriously..
I think ur VTEC is fine...
Redline the bloody thing by planting it and repost the video with that...
It only sounds like it aint there because you aint pushing your accelerator all the way down... Your just casually driving IMHO
Fully engage the accelerator and im sure you'll feel it... (Make sure you shift JUST BEFORE Redline... Don't hit the limiter...
Let us know how you go.

[LostyJai]

Will do WATAJK.

I was also thinking of unplugging the VTEC solenoid to see if there is a difference? (or is that a very bad idea? chance of damaging the car?)

Also I've never been in a car with VTEC so I'm not really sure what it feels/sounds like.

[ECU-MAN]

you can unplug the solenoid and try it

you may have to reset the ECU after if the engine lamp comes on

[LostyJai]

OK!

So I unplugged the VTEC solenoid, turned on the ignition and the engine light came on (did not before). I assume this meant the VTEC is not connected, some ECU error. Okay that is what I wanted...

Drove it around a bit slowly to warm up the car. Finally the car is warmed up, found a long straight, changed into 2nd gear and gas pedal to the floor. Hit about 7,000-7,500 rpm and it wouldn't go any further, like a rev limiter or something.... weird.

Plugged the VTEC solenoid back in and the engine light turned off. Same straight road, put it into 2nd gear and gas pedal to the floor again. Went past 8,000rpm no problem, changed into 3rd and kept going.

To be honest it felt/sounded about the same, but my friend who was in the car reckons he could feel the difference but didn't necessarily hear it.

[ECU-MAN]

there is no point in trying to drive the car with the engine light on

[duzy]

Looks likes its working, but being a b18c2 motor, it has a weak cross over. If your still not convinced, take apart ur vtec solonoid and inspect the parts and springs and that oil is getting through.

You should feel a slight pull at aroud 6k rpm

[michaelz]

OK!

So I unplugged the VTEC solenoid, turned on the ignition and the engine light came on (did not before). I assume this meant the VTEC is not connected, some ECU error. Okay that is what I wanted...

Drove it around a bit slowly to warm up the car. Finally the car is warmed up, found a long straight, changed into 2nd gear and gas pedal to the floor. Hit about 7,000-7,500 rpm and it wouldn't go any further, like a rev limiter or something.... weird.

Plugged the VTEC solenoid back in and the engine light turned off. Same straight road, put it into 2nd gear and gas pedal to the floor again. Went past 8,000rpm no problem, changed into 3rd and kept going.

To be honest it felt/sounded about the same, but my friend who was in the car reckons he could feel the difference but didn't necessarily hear it.

As said the VTIR crossover is supposed to be smooth. Plus with a stock exhaust the crossover isn't that clear either.

However from that video I'd say it's working. That's just surface rust on the solenoid housing and doesn't mean shit. If you unplugged it and the engine light came on, it will not let you get to 8000 and VTEC does not engage. Once you plug it back in and the light went off, I'd say it's working.

Btw VTEC does not engage until the engine reaches a certain operating temperature so don't bother trying to flog it while it's cold.

[GSi_PSi]

From a stock VTiR there isnt much pull on vtec , so dont expect it to kick in like a turbo or anything (although Tuned B18CR/B20VTEC is pretty close to it)
start letting the engine breathe and expell exhaust better with (I/H/E) and slowly your engine will come to life :)

[g3vtir]

From memory vtir tegs have vtec at approx 4k rpm (cant remember exact point). 5.8k rpm is when the secondary intake runners open up so its suppose to be a more linear power curve and wont feel vtec especially engaging at such a low rpm.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

[Super-DA9]

hey man I had the exact same problem. It does sound like vtec is not engaging. if this is the case, and it just happened randomly (like it did to me) replace the solenoid with one from honbits or a similar wrecker, or if your loaded you can buy a new one from honda. should definitely work after that. :)

good luck bro :)

[duzy]

I wired a vtec light and it turns on at 4.5k (secondary butterflies), then i feel a pull around 5.8k-6k rpm which is the vtec

when it hits 4.5k it has a mad crossover sound, 6k has no sound change in sound

[dlai5552]

hey, I came over quite a similar issue, where the crossover on my dc5r was not noticable and I was told vtec was not "kickin in", But I found it was oil issue.
So, I dont know if anyone else has said this but yeah, maybe change your oil and oilfilter (hence, a bit of a minor service)

[LostyJai]

hey man I had the exact same problem. It does sound like vtec is not engaging. if this is the case, and it just happened randomly (like it did to me) replace the solenoid with one from honbits or a similar wrecker, or if your loaded you can buy a new one from honda. should definitely work after that. :)

good luck bro :)

Exactly what happened to me. Lucky I was able to source a Vtec solenoid from chubby steve on the forum.

Long story short... I put it in and found my VTEC YO!

Thanks everyone for all your help! =)

[Super-DA9]

F**k yeah back to VTEC! lol Now your engine can fkn scream again haha

good work man. ;)

[najdi]

put ur foot down next time :P

[_Dee]

i think im the only one who can hear the vtec kick in, in that video... i just turned my speakers up loud and i heard it probably around 4k, but yeh like every1 sed flat foot it and you should feel it, i honestly didnt think there was a problem with ur old one from how it sounded but then its not my car so i cant say anything about it. Im having vtec kick in problems atm, lol maybe its been the lack of vtec thats been making me want to change to a nissan or rwd car. I think i found out my problem though, vtec solenoid gasket is leaking the ****er >.>. But from memory when it was still working, i was on Ls, nevr any sound at 4.5k though... only when the secondary butterflies were open did i hear it, oh wellz, fix the leak, or change the solenoid and then skunk2 intake manifold =) screw the butterflies =).

Ps any1 reckon buying a new solenoid is just easier then replacing the solenoid gasket? coz ever since it seems like my cars having problems, im actually more inclined to work on it then sell it off for a rwd and iuno... be a hoon... pull the handbrake :S hehe

EDIT: OK now that i decided to see if my ears are fcked, i went back to the video cranked up the volume and noticeable one was at 40secs + im 100% vtec did kick in then.

[Lennard]

im pretty sure i heard the vtec kick in, im guessing you were not flat footing it?

[LostyJai]

Yeah I was... I even had the air intake cover off and it sounded the same.

But now that I've replaced the solenoid, the vtec is VERY noticeable.

[Lennard]

ahh ok.
sorry for my assumptions. :D

well then i guess all is well.

have fun with it dude

[Lennard]

how much did you get the vtec solenoid for? and where did you get it if you dont mind me asking?

[DC2-PWR]

Upload another video of vtec kicking in, I wanna hear the difference :D.

[vtec23Q]

First of all You cant really hear vtec on iintegra vtir's since vtec kicks in at 4,400 rpms however your after the secondary butterflies which kick in at 5,900 rpm. The secondary butterflies is the noticeable crossover on integra vtir as it tends to be loud (depending on ur mods).

if you do not plan on putting a cai you can simply remove the air intake resonator which is located on the corner of your bumper and this will definately increase induction noise nd make your secondary butterflies much more noticeable as well as increase air flow and you would also get colder air that way because the resonator is very restrictive. Another aspect that can affect this issue would be your exhaust set up. The more free flowing your cat converter is the lower the crossover noise but not by much. But every exhaust set up makes either your vtec or secondary butterflies crossover sound different depending on the airflow coming out of the car. Most of the time you cant hear the vtec at 4400 on vtir's but you will always hear the secindary butterflies at 5900 if you at least take of the resonator.

[_Dee]

First of all You cant really hear vtec on iintegra vtir's since vtec kicks in at 4,400 rpms however your after the secondary butterflies which kick in at 5,900 rpm. The secondary butterflies is the noticeable crossover on integra vtir as it tends to be loud (depending on ur mods).

if you do not plan on putting a cai you can simply remove the air intake resonator which is located on the corner of your bumper and this will definately increase induction noise nd make your secondary butterflies much more noticeable as well as increase air flow and you would also get colder air that way because the resonator is very restrictive. Another aspect that can affect this issue would be your exhaust set up. The more free flowing your cat converter is the lower the crossover noise but not by much. But every exhaust set up makes either your vtec or secondary butterflies crossover sound different depending on the airflow coming out of the car. Most of the time you cant hear the vtec at 4400 on vtir's but you will always hear the secindary butterflies at 5900 if you at least take of the resonator.

do you have a diagram of that resonator or where it is on the corner of the bumper? id prob try it out =)

[vtec23Q]

do you have a diagram of that resonator or where it is on the corner of the bumper? id prob try it out =)

http://noob.hu/2010/10/14/reso_box.JPG

http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww311/azn_dude27/GetAttachmentaspx.jpg

Thats the best i could find...the resonator is usually siting where the pod is located in the second picture and its a white box as shown in the first picture... the resonator has a pipe (circled in red) bending up towards the airbox which it connects to. so its on the drivers side on the right corner of the front bar. To remove resonator u can unscrew the wheel guard which is also shown in the second picture and then unscrew resonator and pull it out.

[_Dee]

oh ok nice and thanks, friends integra was smashed at the front so his front bumper and radiators off so i know exactly where it is coz i remember seeing it on his one, but is it only beneficial for cold air intakes? or would it work on sri as well?

[vtec23Q]

oh ok nice and thanks, friends integra was smashed at the front so his front bumper and radiators off so i know exactly where it is coz i remember seeing it on his one, but is it only beneficial for cold air intakes? or would it work on sri as well?

No worries...Yes it's definitely beneficial..the reason why cai sound much louder than sri's is coz the resonator is removed in order to fit the pod..however some sri's are just as loud as cai coz some people actually remove the resonator when installing an Sri ..some people post on forums that sri's are louder than cai coz their sri's have no resonator to restrict airflow...besides resonators are made to reduce noise so once u remove a resonator sound would obviously increase..to prove it's beneficial the induction noise will increase therefore increase in induction noise=more air flow ...cooler air means denser air which also contributes to the increase in air flow ..however air won't be as cool and dense as a cai but will be pretty similar especially if u hav a guard between d pod filter and d engine . Try it out and let me know how u go ..shud definitely make a difference in crossover point if u still can't hear the crossover than change ur solenoid.