K20 EK SWAP WIRING (incomplete)

[MRJDM]

this is still a work in progress. K20 project is back in action. Now for the hard bit. Wiring. I collected these from a few sources. Mainly sport compact car magazine. the key issues of concerning the wiring when swapping the k20 into an EK are.
1.the EK has a single harness for the engine and for the charging system, the K has two
2.the EK has a conventional Dash and Ks use a multiplex system ( multiple signals sharing one wire) to drive the speedo, tach, water temp and more.
3.the Ek relays operate differently
4.the Ek has most of its wires in the same place, but there is one critical plug at the passenger side shock tower
5.the water sensor on the radiator will need to be wired directly to the dash
6.MOST IMPORTANT MAKE SURE YOU GET THE E-PLUG WITH THE K’s ECU.

PICKING THE ENGINE

There are several versions of the K series. Any of them will fit, but some are better than others. The K2oA2 powers the RSX Type-5. It's the best of the U.S. engines. mainly because it has the real VTEC, with high- and low-rpm tobes for both intake and exhaust valves, as opposed to the sissy eco-version that only acts on the intake cams and has no high-rpm lobes. The A2 also packs the highest compression, is buitt to withstand higher revs and comes bolted to a six-speed.
Unless it's cheap, a K20A3 engine from a Civic Si or base RSX is probably one to skip. You can beat it with a B20 VTEC and save the trouble of the wiring harness.

The K24s from the Accord, Element and CR-V are all basically the same, but different intakes and emissions components can complicate things.


Consider a K24 for a swap because it will have great torque, responds well to turbo charging and paves the way to a future upgrade with an RSX Type-S or TSX head.
That leaves the K24A2 from the TSX or the JDM ITR engine, I called simply the K20A.The JDM K20A is the best OEM version there is, with 20 more factory hp and a limited slip diff. The TSX is so new you likely won't see one in a yard for some time. The TSX also uses an electronic throttle that could cause other problems.


COOLING SYSTEM

This one is a bit of a bugger. The stock lower mounts have to be cut off and mounted further down, but it's very effective and uses stock RSX hoses. The old radiator fan swict and temp sensor had to be moved when we did thes as well (and are still needed if you use your stock EG or EK radiator.
This setup means no A/C without the RSX condenser. Another option, if you want AJC, is to make the EK radiator and the A/C condenser switch places they sit side-by-side, not one in front of the other like most cars). In the stock location, the EK radiator's upper outlet hits the K-series intake manifold.

For hoses you can use 1994-to-2001 Vtir integra (b18C) upper and lower hoses. The lower hose will require some creative trimming to fit properly. The A/C compressor from, the K will work with the civic's condenser, but you'll have to get custom hoses made.

Any good A/C shop should be able to do it. If you don't care about A/C and didn't get the RSX radiator, then just move your civics radiator to the passenger side and plug the gaping condenser hole so air will actually go thru the radiator

DRIVETRAIN HOOKUP
The civic will need new axles, because none of them fit exactly. The Civic Si is the closest fit but still comes up short on one side. The Driveshaft Shop will be able to custom-build the axles required for this swap, Next is the shift linkage. The EK uses big rods under the car and the K motor's tranny uses cables on top of the floor-not to mention the transmission is on the other side of the car. In the world of Honda accidental parts compatibility, the shifter mechanism (the shifter arm and the base its attached to) from a 1990-to-1997 Accord is what you need, plus the cables from the K tranny.,,
The installation problem with the EK's is the transmission hump. Sitting the new cable shifter mechanism on that hump makes the shifter so tall, the factory console won't cover it. A solution is to mount it under the car. Doing so means making an enclosure for the mechanism so its not exposed to the elements You can enclosed it with sheet steesl and it works perfectly. Inside the car, all you see is the stick coming up just like stock. Cables were routed under the car as you would on an H22 swap.
The shifter mechanism from any RSX, TSX or current-model Accord will work too, but it's very tall. Enclosing it and putting it under the car may not leave enough exhaust clearance. If you use this, you'[[ have to be creative or skip the stock center console.
Finally, you'll probably need a throttle cable from a new Civic Si (EP3). The one in your Civic may or may not be long enough.

FUEL SYSTEM
This is either pretty simple if you live in a non-California-emissions state or really tough if you're in California. Most of it has to do with fuel vapor control. Take a look in the manual at all the controls on the car your K engine came from and you can see about matching them up with your Civic chassis. The 1999-and-2000 cars may have all the matching controls, but certain models may not. The 1996-to-1998 cars will be tougher to match and may require pulling partsfrom other Civics. If you don't have them and must put them in to pass emissions, you can probably find a newer sixth-gen. chassis
that has the corresponding parts.

An example would be a fuel tank pressure sensor. This is on all K-engined cars and 1999-to-2000 Civics, but not in 1996. You have to look at all the emissions control stuff on the K-engine donor car and match it part for part to your car if you want to pass the smog test. The other challenge is the fuel return system. Your Civic has one, but the K- series engine doesn't, plus the K-series operates at a constant fuel pressure, rather than following the intake manifold pressure like the civics engine did. An adjustable pressure regulator does the trick-just set it to the pressure in your K- series manual.

Fuel comes into the regulator from the filter, pressure is set and goes out to the fuel rail. Excess fuel from the regulator is sent back to the tank via the civics return line, which is attached to the second output of the regulator. Mounting the regulator on the firewall close to the fuel filter means just a couple of custom hoses. Don't hook up a manifold vacuum line. It will freak out the K-series ECU.

INTAKE

Obviously, short-ram in-takes designed for the K-series engine are going to be the easiest But they aren't very good to begin with, since they typically put the air filter on top of the hot transmission. A better way is to work some custom cold-air piping into the pocket in front of the passenger tire and the bumper. just like an EK cold air, but on the other side.

EXHAUST
This is now on the firewall side. Because of the very different crossmember on the EK, the stock exhaust won't work, nor will any aftermarkgt exhaust. Hasport has tong tube headers available that termirfate into a 2-25-inch collector. You can use the stock EK cat and exhaust, but will need to shorten the B-pipe. The 02 sensors on K-series engines are unique. Be certain to get at least the front or first sensor when you buy the engine. The catalytic converter is useless. it contains another 12 inches of pipe before the cat, but the front 02 sensor is a full wideband unit and the ECU expects readings from it, not the narrow band sensor that came with the civic.
THE WIRING
Here are your biggest challenges The civic has a single harness for the engine and for the charging system. The K has separate harnesses. The civic has a conventional dash and the Ks use a multiplex (multiple signals sharing one wire) system to drive the speedo, tach, water temp and more. The civic has relays that operate differently than a K.

The K's engine harness comes through the driver's side of the firewall with all its wires, the EK has most of its wires in the same place, but there is one critical plug at the passenger's-side shock tower. There are also signals that are in the civic cabin harness that need to go into what would be the K's engine harness. Some things, like the engine temp, have to be wired directly into the dash because, the civic harness although it gets into the K's ECU, there isn't a separate output wire. The water sensor on your stock radiator will need to get wired directly to the dash via the driver's side shock tower plug (see wiring charts). Most importantly, make sure to get what the K manual refers to as the E-plug on the K-series ECU. When the junkyard guys send the ECU, just have them cut it with as much wire hanging from the E-plug as possible. They likely will because there are only three plugs for the ECU and the other two are on the engine harness.

[civicboy]

good info
so hows the swap going ?

[wynode]

Good info!

From what i've heard, wiring seems to be one of the hardest parts of this swap (well with any swap I guess)

[toE]

thanx for the info!

[tekling]

great find

[MRJDM]

heres the some more of the article

[tinkerbell]

cool - someones brains to pick when i am putting a K20A into my DC2... (assuming i get one..)

[DynoDave]

cool - someones brains to pick when i am putting a K20A into my DC2... (assuming i get one..)

You can tell you have been talking to ALLMTR now that he is back in town
Regards Dyno Dave

[MRJDM]

hey dave is anything left out of this article. your advice would be much appreciated

[tinkerbell]

LOL - no idea what is left out!

i have only just started considering this (realistically) since i wrote my DA9 off on the weekend... (was going to do it in the DA9 but too hard!)

here is a link to the HAsport mount details showing each step of the actual install process:

DC/EG = http://hasport.com/Tech/Installs/EGK1.pdf
EK = http://hasport.com/Tech/Installs/EKK1.pdf

have you been to www.k20a.org - there is shitloads of great info there...

here is one of my favourite picture threads: http://www.k20a.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=105