vtec question = Sporadic engagement

[high c]

hey ladies and gents...well as of late, whenever i hit about 4k in the rpm band and start building my boost, my car sputters and feels like it dont wanna go any higher. My head is a f22b1 sohc vtec unit, and before the sputtering once it would hit 4k, where it switches to the high lobes, the engine would feel very torquey and pull all the way to redline, but like i said, now it just feels like it trys to switch over, sputtering, and then still goes up in the rpm band (in every gear but first) but just doesnt pull. I have read about faulty vtec solinoids, most have a problem with the ground because it is grounded through the engine. I took it off the other day, and cleaned it with a wire brush and also activated and deactivated the solinoid while blowing compressed air through it thinking maybe the screen was clogged. This fixed it although temporarily. When the engine is cold, it switches to high lobes about 70% of the time, and when it is warm id say about 25% of the time, so maybe the oil is heating up, getting thinner and causing a shitty connection between the solinoid and the rest of the motor causing a bad ground? let me know what u ladies and gents think~
justin

[high c]

ok better question...anyone know where i can get a complete solinoid for a 94-97ex? let me know~
justin

[NAiL05]

Local junkyard? Ebay maybe?

[tweeaks]

Sound like you're low on oil to me?????

[v4lu3s]

if you are boosting are you sure that it is vtec not engaging and not a tuning problem?

[high c]

oil level is where it is suppose to be, but i can add some and post back

and i know it has to do with the solinoid, when it stopped working the other day, i unplugged the wire from solinoid to ecu, and did the exact same thing, like same rpm and everything~ so i know it is the solinoid and not the tuning~

[v4lu3s]

just wante dto check since i have seen a LOT of turbo cars have issues just like that at vtec engagement.

[high c]

thanks for lookin out v4lu3s

[tweeaks]

So try to manually engage the solenoid by wiring a switch up to it and see if that fixes it. If not, great, you're out 15 minutes of time, but know for sure that the soleniod is gonzo. If it does work then you know to troubleshoot your wiring and possibly your ecu. What are you using to engage VTEC? The SOHC VTEC ECU? Or an aftermarket set-up. I know when I had my Feild's VTEC controller it acted really screwey and would engage sometimes and not others.....Maybe look into that also.

[high c]

im using uber for vtec engaugement, what i was thinking about doing was taking the leed off the solinoid and puttin a multi on it, and seeing if it gets voltage to open at x rpm....but def a good idea~
justin

[tweeaks]

The only problem with that is, well I don't know how uber operates but if its like the OEM ECU, the ECU takes information from multiple sensors such as the VSS and others before it engages VTEC. So unless you run a wire to the cabin and drive the car you wouldn't be able to tell if VTEC is engaging or not. Definately give it a try though.

[high c]

i have the vtec solinoid tied into the oem harness going to the computer...i forget which pin it is going into. I actually was thinking it could have had something to do iwth the coolant check sensor, but i dont even have it hooked up, and i never have, so it wouldnt start causing a problem now know what i mean?

[hamgumball]

Heres how you test your vtec solenoid. Take a piece of wire, maybe about 2 feet. Unplug the solenoid and touch one end of the wire to the prong on the solenoid. Touch the other side to the battery and see if you hear a click. If it clicks, there's nothing wrong with your solenoid.

You should hook up the coolant temp sensor too. Dont know why your car is working without one, but if you dont have one on a h22, your car will be in limp mode, which means no vtec.

[high c]

i have tested it off the car, and it does click, and that is kinda why i am leaning towards a ground problem throuhg the solinoid itself...

the coolant temp sensor is an option that i can unclick in uber, so that is why it doesnt go into limp mode~
justin