VTEC working intermittently...

[Phempa]

So, I got my swap a couple years ago (JDM H22),
and most everything has been fine up until now.

I recently drove the car from Massachusetts to Arizona,
and everything went smoothly along the way, no problem.
When I got here, my brakes were *very* soft. They barely
stopped the car. I took my car in, and wound
up paying over $4,000 for work:

New Timing Belt
New Fast Idle Valve
New Cooling Fans
New Engine Ground
New Power Steering Pressure Hose
New Brake Cylinder
etc.

When I got the car back from the shop, everything seemed fine.
I hit VTEC in 1st and 2nd, with a grin on my face.
A couple days later, I pulled out of a parking lot, spinning tires,
and I bottomed out on the road. Had to get out there quick, so
I went to hit VTEC, only to find out there was none! When I got to
about 5800 rpm (at which VTEC shoucl be fully engaged by then),
the engine made some god-awful sputtering, and it felt as if my
transmission was about to fall out of the car. I eased at it the rest
of that day, and took the car back into the shop a few days later.
They replaced the VTEC switch out of a wrecked Prelude, and told
me everything was fine, and VTEC was working perfectly.
That is not the caese though.

VTEC has been working intermittently since then. Right when I'd
take off, shortly aftert starting the car, it would hit just fine in any gear.
But after running the engine for a while, I would experience the same
problem, and the engine seeming as if it wants to simply stop working.

I havnt had time to take the car back into the shop, as I've needed
it to get around town.

Any ideas on what could be the problem? Could it be electrical? Because
I've noticed my dash lights flicker from dim to normal at all times.

Any ideas will be welcome, so I can relay the thinkings to my mechanic.

Thanks

[phatdoughnut]

jesus you paid 4k for work?

are you getting any CEL?

[Phempa]

no check engine lights at all..

alot fo the 4k was to get the car to pass AZ emissions, and get rid of the previous existing CEL.

[Phempa]

the oil level is fine, just got it changed.

and if it's wiring related, where would I need to check?

Thanks

[snailin91]

oil presure
vtec solinoid coulda gone bad
presure switch gone bad
ECU could be bad
or simple wiring.
remember the vtec is run mainly off oil. if oil is thin could be a prob, or just worn out.

[ACC0RD22]

the ground could be loose (if there is one) and only connecting intermittently . . . causing it to not work sometimes . . . i dunno, i dont know much about the H22

[koolkoreanked]

oil presure
vtec solinoid coulda gone bad
presure switch gone bad
ECU could be bad
or simple wiring.
remember the vtec is run mainly off oil. if oil is thin could be a prob, or just worn out.

Thats what I would look into.

[Phempa]

ok, I'll jot that down to show to my mechanic...

any more ideas would be more than welcome.

Thanks

[g-wagon]

def agree with checking grounds... it kinda sounds like what was happening with my friends gsr... turned out to be a loose ground.... you never know...

[H23Accord]

I woulda said oil pressure as well. I know that when my oil is low my vtec works intermittently. Actually that is when i know it is time to add oil and usually i am 2 qts low. Everything mentioned above is definately worth a look. VTEC is so "touchy" that little things can make VTEC not work.

[pwrusr]

You said you bottomed out right? Dented oil pan is another thing that may have happend. Which would limit the amount of oil pickup from the oil pickup.

[Phempa]

hmmm... dented oil pan.. good call.

I'll go outside and check right now!

[Phempa]

I return with pics of my oil pan.

I havn't been under many CB7's, nevermind many with an H22...
so I'm not sure on what dents I should be lookin for here:





I have more pictures if needed.

Thanks alot, guys, for the help. This community rawks

[pat nuben]

dented oil pan

hey that oil pan appears to be pretty dinged up, i looked at my h22 pan compared to that and it does not have the curves, and if vtec is not cracking after running for awhile, then it could be because when the oil heats up it gets thinner, and when it gets thinner the dented oil pan may not allow the oil to move into the engine correctly, just a guess but worth a shot

[phatdoughnut]

i dont think that oil pan has anything to do with it, moroso pants are half the size of oem ones and you dont see anyone having troubles with them.