Prestond17

i have read and read and read and I'm not finding answers for my specific problem. So does anyone no why my 02 honda civic ex d17 VTEC will not kick in? My car will go above 3800 RPMs but only once or twice and then it will not go above it. Almost like a rev limiter. PLEASE in detail explain to me the problem and if possible the solution. Thank you.

ezone

I see that your check engine light is on.
What is the code?

Check and fill your engine oil.

Prestond17

I already did a full tune up on the car, didnt help. And the codes! That are on... Plural are P1361, P0113, P1259.

Prestond17

And honda told me that the oil light came on prolly cause of a bad ground which idk how to find either but thats another issue, the oil light wasnt on untill i took it to honda and they tried (and failed) to tell me what is wrong with my vtec. So they only made my problem worse and charged me $120 to do so. Hahaha

ezone

What does "a full tune up" mean to you?


P1361: CMP sensor intermittent interruption
P0113: IAT sensor circuit high voltage
P1259: VTEC system malfunction

Solve these 3 problems first.


Haven't you checked your oil level yet?


Got any more handy information about this car mess that you haven't told us yet?

Prestond17

Ha no thats all sorry. And a full tune up is oil change change oil filter change spark plugs change air filter change spark plug wires. The oil light came on tho wen i got in my car after honda did a full inspection and said the car was great... But thats everything. I guess i should have put the codes on in the first place ha sorry.

Prestond17

So any particular order i should solve these in? This is my first honda so i am learning as i go about the VTEC and things. I am only starting to get the full grasp of it all.

Prestond17

Yes i checked oil level, Its fine. Thats why honda told me the light prolly just came on cause of a bad ground.

ezone

Who TF told you that? The mouthpiece at the service counter, or a tech? No real tech worth a darn would say that with a straight face.


My first priority would be to figure out why the oil light is coming on. (If the engine really does have low oil pressure, that's very bad.)
Check the pressure switch and wire.
Checking true oil pressure with a real mechanical pressure gauge is another step that can be done.

The VTEC system relies on engine oil pressure to operate. If the engine has low oil pressure, it will cause codes. (most common cause is low oil level but you say you checked that)




Clear the codes then recheck, see what codes come back immediately.
IAT code might be as simple as the sensor being unplugged.
Cam sensor code might be loose wires or a bad sensor.

Prestond17

It was the tech that worked on my car cause i called them right wen i got home to tell them they didnt fix my car like they said they did and that they also did something to make my oil light come on...? And he said its prolly just a bad ground. No big deal.... So thats not a real thing then?

Prestond17

Anyways i will get right on that and let you know what i can work out. Thanks for the help man. Much appreciated i cant believe honda would do that to me

ezone

Honda did not do that to you. The dealer employee did.

Even a dealer is free to hire any flunky off the street and stick a uniform on him, call him a tech. Most average consumers can't tell any difference.

This is probably why any assumed electrical problem must be called either be a "short" or a "bad ground".
An oil pressure warning light is a huge ($$$$) deal if it is actually on because of an internal engine problem.

OTOH it could just be a bad sender or pinched wire.

Figure out why the light comes on... I bet it won't be any "bad ground".

SeAmUs_MaCk

WOW....thats all I have to say....

P1361: CMP sensor intermittent interruption
P0113: IAT sensor circuit high voltage

Both could just be as simple as the sensors not connected....the so called "Techs" Could have unclipped them to get to certain things in your engine bay, and forgot to put them back....Or could have got something caught and when they walked away almost pulled a wire out of the socket.....i would make sure that everything is connected, like EZONE said...intermittent interruption, could be as simple as a loose wire....check the connections on the other end by your ECU also...Pull apart the sensor connectors and make sure there isn't any oil & or other debris in between the sensor and connector.....but something has to be disconnected for your engine to not allow you to go over 3,800 rpm.....

Oil pressure seems to be a constant here....Check around your engine head and see if you can see where possibly oil is leaking from bad....not just a little bit of oil....clean the bay up a little bit....and after a day or 2 if you see a considerable amount of oil somewhere, you may have bad gaskets....also the oil pressure sensor in back of your block...make sure oil isn't leaking from there.....that shouldn't and really doesn't ever happen unless your wonderful "tech" damaged it somehow....I dunno man...you really need to have someone take a full look over your car....good luck

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

and push the connectors all the way until they make a click. (kinakoes, hope you reading this you left one connector not all the way in and car sh***ed for a while )

kinakoes2

Roger that -- my ECT connector was reporting coolant temp to the gauge just fine, meaning there was contact -- but not enough to satisfy the PCM, apparently, plus there were no codes -- despite that the car was hating life for a while stalling on takeoff and getting crappy mpg... totally didn't see that one coming.

So yes, make sure ALL the sensors that control fueling are seated and serviceable (ECT, IAT, MAP for example). If you have it use a nice hi-temp dielectric on the contact surfaces after a good cleaning with electrical contact cleaner, then check your work.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

LOL, thanks, kinakoes2!

Prestond17

ok I'll check all the wiring and i no I'm not leaking oil because i keep the engine bay VERY clean and there is literally no oil coming from gaskets at all. And that makes sense about the techs. I no its not actually honda i have always liked honda but its just aggravating when they dont want to help you like they should and they rush you out because they are busy. But that's not the point, i should no better. I will clean all the sensors and i just bout dielectric grease so i will do all that and see what i come up with. Thanks for working with me, I'm not a genius when it comes to cars i just no what i have taught myself working on cars and what YouTube has taught me ha. Thats why i started looking on these sites to learn a little more in depth about things like this. O and how do you tell if a sensor is bad? Just by putting a wire from sensor to battery terminal?

ezone

You have to understand how it works, why, and what the computer is looking for, and when....before you can determine if it is bad. Sometimes one can actually directly prove a sensor is bad, sometimes one has to deduce based on other evidence, a judgement.

Don't you EVER do that!
Have you priced an engine computer (PCM) lately?

Pick a sensor to discuss, and we can discuss it.
Got a voltmeter? Got a test light?

---------------------------------------------


Got oil pressure?
Do you know how that oil pressure switch works, both pressure-wise and electrical-wise?
Have you found the oil pressure switch yet?

Prestond17

No i havent had time to work on it idk wat the ops does or where it is sorry. Your talking to a pretty slow civic guy here i will let you no wen i get time to work on it and see wat i can figure out and everything, and also i think my brother has the things you are talking about, if not i will buy one.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

the oil pressure sensor will be a pain in the b*** to reach... behind the engine, from under the car...

Prestond17

Ok ill YouTube it to get an idea. Thanks and i bought the electric cleaner **** and dielectric grease i need to do it, so were on our way. Just have to get time to do it. I'm working crazy hours during the week so prolly have to be friday after work or saturday. O and another thing, if i do fix it will the oil light go off automatically or do i have to unconnect the battery?

ezone

The oil pressure switch, the one that operates the red "gravy boat" (oil) light on the dash, is located immediately above the oil filter. It uses a single, round wire terminal.




It's a simple switch-to-ground to operate the oil light. When the wire is grounded, the light is on.
The switch contacts are closed when pressure is below approximately 6 PSI (I did not look up the actual spec),
and contacts open (light is OFF) when oil pressure is above that spec.

The oil pressure switch is probably like $23 at a Honda dealer.




There is another, separate oil pressure switch for the VTEC system, these are not the same and not interchangeable.

ezone

That was weird. Half of my post did not show up the first time.

Glitch in the matrix?

Prestond17

Damn ok and how do you tell if that is bad? And second question where is the VTEC oil press. Switch?

ezone

Unless you have an oil pressure gauge to verify true oil pressure, and have the sender (switch) "teed" into the line at the same time to see what the real pressure is at the time the light comes on, it's a wildass guess (deduction).


Basically you make sure the wire isn't bare, caught, pinched, or in contact with anything metal, be positive that it MUST be the pressure switch that is turning the oil light on.... Then replace with a known good (new) switch. If the oil light problem persists, you have a real problem.

Make sense?


On the side of the VTEC solenoid/valve assembly.

Prestond17

Yes, understood ha well let's hope its the switch... My luck tho.... It's prolly not lol

Prestond17

O duh... I new that. Sorry, sleep deprivation makes your brain not work to well.

Prestond17

Question... Can having a little over the full line on the dipstick make your oil light come on? Cause i just realized i heard that over filling your oil is just as bad as not having enough.

kinakoes2

No. The oil light comes on when the *pressure* goes down below a certain point, which can be caused by too-low a volume of oil (also a cause of VTEC malfunction, since it depends on oil pressure to work). If you have a bit over the line, any excess pressure in the system is vented before it creates problems, by the bypass valve in the oil pump. But remember that when the bypass is open, oil doesn't get filtered.

Techs here fill on a level surface when warm... and I check for the top hole in the dipstick to come out with oil in it. A little low is better than too high... but only because it stresses seals less. I've filled cold, and haven't experienced any problems, much less a CEL... even with half a quart of a 5W40 diesel oil in my case (as a part of the total).

Prestond17

Meaning that for as long as my oil is above full it will not be filtered???