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I Just finished my em2 k swap yesterday and turned the key for the first time! Very exciting but i hit a few problems. Been trying to research but not getting anywhere so im resorting to posting for help.

I have a JDM k20a (a3 equivalent) running USDM k20a3 ECU

Here's the problems i have so far,

1. Car starts and idles high for a min then starts to fluctuate or pulse.
2. Tachometer doesnt even move at all.
3. Havent seen the radiator fan turn on once.

I think the idle problem MAY (and this is a big MAY) be because i have the Throttle Cable too tight? Or that i havent done the ECM/PCM Idle Learn procedure (because i cant get my tachometer to even move from 0) but im not sure yet

For the Radiator Fan Switch i have 1 wire connected to the GRN/WHT under the fuse box and the other to a ground on the body. I read somewhere that the GRN/WHT wire needs to be spliced into ECM B6 as well but im not sure if thats correct.


Other than that everything else SEEMS to be working. Im only throwing two codes, 1 for vtec (i have a JDM k20a3 doesnt have oil pressure switch for vtec solenoid) and Intake Manifold Runner low voltage (my motor doesnt have this sensor) if anyone has any idea about my problems let me know please i would greatly appreciate some input.

Thanks a lot!

 
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So today i looked up the circuit diagram for the radiator fan switch and i spliced in B6 to the wire that runs from the Radiator fan switch to the GRN/WHT wire under the fuse box.

Radiator Fan still doesnt turn on.... So i started touching hoses to feel the heat. Upper Rad hose feels hot, Both Heater hoses feel hot and the top plastic part of the radiator feels hot as well but nothing else. The lower radiator fan is still cool to the touch

Thinking i might have a water pump problem or thermostat problem?

Also i took the Radiator fan switch off the D17 and put it in the k20 radiator, Looked at the part numbers from honda and they all seem to be the same.


Still cannot get the temperature gauge to read, i even switched the ECT sensor from the d17 to the k20 which im almost positive i didnt need to do

I did a gauge sweep test and i get an Error code....no idea how to fix that but maybe its giving an error because of the Tach and the Temp gauge

I made sure that the alternator bolts were tightened to spec because of some research i was doing said that COULD be an issue causing the tach to not read.

Now for my idling issue....

I checked the throttle cable and its within spec.
Made sure the intake was hooked up correctly(although i dont have clamps on the breather tube from the intake to the valve cover)

I have NOT taken the throttle body off the motor and cleaned it yet, that MAY be my next step but im really at a loss right now of what too do.

The Tachometer not working really puzzles me i've never heard of someone doing this swap and having this issue....or any of these issues for that matter.

If anyone has some insight on these issues please let me know

 
Rep Power: 189

The read someone else's post that was similar regarding the fan not engaging with a kswap. For some reason their radiator hose was too high and the coolant couldn't make it. He solved it by just topping off the coolant maybe by disconnecting the hose? I can't remember and to be honest I have no idea what I'm talking about but it's worth looking into.

 
Rep Power: 0

Well i JUST got my temp gauge to start reading, problem was that i was using a Karcepts imobilizer bypass and it tells you to plug a wire into e24 which is the multiplex unit. 01 civics get the temp reading from the multiplex then it converts it to the gauge reading via the cpu on the cluster. So thats fixed...

Now i let it run to normal operating temp then i started touching hoses again, the lower radiator hose is still cool to the touch and the upper hose and both of the heater hoses are hot.

So im thinking 2 things now, Water pump might be shot or the Thermostat might have a problem, doesnt feel like anything is coming out of the thermostat into the radiator.

For the idling problem im about to take off the Throttle body and clean it out, it was all dirty and was really hard to get the valve to open by hand when i first got the motor....maybe thats causing the surging idle.

As far as the Tachometer goes....i have NO clue why its not working.

 
Rep Power: 0

so i've been searching for over 12 hours now and cant find much on the Tachometer problem.

What i've been trying to figure out is how the RPM's get translated to the cluster. I know the ECM/PCM is what reads the signal but idk where it goes to? Im wondering if its coming from the Multiplex control unit like the Temp gauge but i cant find anything that says definitively.

Im hoping its not an issue with the ECU, everything else works find and i can get my OBD2 code reader to connect and pull the codes.

I checked my alternator bolts and tightened them to spec. Maybe the ground at the Alternator is bad? This motor sat for at least 1 year in my possession, who knows how long it sat with the people i bought it from.

This is all very frustrating, i just wanna drive my car already haha. And all the researching im doing is coming up with nothing. Doesnt seem like anyone has had this exact problem before.