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ok i have a 94 civic dx sedan 5spd i recently did a gsr swap (obd1) about 3 weeks ago (usdm not jdm) i cant figure out why the v-tec is not engaging but around the rpm where v-tec is supposed to engage (5400-6000) it bogs out really bad and jerks the whole car a few times ( kinda feels like when you hit the govenor for top speed... but not a rev limiter) but the other thing is that it dosent do it everytime i hit those rpms, its really confusing to explain i was hoping that someone experienced this before and can tell me exactly what it is

i checked the timing over and over again and its good

the check engine light is on but it wasnt on in the gsr before i pulled the engine

i replaced the v-tec solenoid and still does the same thing

but after doing the swap i noticed there was another wire with a connector on the engine harness that didnt plug into anything ... or maybe i just cant find where it plugs into? its on the passenger side near the fuse panel .. i will take a pic of it and post it on this thread when i get a chance

but other than that im stumped all i know is i want my v-tec to work and its driving me mental .... and yes i put a new ecu in thanks

 
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well, i answered my own question but for everyone viewing this thread heres some advice lol ... i kinda feel dumb but on the other hand this is the first time i have replaced an engine nevermind doing a complete engine swap ... the problem is that i did not wire the vtec into the ecu , i was not aware that i had to do that .. i thought it was just aplug and play swap ... but yeah since my 94 civic didnt have vtec originally ,the chassis harness does not have the wiring for the v-tec so that said ... i have some wiring ahead of me ... although that is a face-palm moment ... im sure there has been plenty of people that ran into this same prob ....

 
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another thing is your vtec will not engage if your check engine light is on

 
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This i did not know , that would be why its still not engaging ?... i did all the wiring and still no v-tec.. my check engine light is still on but havent had much time to figure out what it is yet... this is my first swap and i still have never felt or heard v-tec engage on any honda or acura will it be obvious when it engages? or is it only a slight difference ? but without v-tec engaging its pretty quick althgough it still bogs out where vtec should kick it .. im thinking now that the engine light being on the ecu is shutting the engine down when it engages.. or suppose to engage?

 
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yeah the vtec will only engage when certain conditions are met(which are determined by the ECU), so when your check engine light is on, the ECU reconizes it and wont allow the vtec to kick in because it knows there is a problem with a component or something else, im trying to get my 94 civic ex to engage vtec but my mil light is on also, im currently tryin to fix all my problem so my vtec will kick in.....i think its only a slight difference when vtec engages but it is noticable

 
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I have a 95 Civic with the B18C1 swap as well.

My mechanic put the car together. I've owned it for two months. The check engine light has been on since he did the swap. He told me that the swapped engine causes it. I'm supposed to drop it back with him so he can clear the code, just haven't done it yet.

I mention it because the VTEC kicks right in when it's supposed to - and despite what the others have said I think it makes a huge kick, especially once you roll it over 7500 rpm in third gear! =)