Civic VTEC gutless engine

Tiny
HBSB2CARPROS
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 HONDA CIVIC
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 92,000 MILES
Honda civic: gutless acceleration, key light, check engine light and seat belt light displayed.

I have a 2003 Honda Civic EX Vtec 1.7 engine. 4 Door sedan, automatic transmission.

Engine was replaced with Foreign Auto Engines from Japan.

Engine was installed with original Japanese wire harness. Japanese engine harness needs to be replaced with American harness becuase they don't work on American civic engines.

Our mechanic finally swapped out Japanese engine wiring harness w/ harness from engine removed. And, swapped the VTec solenoid and the missing pressure sensor l(ocated beneath it) not found on Japanese engine. Engine ran find for about 2 months. Then started symptoms mentioned above.

Honda dealership's $12,000 computer can't read the ecm. They tried new ecm, but it didn't improve the symptoms. Old ecm re-installed.

Our mechanic can read the ecm either.

What can we do?

Thanks

hb
Saturday, January 1st, 2011 AT 2:23 AM

9 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
I see you have posted 3 questions on the same problem. This is not encouraged as it floods the system. Our site had just undergone a major overhaul and quite a lot of things are still not working correctly.

I did answer one of your questions previously which did not have too much details as compared to this so we will continue from here and ignore the other question, except for the part regarding manually retriving tor trouble codes.

What year model harness did you use for the new engine?
What is the engine model code?
What year engine did you use?
Was the PCM for for the same engine or different?
If the complete engine harness was used, I do not see any reason why the JDM harness did not work. Something is wrong with the wireharness or you have a bad grounding circuit somewhere.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 AT 4:48 AM
Tiny
HBSB2CARPROS
  • MEMBER
  • 19 POSTS
I told the engine distributer what my car was (2003 civic ex, vtec engine, 1.7 engine) automatic 4 door sedan. I don't know what engine model code is or year of engine he sold me. Perhaps I can call them and they might know? They say these engines have `45,000 miles on them, are tested before they sell them. The PCm is what was in the car since it was new, car purchased in California. Honda actually replaced the ecm w/a brand new one and still was unable to find the problem on this second go around w them. Initially, the mechanic that installed the engine didn't swap over the original harness and until after the engine was in the car. If the harness is the culprit, why did it run well for 2 months? The wiring from the test plug beneath the dash, does it go directly to the engine harness or the ecm? In isolating the problem, is it this wiring, or the engine harness or some thing else?
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 AT 6:45 AM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Let me have the engine identification, ie the code and engine number.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 AT 12:25 PM
Tiny
HBSB2CARPROS
  • MEMBER
  • 19 POSTS
This is the only numbers I'm familiar with:
vin number is 2HGES 26833 H610 405
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 AT 6:41 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
I want the engine code, not the VIN.
D17A6?

Have you tied the manual code retrieval procedure?
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Monday, January 3rd, 2011 AT 1:54 PM
Tiny
HBSB2CARPROS
  • MEMBER
  • 19 POSTS
Confirmation from third mechanic shop stated problem is in the network bus."Inability to read the ecm with scanner. So, engine is running in minimum mode, " gutless, check engine, key and seat belt lights stay lite. Temp and tac gauges inoperative as well. Due to the uncertain number of hours required to diagnose, and expense, what can I do to try and find the problem in the network? Where is this "network?" Thanks.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, January 6th, 2011 AT 12:49 AM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Attached are the dignostic procedures for checking th DLC circuit.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, January 6th, 2011 AT 1:58 PM
Tiny
HBSB2CARPROS
  • MEMBER
  • 19 POSTS
What is the eps 60 amp fuse in engine compartment fuse holder? Its missing, assuming it is supposed to be there in the first place?
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Thursday, January 6th, 2011 AT 11:09 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Electronic Power Steering. If your power steering is hydraulic, the fuse is not used.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Friday, January 7th, 2011 AT 1:44 PM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Sponsored links