B18A1 Problems

Ami and Jer already know about the problems I have been having. Seems when I fix one thing, another problem surfaces.

When I first dropped the motor in, I got Code 14(IACV), and for some reason the firing order was off. Drove the thing for a week this way, I had too because its my only transportation. Got the firing order correct on it and then I start hearing a weird grinding noise coming from the transmission. Check the fluid and fill it up and still get the noise...pop the right axle out and back in and the noise goes away. Was driving the thing around today, was running good, then all of a sudden it acts like the timing jumped a tooth and I get code 16(Fuel Injector). Was talking to a friend and he asked if my speedo had been bouncy around 30 mph...right on the money. He mentioned replacing the distributor, which had been making some funny noises too. Called my dad to have him bring me a new distributor, and while waiting, I got the idea to reset the ECU. Reset it and it ran good for about a min, long enough to make it to a parking lot instead of the side of the road. Tried replacing the distributor to land in a worse boat than I was in to begin with, new dizzy doesn't want to fire. Ran out of time and had to be at work. Get off work and after talking to Jer, he said replace the IAT. Swapped that out and right off the bat I got Codes 4, 9, 10 on top of 14, and 16. Swap it back out and still got the codes(yes I reset it). I did get the car back to my house, made it most of the way fine, then after it got warmed up for a min it started acting up again.

Gonna go double check my MPFI wiring in the morning and hopefully get some ideas from you guys. I'm tired of working on the engine on this thing, I want to move on to other parts of it that need attention.

Oh yea, incase you got lost in all that. I put the original Distributor and IAT back on, haven't replace the IACV yet.

+2 to check the wiring, go over your solder joints, etc w/ a fine comb... make sure there's no oxidation, etc.

Did you use heat shrinkable tubing when you did the wire splices? If not, you pry should have, especially if you live in a "wet" area.

I seem to remember you saying something about maybe having two plugs in the wrong places b/c they're interchangeable... have you tried swapping them yet?

Those are about the only ideas I have for now, will post if I get something else later...

Other than that, work on it ONE code at a time... don't get overwhelmed by all those codes you're throwing, b/c if you do, you'll waste alot more time standing there sighing about how your car should be running, and you're losing this, or need to have it for that... and bitching is a waste of time :D

Well I swapped the harness over and found out that my connectors for the distributor wires were coming undone(cheap connectors). Managed to get rid of most of the codes, ofcourse just to get some new ones. The main ones I believe are just 3 and 6. The flashes are a little hard to interrupt. It starts with a big flash, goes into 3 quick ones, then 4(every once in awhile?) and then 6, ending with a long flash and then a long pause. So I'm pretty sure its code 3, 4, 6 and 10 now, but the car runs(most of the time, had it die once, just restarted it and its fine)

Really wish I would have spent more time on this thing while it was down, instead of throwing it together in a week finally.

the long flash could be 10... it could also just be "end of sequence"

I can't remember which ECU's used long for 10

glad you got that worked out, now just keep going at it, one code at a time, and you'll get them all... it's like pokemon man, you "gotta catch them all" rofl.. sorry, that was ghey

b series use longs for 10

Yea, thats what I was thinking. And I must be crazy thinking code 4 is in there, must have been from before. Was late in my last post, its late now. Just got done with my final points race for the year, finished 4th overall, and that poor poor car is probably retired(might do one more race for the year).

Gonna end up replacing the IAT again on the B18, and checking the o2 sensor, see if its making it throw false codes. Just glad most of my racing for the year is over so I can spend more time on the hatch again.

also let the sequence run all the way through then start reading..i noticed that usually the first sequence is short by one ( how you were saying 3 maybe 4 sometimes) and i have to wait till it goes thru all the ones its throwing..

id say make a vid on youtube lol then we can all read your codes

Went and took a video to show everyone, then remembered I still had 1 more IAT laying around, so I replaced it and reset the ECU....no more codes. Now I just need to get new radiator hoses and cap and get a new heater core. Right now the upper hose builds up quite a bit of pressure and the cap isn't releasing any of it.

which engine harness are you using?

then remembered I still had 1 more IAT laying around, so I replaced it and reset the ECU....no more codes.

i was waiting for another phone call in which i was going to ask if you were sure the IAT you used was good :icon16:

glad to hear no codes :cheers:

when you going to come out and check out the new house...we've been here a year already!!! 5gJon lives with us, except he's 6gJon now :smokin:

Glad to hear you got it fixed, even tho I was only here for "moral support" during your "dilemma" lol.. I tried :P

Well I just kind of used this thread as a release. I wish I wasn't hurried on everything like I was because I could have fixed it earlier.

BamBam: I was using a harness I made from my DX almost 4 yrs ago, and was confused on a couple plugs then, because it was really messed up. I now have another DX harness in there with my injector harness from the old harness.

Should actually be able to make it out there sometime next summer Ami. And tell Jer I'm sorry he had to put up with the idiot me ;).

And here we go again....just my damn luck here: Got a chair in the radiator last week, and Code 4 pokes its head back up, but goes away after cooling down and resetting....today I go to go to a friends house and just out of no where my right side quarter glass explodes on me(haven't figured that one out) shortly after, Code 4 makes its appearance once again, I thought I took care of it last time, apparently not once it warms up for awhile.

Think its the wiring or just the sensor is going out?

Woo Hoo! I've got a melted Coil and metal shavings!!! This could be the problem, gonna clean it up and see if I can mix and match some parts from an A6 dizzy and get it going again. Ill grab some pics of the coil too when I get a chance.

explodes?! im thinking retard with a bb gun :P

Thats probably what it was, i was busy trying to get my seat harness back up on the seat because I'm a retard and didn't think about it before I left. Just sucked because glass went everywhere since I was doing 65+.

Well found out if your in a pinch, you can use some of the internals from an A6 Distributor for a B18A1, but if you use the shaft, you have to rotate your firing order 180(shaft has the threads for the rotor on the opposite side, ofcourse you might be able to use a tap and die and fix that). Got it running, but getting Code 8(TDC) and don't know how long it will let me run it, just ran around the block. Hopefully this will get me by until I get a new distributor.

Oh yea, and found the culprit for the melted coil....the peg on the cap for the coil had broke off, don't know where it went, but its not there, so I'm sure thats what was causing it to arc like crazy and melting.

ouch... sounds like you've got a handful w/ your car... wanna play w/ mine? lol

Been wondering where you had been hiding at. Right now I have a very short time to make it from point A to point B in my car, and I better be staying at point B for awhile to give the car time too cool back down. With a mix between code 8 and code 4, the car isn't going anyway. Just Code 4 before I could make it back to the house, right now a reset will slowly get me further.

Got a new distributor, radiator and heater core coming in this week, along with hopefully my amber bumper lights.

ouch dude... if only I had time to look those up and see what the possibles are for them... I"m still at my uncles house, took two vacation days this week just so I could get "Vicky" registered... as we now have come to know her. I still think the VSS code I"m getting is funny tho... I think the other guy mistook the 17 fast blinks for 17 individual blinks, thinking he was getting a code 1 for O2 enrichment.

I know what the codes are for on mine: Code 8 TDC(firing order is flipped because I have an D16A6 shaft in a B18A1 distributor) and Code 4 is Crank Position Sensor, thats the one thats been killing me. Should have the new one Thursday, hopefully before I go to work.

Do you have that filler piece for under the headlights?

shit, posted in the SOT thread... I might have it, but I'll have to dig around my dad's house to find it, and I won't be back down there until around thanksgiving, due to monetary constraints... I was planning on going back down this weekend, but there's no point in wasting the money, when I'm going to be going down again for thanksgiving.. it's only an hour away, but I really don't have it for awhile.

understandable...its not really something I have to have right away, been driving around without one anyways :)

yeah, it won't kill anything, did you see what I was doing on the highway? 65mph @ 2k w/ the HF tranny lol... sick gas mileage, I"m guessing on around 35, hard set on 30+. all the main speed limits are just off idle in diff ranges.. 35 @ 1700 in 3rd, 45 @ 1500-ish in 4th, 65 @ ~2k in 5th.

it only SEEMS slower than it used to be... fact is, 70 mph in 2nd gear with revs to go is just a beatiful thing.

Yea, I miss my DX gears. My dad thought I was crazy when I told him 3rd would do 90.

Well got the new distributor in today, so far so good, but haven't taken it on a long trip yet. Scared me on my way to work because I got a check engine light when I almost got to work...Code 17, I also put a heater core in and forgot to plug my speedo cable back in :) Also found out there was a ground I missed last time I put the dash in, so now I have a Door ajar light(only works for the right door, left door's switch is unplugged) and a damn annoying Seat belt light, but still no Dash lights. Also have to check my blower motor to see if I plugged that stupid thing back in, or if just some leaves or something is stopping it. Tomorrow I get to put in my new radiator after drilling some holes for it and hook the heater core up and actually put some antifreeze in.

Drop, if you ever need a that filler panel for your 4dr(the headlight one) let me know, decided not to send it back because I wound end up loosing more money doing that.

What color is it? Actually, I may need one, b/c the one I have now is dented, and I'm looking for replacements for most of the front end anyway, so I could cross ship it with you, if you'd wanna do that, when I find out if I have the other one or not.

its black, but its not actual paint, just the protected crap on new parts. There is one slight dent in it from shipping, but its not bad at all.

just let me know. like I said, I would loose more money shipping it back to them and getting the whole $10 back, lol.

ROFL... yeah, i understand that.. it would have been cheaper to get a '89/'90/'91 Si tranny from the junkyard than to return the clutch the guy sent for the Civic back in the day, but Dave's dad didn't understand that he would have to pay shipping back, then shipping back to the house, and it would only have cost $60 & time to get the tranny, versus almost $75 and 3 more weeks w/o the car to get the new clutch... the guy had sent one for a '91, and it was no fault of the seller... Dave just clicked the wrong eBay ad.

But the guy was cool about it, he took the RMA, and just had us send the old one back, less the alignment tool and throwout bearing, and sent a whole new clutch kit back to us.

Yea, thats what happened with this, I just got hurry when I got it off eBay and missed the fact it was for a sedan.

Half sized radiators are a pain in the ass to install if you still have the factory crossmember. Lots of BFH and hacking.

Dude you can read it in my post I made, but I was doingthe math last nigth and I was flat out SHOCKED when I noticed the hf would do 95 at like 2900 rpm.

ROFL.. dude, I could have told you that... lmao... I can do 70 @ 2k flat. well... 55-70 is all @ 2k flat... the tach almost doesn't move in 5th gear. I think 90 would be close to 2500, (with 175/70 R13's) and that would make 95 somewhere close to that as well, maybe up to 2,750.

Tony, definitely, if I find out that I have that filler for the CRX (it's light blue, in case you don't already know) I'll just let you know, and we can just cross ship it, even trade kinda thing, if you wanna do it that way.

I don't know how many times I would go from 4th to 5th and loose speed.

Got the speedo cable back in and no CEL yet. Got the del sol radiator in...which is a lot harder than expected considering how many cars you see with them and no write ups. Don't know for sure if the fan is kicking on or not, it won't just sitting and idling, even when the needle gets way up there, but driving the needle doesn't even reach half way. Thinking about getting a switch like fan controller switches for PCs to hook the fans up to, so I can control how fast the fan spins to keep the temp right.

the controller is a potentiometer, or a simple switch... you could also look into a temp activated relay... ppl use them for liquid cooling systems in computers, to turn the pumps on.

Dude, I can get on the highway in 2nd gear @ 70+ mph (yes, I do that frequently... more pull.) and I still don't overheat, even 6 miles down the road.. but man can you hear the intake screaming.. by this time, I'm usually spiking around 6500 or so, maybe up to 7k if I really wanna push it. You bet the heat needle never even rises.. lol.

Well right now I just have the fan on a regular switch, had it overheat today idling, but just as long as I'm moving, it stays cool.

Also just bought a 97 Teg that was t-boned for $300. Fairly new motor in it, but for some reason its a B18A1 instead of a B1. Either way, engine and transmission were worth it, already sold the rear discs on it and there isn't much left on it that is good after that except the passenger seat.

yeah, i need to find a rear disc swap for mine.. it's the 90-93 teg I can use right?

I'm getting down on the rear brakes, and I need new trailing arm bushings anyway, so I might as well just save the money and do the swap. I figure, anyway.

All you need to do is splice the ground wire of the fan to the chassis and the fan will stay on with the ignition. Then again, didn't you remove like 3/4 of your harness?

Well I ran all new wires to it and ran it off the ignition...would have been easier your way, but oh well.

Thats the harness for the CRX...the hatch needs more wires than that since I still need the dash and all the regular stuff....still quite abit of it I could take it ;)