VX OBDI to OBDII Swap questions/troubles inside
 

Good day! I'm new to d series because I've always thought they were worthless. Well as I get older my opinion is changing and so is the economy so I'm moving more towards mpg's instead of whp. I'm in the middle of swapping over a few JDM D15B VTEC-E's into a couple honda civics. And I'm running into a few issues.

As of right now the first car isn't wanting to run. I got it to turn over and sputter and idle for a little while but as of right now I can only get it to turn over. So now I have a long list of questions for you D series guys seeing as how I'm 99% sure you'll know more about the d swaps than me.

First off I'll tell you the basic swap. OBDI d15b vtec-e swap into 96-00 5 spd coupes. The one I'm talking about specifically is a '99. Here is the list of stuff I've done to the car already...

Swapped the d15b motor in using a OBDII harness and an OBDI ecu

-Convert OBDII alternator plugs and injectors to OBDI.

-Jumper harness to a p06, p28 and a p72.

-Set mechanical timing to TDC (white line that is clockwise from the 3 ignition timing marks)

-Tested fuel pump/relay

-All fuses are good

-All grounds are good

-Compression is great

-Ignition is good (Dizzy is in correct 1342 order going clockwise)

And after all of that the car turns over but nothing happens. The only thing that I know isn't right is there are three wires that aren't hooked up. From the big plug on the OBDI dizzy there are two wires coming off that have no where to go according to my wiring diagram. They are orage and blue I think. And on the OBDII side plug there is an extra green wire. I was getting a code so I tried either and wiring the orange wire to the green plug got rid of it and the car actually turned on and idled (not great but it ran). But as of right now I got nothing.

My main question right now is does anyone know 100% for sure if my timing is correct? I've ALWAYS used the white line (TDC line) as my guide along with the marks on the cam and head to time engines. But 2 of the 3 engines that I have are advanced about half the way between the TDC white line and the other 3 lines. The other thing is the vacuum lines.

As of right now I have no map sensor and I am not running any lines to the charcoal canister. The reason behind that is I've been taking the harness in and out and I didn't want to have to dc them over and over again. Also, whether the vacuum lines are hooked up or not has never caused this much of an issue with a car trying to start. They usually all start, but they either bog out or idle really high depending on the line. This one on the other hand sounded like the timing was off; it was set to TDC white line at the time, it is currently 1 tooth advanced because of the other engines even though that goes against everything I've ever done. But even with that still no change.

As of right now with the stock p06 ecu I was getting 4 codes.

-Code 4
-Code 10
-Code 14
-Code 21

All have to do with ignition timing so I'm thinking I have to either wire something in (the three extra wires in the dizzy plug) or my dizzy is bad. But according to all the tests I've done every single piece is working as intended which makes me think I NEED a VX ecu but from what everything I've been told the car should run on ANY OBDI Vtec ecu (auto or manual) The only ecu it has ran on for any amount of time was the 92-95 vtec p06 ecu and it's not even doing that any more. And that's where I'm at right now...

If anyone has any idea please let me know. I'm thinking right now it's just a matter of getting the right ecu but this the first d series swap I've ever done. I always take the d's out and throw in a b/h/k series so I'm 100% noob as of right now.

Also, sorry for the incredibly long post. If needed can a mod move this to tech? I just kind of wanted to post a noob thread and a tech thread at the same time.

Thanks.

I don't know much about Honda engines, but will these vehicles ever have to pass an emissions test? If so, converting them from OBDII to OBDI is almost guaranteed an automatic fail.

There are no emissions tests here.

if the following honda guys dont reply, send them a PM...tomo, erik, fetch, or suspendedhatch. they're all greats guys willing to help. there are others, but these are the ones that i remember off hand...

Thanks a lot. I'll wait and see if they do. Otherwise I'm going to try to enjoy my day off :D

This is one of the "greats." ...not really. I have not had to do a swap yet. I will probably do one this winter or spring on my del Sol, but that will be OBD1 to OBD1; I will just be switching the D15 to a D16z6. I'm sorry, but I don't have much in the way of advice on this one. I will think about it and see if I can get back with you.

Thanks. I'm going to hopefully doing a few obd1 to obd1 swaps in the future but people want the fuel economy of the d15b in the newer car and it's getting kind of hard to find clean eg's now a days. :(

Yeah. I sold a rust-free VX about 2 1/2 years ago because I got a really good deal on a Fit. I do miss it. I picked up my del Sol a year ago. It was a little rusty but cleaned up well (see my garage).

Air + fuel + spark at the right time and it should run. Add some fuel via the intake like from a propane torch tank and see if it runs smoother when you do.

^^ what he said. You can also try removing a plug wire, stick a screwdriver into the end, and hold the screwdriver (wear electrician's gloves) just off the block. check for spark while turning the engine over.