My problem is, my car came with a p14 ecu because the car was originally a prelude si. The h22a1 runs great except there is no vtec. I now have a p13, but when i plug it in i run into some problems. The idle drops to like 200 rpm, then the tach goes up to 1200, then it drops, then it goes up and keeps doing that. It also smellslike gas which leads me to think its running rich. The car also has a small backfire when driving. However, once the car is warmed up it runs relativly good. The idle seems more stable and it no longer smells like gas. Any ideas as to what the problem may be?
H22 Prelude
- Thread starter jwprelude
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evoracer03
Senior Member
did you wire for vtec? is it throwing any codes?
evoracer03
Senior Member
the question was did you wire for vtec?? as far as i know they werent prewired, but i have been wrong before.
The thing is, why would the car run perfectly with the p14 in it. I would think a vacuum leak would be noticed even with that computer in it. Also, i was wondering about the distributor. Mine is turned all the way towars the back of the car, but if i move it forward at all the car dies or runs like shit. Is it normal to be all the way back. Trying to find out if my timing is off somemhow.
I have found that the backfiring is only when the car is coold. Once the car is warmed up, it runs exactly how i would like it to. So what would cause the car to be shitty when its cool. I did notice some white smoke out of the exhaust but i believe it was just because I had just started he car up. Anyother options? Sparkplugs or something. I have iridium and am thinking about tryin some ngk double platinum although the spark plugs seem fine with the p14.
i beleive you have two seperate issues at hand. one being a vacuum leak of some sorts causing it to idle roughly and or p and down, and your timing is off as well which is casing it run worse when cold and backfire but run alright when hot.....what you need to do is make sure yuor wired all correctly for vtec and eveything, and then throw that p14 in the garbage and use the p13 and troubleshoot from there. the p14 is doing you no good at all and is the wrong ecu, so u might as well get it right out of the equation. also, probably the reason your car runs and idles so poorly when the p13 is plugged in is because of the timing. get a timing light, time your car up and go over all your vacuum. then get back to us. Best of uck to you.
evoracer03
Senior Member
wow... i'm glad your interpretation of it is that accurate. thanks man, i never would have noticed that he said it hit vtec, oh yeah i did notice that. right in the first post when he said: "The h22a1 runs great except there is no vtec." and then he said it hit vtec later on the in the post. anyway, i was trying to help troubleshoot the problem and since vacuum leaks dont miraculously go away when you swap ecus, i was suggesting a place to check. but what do i know?
no one said the leak went away...my car did the exact same thing...the lower vacuum line on the IM was not connected, and with the p14 my car ran fine (minus vtec), but the p13 had a wierd idle, and an insanely bad gas smell. When i FINALLY noticed that vacuum line the idle evened out and it ran a lot better...until my distributor crapped out on me and i blew a tire.
I do apologize for my somewhat rude comment.
I do apologize for my somewhat rude comment.
evoracer03
Senior Member
didnt mean to come unglued on you man.... shitty day at the shop, good luck finding the problem. B)
well...Using a timing gun I adjusted the timing. The way it was, the mark was not in sight. But i now have the mark where it is supposed to be at. But now I am worried when I start the car it might not even idle enoughto stay running but I guess I will find out. I did notice ome more prolems 
I let the car run for about 10 minutes and neither of the fans turned on. Would this be a temp sensor or something that could do this? Would this effect the way the car starts cold. And the other problem, I looked at te spark plugs and andthere is like an inch of liquid in each of the compartments. Its looklike oil but I amnot sure. I guess i will suck it out of there and put new plugs inand see what happens. Im guessing the oil or whatever it is isn supposed to be there. I think it may be because my vallve cover was loose but its not tight again. Thanks for the help guys
Justin
I let the car run for about 10 minutes and neither of the fans turned on. Would this be a temp sensor or something that could do this? Would this effect the way the car starts cold. And the other problem, I looked at te spark plugs and andthere is like an inch of liquid in each of the compartments. Its looklike oil but I amnot sure. I guess i will suck it out of there and put new plugs inand see what happens. Im guessing the oil or whatever it is isn supposed to be there. I think it may be because my vallve cover was loose but its not tight again. Thanks for the help guysJustin
Wow, two people not being assholes. Well...it still runs like shit when its cold.Backfires, barely stays running. And when I give the gas a tap, the car revs up to like 1500 by itself, sticks for a sec, then slowly lowers back down. I am debating get another ecu to make sure its not the comp itself that is fed up
Well I got a chipped p28 ecu that is set up for my car. It seems to be running much better. The car starts up and idles fairly well even when cold. Theres slight backfire but I feel it may be the iming thats off. The only problem now, is the timing belt makes this weird rattling and vibrating noise when i rev it ip. It looks like the belt inbetween the cams is vibrating up and down. What causes this? It appears to be tight when i look at the belt.
all H22s have that crappy spring tensioner on it, so sometimes it gets loose when you do nothing at all. Best thing to do is replace it with the hydrolic one. Im having the exact same problem as you were...replacing the ECU fixed it? Might wanna look into it.
