Car Misfired and Hesitated while driving - now it won't start - HELP
06-29-2021, 01:39 AM
#31
Thread Starter
Same question I had until I researched it. In mostly other Hondas this phenomenon occurred but the S2000 is not impervious to it. Sometimes the solenoid can get stuck closed where you get no VTEC and at other times (and most often) it gets stuck open like in my case. Why this happened is anyone's guess. I believe my '02 solenoid took a hammering from don't care transit ppl when shipping it to me. The OPS connector was in fact broken - the plastic part of the connector! Maybe that's why the plunger eventually got stuck. Another theory is that the solenoid may not "live long" with low VTEC engagement...but that sounds unlikely to me. I read that theory on a forum where someone had this issue with their Civic solenoid getting stuck open. Another reason why that wouldn't hold water in my case is my original solenoid has been engaging VTEC crossover from 4500 ish rpm for months before I installed the newer one and it never got stuck.
06-29-2021, 06:21 AM
#32
Good lord. What a nightmare. How in the world did you figure that out?
Wish we could sort out the cause to help folks avoid the issue. Maybe replace the VTEC solenoid every 15 years?
Wish we could sort out the cause to help folks avoid the issue. Maybe replace the VTEC solenoid every 15 years?
06-29-2021, 10:36 AM
#33
Have you tried removing the top 3 bolts? That is the solenoid that activates the plunger. Maybe the solenoid itself is broken, I doubt it's the plunger, but it might be.
06-29-2021, 12:33 PM
#34
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RolanTHUNDER (06-30-2021)
06-29-2021, 07:09 PM
#35
Car can idle on vtec you just have to tune it lol. Only reason to do so would be, for the a rowdy cam idle sound if that's your thing. I kind of want to try it and be able to push a button and make it idle on vtec just for kicks.
Last edited by F1TwoThousand; 06-29-2021 at 07:15 PM.
06-30-2021, 02:00 AM
#36
Are you confident that you have identified the root cause and corrected it?
06-30-2021, 09:56 AM
#37
Thread Starter
I then decided to do a little research first to see if the solenoid can actually fail or malfunction like that. I found such info. I then went to disconnect the solenoid but leave it on the head. Tried to start and the problem persisted. Then I removed the solenoid. That's when I saw the difference between it and my original one.
My original is 21 years old and has accommodated a lower VTEC crossover courtesy of AEM Series 2 for months and it never malfunctioned
My '02 solenoid did though...it took a knock during transit though. That much was obvious by the OPS connector that lost some of its plastic. Still, it shouldn't have gotten stuck on me
06-30-2021, 09:59 AM
#38
Thread Starter
06-30-2021, 10:00 AM
#39
Thread Starter
When I recorded a video for my friend at the end of it I said "it sounds like a race car with very aggressive cams...". That was the clincher
I then decided to do a little research first to see if the solenoid can actually fail or malfunction like that. I found such info. I then went to disconnected the solenoid but leave it on the head. Tried to start and the problem persisted. Then I removed the solenoid. That's when I saw the difference between it and my original one (that my '99 model's plunger was fully closed whilst my '02 wasn't
)
06-30-2021, 10:03 AM
#40
Thread Starter
Give it a try and let us know how it pans out.