vtec oil pressure switch malfunction

[steelnutks]

Hey I have a 1994 Civic EX 1.6L 2 door coupe manual tranny and I'm getting the strangest thing, now the vtec switchover point I believe for my car to be at 5700rpms. In 3rd gear I get it to 5000rpms and my check engine light comes on, I pull the code and it's a 22 which is the vtec oil pressure switch, the same thing happens in 4th gear altho at a higher rpm aroudn say 5500. This doesnt happen at all in 2nd gear, I can go to 6grand and higher no prob. The car doesnt act any different once the light lights up, I mean it doesnt stop accelerating like it might be hitting redline or anything, altho I guess the vtec switchover isn't actually happening but how could i really tell since it should be a seamless switchover anyway. So I guess the car runs fine even after the check engine light comes on and just that the switchover doesnt happen but I'm wondering is any damage being done to the car when I continue to accelerate past 5000rpms and the check engine light has come on due to code 22 which is some type of malfunction I guess but I havent had it checked out by anyone. Has anyoneelse had any problem similar to this? any ideas, suggestions would be appreciated

[klungemonger]

Your VTEC activates around 4800-5000 rpms, which is why you are getting the VTEC pressure warning around then. It doesn't seem to be totally consistent like it's on all the time though, perhaps the filter screens are clogged in your VTEC solenoid. I'd start there first, take it off, check them out and clean them. Also, did you check to make sure you have the proper oil level? If not either of those it could just be the pressure sensor is fritzed out.

[steelnutks]

Yeah checking out the solenoid is a good idea, the easiest and cheapest to start with. I do check the oil level and it seems the motor consumes some oil becuz I do need to add oil in between oil changes, but I do drive the car hard so I guess the high rpms I get it to burn a little oil but I havent noticed any oil smoke from the tailpipe so I'm not sure where the oil goes...anyway...

could the weight of oil have anything to do with it, say if I use a heavier oil like 20w50 could that clog the vtec filter whereas a weight like 5w20 would be much thinner and easily pass thru?

I guess I was just more concerned with whether I could be doing damage, but I think when the check engine light comes on and sets the trouble code it just means the vtec didnt engage and it'll run fine it just wont give me the benefit of vtec. But the code continues to get set whether the oil level was a little lower than normal or if it is right where it should be like right after an oil change. It's prolly a bad sensor and if I replace it it'll behave like the behemoth it can b

[kommon_sense]

1 - Check oil level
2 - Clean VTEC Solenoid screen
3 - Change Oil and Filter and use 5w30 with a good filter like a purolator pure-one

[steelnutks]

hey that last reply brings up a question;what do the diff weights of oils mean? i know 5w30 will be thinner, pour easier and look pretty much like water with a little caramel coloring of course, but what does the 5 signify and what does the 30 signify, for that matter what does the W stand 4? I guess it's kinda like 20/20 vision, don't know what it means but you wanna have it.