Making a V-TEC indicator light

just for fun i put in a vtec indicator light.

followed these instructions:

http://www.hazone.com/hvlight.htm

but the ecu is actually near the passenger's left foot. just pull back the carpeting and you should see it.

here's the stuff i used:



bought this led w/holder and resistor pre-soldered:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062561&cp

and i decided to put it right next to the cruise control button, so i popped out one of the tabs and made a hole in it. put in the led and crimped it onto some speaker wire using butt connectors.



put it in my car, running the wire behind the dash. spliced into the green wire w/yellow stripe (also using butt connectors) and attached the ground to a nearby bolt.

here's the final product:







i was very surprised at how often vtec is activated. nearly every time i accelerate it goes on, and stays on until i'm up to cruising speed. it seems to kick on just over 2000 rpms, which is also much lower than i thought.

i gave up on this mod. i cut too much wires which it never worked! LOL! oh well, at least i know when VTEC will kick in.

jdm_dynasty said:

i gave up on this mod. i cut too much wires which it never worked! LOL! oh well, at least i know when VTEC will kick in.

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You need to be more careful with your car's electrical system man.

talontsiawd said:

You need to be more careful with your car's electrical system man.

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I got it dude. I didn't cut the entire wire. I just slid the side of it and wrapped the wires around. But i electrical tape it back together so it's still good. I'm majoring in Electrical Engineer so i know what i'm doing.

jdm_dynasty said:

I got it dude. I didn't cut the entire wire. I just slid the side of it and wrapped the wires around. But i electrical tape it back together so it's still good. I'm majoring in Electrical Engineer so i know what i'm doing.

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hope you're a freshman

jk, i'm an ME major, and i just got done with my one EE class, but without a schematic i was just following internet instructions on this one (and looking for the right color wire, )

can someone tell me why the LED is wired in parallel with this signal instead of just splicing it in series?

for anyone who doesn't know when vtec kicks in, i made some vids.

car: 99 accord lx, sedan, 4cyl, f23a4, 5speed

first one is fairly slow acceleration through 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear.
near the end i get vtec to come on as early as ~2300rpm's (4th gear, 1/4 throttle).



in this vid i tried to get vtec to come on as late as possible. this was just
enough throttle to keep the rpm's going up and it came on at ~3800rpm's.



and the last one is a run from 0-60 or so. WOT, redline to redline, just to
show that under hard acceleration VTEC is always going to be on. even
at 1/2 throttle and shifting at 4k i bet it will always be on until you start coasting.



on my car it will engage between 2300-3800 (approx).

i know in other motors the engadgement point may be slightly different, but
on a SOHC configuration i doubt you can feel it come on.

xluben said:

i was very surprised at how often vtec is activated. nearly every time i accelerate it goes on, and stays on until i'm up to cruising speed. it seems to kick on just over 2000 rpms, which is also much lower than i thought.

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Sorry I didn't find this thread earlier. I could have told you that. The F22/F/23 is only VTEC engine that has variable engagement, starting around 2100rpms, and as late as 4200rpms. This is completely different from the other VTEC engines from Honda that engage only past a specific point.

Even so, some criteria still must be met (oil pressure, speed, load, etc) like traditional VTEC engines before it will engage. In reality, it's rediculous for an F23 owner to say that they 'bumped up their VTEC engagement for more power.'

AFAccord said:

Sorry I didn't find this thread earlier.

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yeah, you commented on my thread at honda tech a while back.

along with philidad, you two are very helpful in the technical areas.

With the exception of my occasional 'asshole' personality.

i just did this mod like 3 hrs ago, real easy
i used the following:
3ft of 18 or 16 guage speaker wire
1 5mm Blue Led
a 330 ohm 1/4 watt resistor
some electrical tape
and some scissors

it took me about 20 mins.. from splicing, taping, etc

i noticed my vtec comes on around 3200 rpm (98 V6 )

Ill post a diy if yall want.