Converting Cali Civic VX to Fed (lean burn) VX

[steffen707]

Originally Posted by 93_VX_Guy

I will look into it for sure. The car is a good candidate for the Fed conversion right now because it's doing the infamous part throttle hesitation. I'm debating whether to do the conversion now or just swap in the standard 4 wire 02 for the moment. This way I could have a baseline to compare from when I actually do the swap.

Crap whats the infamous part throttle hesitation? Cuz i think the VX motor i just swapped into my hatch is doing the same thing. I just thought this was lean burn.

[Joe1234]

I have a 94 VX. It has a 5 wire O2 sensor but the sticker on the hood says that it meets cali regulations so I'm confused. The hood has been spray painted black so it may be from a different car. How else can I verify if it is the FED version or not?

[btracing]

Originally Posted by Joe1234

I have a 94 VX. It has a 5 wire O2 sensor but the sticker on the hood says that it meets cali regulations so I'm confused. The hood has been spray painted black so it may be from a different car. How else can I verify if it is the FED version or not?

Take a look at the sticker on the ECU. P07-A00 or A01 is Fed, P07-L00 or L01 is Cali. Look it up in the startpost.

[HighMPG]

Good info here, thanks for the contributors, It is so hard to find a nice VX in showroom condition anywhere these days. I am on the look out tho!

[comegetme]

I have never soldered in my life. Can I get away with buying a VX federal engine harness from hondaautomotiveparts and do a "plug and play" installation for my Cal->federal conversion? Rather than traveling to junkyards, gathering those plugs and learning how to solder? I have the federal ECU and 5 wire O2 sensor (NGK/NTK) already. Or would there be anything more involved than just putting the plugs together? thanks for your help.

[TroyVX]

Hello all,

New to the site, I picked up a '92 VX for my son and I'm having problems with it passing smog. It passed the Ca. 15 mph test but failed the 25 mph test. This car has the dreaded lean hesitation deal once it gets up to temp. It had a blown head gasket when we got it and that has been repaired, I did a full tuneup (plugs, cap, rotor, fuel filter, air filter, oil change, set the timing, checked the idle, replace the O2 sensor (5 wire) ran some fuel injector through the system. The smog tech told me to replace the O2 sensor and look for vacuum leaks. I did all of this but still have the hesitation. If I disconnect the O2 sensor the car runs fine but has the C.E.L. on which will not pass smog. I noticed you all mentioning this problem and was wondering if anyone has come up with a solution to it. Thanks in advance for any help you may be.

Take Care
Troy Stevens

[TroyVX]

Well I'm doing just the opposite from all of you, I'm switching from the federal ECU to the California ECU in order to get the car to pass smog, and also get rifd of the dreaded "Lean Hesitation" I just bought the Ca ECU and when it arrives I'll let you all know what happens.

Take Care
Troy

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by TroyVX

Well I'm doing just the opposite from all of you, I'm switching from the federal ECU to the California ECU in order to get the car to pass smog, and also get rifd of the dreaded "Lean Hesitation" I just bought the Ca ECU and when it arrives I'll let you all know what happens.

Sometimes I wonder about a partial HX conversion of my 1998 DX, but without lean burn because of our CA smog check. The ECU and the v-tec head could be of value on its own. In this thread, I posted findings from a 1990s study in which Honda claimed that v-tec without lean burn would still produce +7-8% fuel economy for the VX.

Good luck. I'll keep tabs on this thread. Sorry you did not get a response earlier. I simply don't know the answer to you previous question.

[backsidesnap]

hey everybody, seems people are having fun building their own harnesses. I am building one for my brothers ca vx. found all of the parts at the junkyard, the most diffucult one to find was the six ire male. was only able to find it in post harvested condition, meaning someone had already taken the side they wanted and left me with only an inch or so to deal with. thats what you have to deal i suppose. I am excited to get the ecu and do the install to see if all of my wiring was correct! thanks to all that have contributed

[AZVX]

Originally Posted by backsidesnap

hey everybody, seems people are having fun building their own harnesses. I am building one for my brothers ca vx. found all of the parts at the junkyard, the most diffucult one to find was the six ire male. was only able to find it in post harvested condition, meaning someone had already taken the side they wanted and left me with only an inch or so to deal with. thats what you have to deal i suppose. I am excited to get the ecu and do the install to see if all of my wiring was correct! thanks to all that have contributed

Wow, while you're at it...build one for me. Seriously... Please?