2002 honda crv with a K24. It has started cutting out at 2500-3000 rpm. I scanned it and it has P1259 vtec malfunction code. I dont have access to wiring diagrams or trouble trees for this. Is there a "most common" cause for this, before I start loading the parts cannon? Thanks
Is that the engine you pull the solenoid and clean the screen?
Make sure the oil is full. Saw lots of cars come in with Vtec codes from low oil. If its full pull the solenoid and look to see if the screen is clean like bobzilla mentioned.
In reply to logdog (Forum Supporter) :
Are we talking about solenoid on the back of the head, or the one in the timing cover?
In reply to gearheadmb :
The one on the back of the head is the first place I would start.
You can see the screen in this random pic I pulled from the web.
logdog (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to gearheadmb :
The one on the back of the head is the first place I would start.
You can see the screen in this random pic I pulled from the web.
thats the one. I sold a lot of those. The gasket has the screen made into it
The VTEC solenoid has failed, throw the part number into amazon and you'll probably find a knock off one of decent quality for $30-40 vs paying the hundreds Honda will want for one.
I swapped one on my 2009 civic Si, just don't strip the bolt heads trying to pull it off and you'll be fine. I did that and a simple job turned into a multiple day job and it was awful.
Maybe the VTEC pressure switch described here?
https://knowhow.napaonline.com/honda-vtec-oil-pressure-switch-tips/
Having owned and flipped a number of these, I can give you the order of operations.
Number one, as stated, is check the oil level. They can be extremely low without tripping the dummy light (it only comes on at something stupid like 5psi).
Number two is pull the solenoid and clean or replace the gasket screen, depending on rubber hardness. If there is a leak on the solenoid, separate it and get a new o-ring from Honda. You'll spend less than $10 for both from the dealer.
Number three is a bad pressure switch. Also mounted on the solenoid. I've had enough bad luck with aftermarket that the dealer is probably the best bet, but a Denso replacement is equivalent.
Number four is a bad solenoid itself. They don't usually go bad on their own, and it's often caused by either one of the three above, or broken/corroded wiring in the harness adjacent to the solenoid.
If none of these fix it, the bill starts to grow quite quickly, and it's cheaper/ easier to just pull a donor motor.
We went through this on my wife's element. Cleaned the screan on the solenoid, replaced the whole solenoid with pressure switch, & cleaned the screan on the front side of the head, the issue would still pop up. Looked to be an oil pressure issue, hers would also burn oil at an alarming rate at highway speed.
We ended up selling it after exhausting the cheap fixes. I know some people love these but I was happy to see it go.
100% of the time I have seen this, installing oil fixed it.
Not saying it can't be other things... but I have never actually encountered a failed VTEC solenoid. Have replaced leaky O rings or pressure switches, but those didn't result in the fall-on-face issue.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I had actually just checked the oil this weekend and it was between the add and full marks. It has been using oil and the right rear corner of the engine has been wet but I hadn't looked to hard for the source of the leak, but I bet the solenoid gasket is the source because the rocker cover gasket is fairly new. I bought a new solenoid which includes the pressure switch and oil and filter for it, I will install that tomorrow and see what happens.
Yeah, the O-ring turns rock hard and it works more like an engine oiler than an oil seal.
The O-ring on the VTC solenoid also goes rock hard and oil blows back from its location in the middle of the timing cover.
Thanks Honda, for putting VTEC and VTC in the same engine. Thanks Apple, for always autocorrecting one to the other when I try to enter it in the inspection form...
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
What does the VTC solenoid (in the timing cover) do?
The VTC gear changes the timing of the intake cam. I have a spare in my scrap pile if you need it, I replaced it with one that has a larger spread of motion.
The VTC is the reason for the i in i-VTEC.
It's also the reason for a hellacious rattle on cold starts that will eventually bounce the timing chain off time, when the locking pin fails to engage and the actuator (cam sprocket) finds the limits of its travel twice per revolution until oil pressure builds up. I have taken bad ones apart and found no obvious reason why they should fail to lock in place, which is annoying.
An update for anyone curious, I replaced the vtec solenoid and changed oil (5w20 synthetic) and it seems to be fixed. I've been driving about a week now with no symptoms.
Interestingly, the screen in the solenoid was nice and clean. We bought the car with 70k miles, and it now has 230k. I have always used synthetic oil and just changed it when the light tells me to.
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