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S-VCM Problem. Time to remove?

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Vanguard

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I bought and installed an S-VCM last fall on my 2013 Odyssey. Worked flawlessly until last week. My daughter borrowed the van and mentioned it was idling very rough. When she brought it back, I noted that it would suddenly drop rpm and almost stall when idling. It would intermittently drop rpm too when accelerating. I checked the engine, swapped engine filter, cleaned MAF and the problem seemed to go away. I didn't suspect the S-VCM at this time.

Fast forward about a week and the issue has returned. I was waiting in line at a drive-thru when the rpms suddenly dropped, almost stalling, then would come back to idle. Repeat. It would start running fine again for a few minutes, then rpms would start dropping again. The van never stalled and was OK to drive home, just a little rough, with rpm bouncing around a little. One thing I did notice on the way home was the ECO light coming on (blinked on briefly several times), which I haven't seen since install of the S-VCM. Surprised to see the ECO light, I looked at the engine temp gauge and it was very low, just barely above minimum. Too low considering how long I had been driving, and definitely not where I am used to seeing it with the S-VCM. From my understanding, I wouldn't expect to see the ECO light come on at that temp reading either.

Has anyone else experienced this with S-VCM? Any ideas what the issue might be? Am I correct to assume this is S-VCM related? I am going to remove it for the next while to confirm it resolves the issue.
 
#3 ·
Vanguard said:
I bought and installed an S-VCM last fall on my 2013 Odyssey. Worked flawlessly until last week. My daughter borrowed the van and mentioned it was idling very rough. When she brought it back, I noted that it would suddenly drop rpm and almost stall when idling. It would intermittently drop rpm too when accelerating. I checked the engine, swapped engine filter, cleaned MAF and the problem seemed to go away. I didn't suspect the S-VCM at this time.

Fast forward about a week and the issue has returned. I was waiting in line at a drive-thru when the rpms suddenly dropped, almost stalling, then would come back to idle. Repeat. It would start running fine again for a few minutes, then rpms would start dropping again. The van never stalled and was OK to drive home, just a little rough, with rpm bouncing around a little. One thing I did notice on the way home was the ECO light coming on (blinked on briefly several times), which I haven't seen since install of the S-VCM. Surprised to see the ECO light, I looked at the engine temp gauge and it was very low, just barely above minimum. Too low considering how long I had been driving, and definitely not where I am used to seeing it with the S-VCM. From my understanding, I wouldn't expect to see the ECO light come on at that temp reading either.

Has anyone else experienced this with S-VCM? Any ideas what the issue might be? Am I correct to assume this is S-VCM related? I am going to remove it for the next while to confirm it resolves the issue.
Click to expand...
check the air intake tube for splits/ cracks.
seems to be common on these, esp ones where the motor mounts are finished thanks to VCM activation.

based on a recent post, the part is 20USD at the dealer or about 200CAD
😂
 
#4 ·
Easy to check by removing the S-VCM. Inspect the wiring in that vicinity and the intake tube while you are in there.

-Charlie
 
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Discussion starter · #5 ·
Thanks for the suggestions. So the intake tube and oxygen sensor sound like the most likely culprits, aside from a possibly faulty S-VCM. Would a cracked tube or faulty sensor cause the low engine temp reading, or the ECO light to go on with the S-VCM installed? Still trying to make sense of what those clues are telling me.
 
#7 ·
Vanguard said:
Thanks for the suggestions. So the intake tube and oxygen sensor sound like the most likely culprits, aside from a possibly faulty S-VCM. Would a cracked tube or faulty sensor cause the low engine temp reading, or the ECO light to go on with the S-VCM installed? Still trying to make sense of what those clues are telling me.
Click to expand...
An o2 sensor will cause rough/erratic idle conditions and possible stalling. I have not heard of engine temp associated with o2 sensor. I know nothing about what activates the eco light.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
2011.2017.odyssey said:
low engine temp is how the vcm muzzler tricks the pcm to not activate vcm.

how low are we talking about here? I get slightly above/between 1/4 and 1/2 on the temp gauge with the vcmuzzlerii installed.
Click to expand...
I am talking low. Normally it runs about the same with my S-VCM as with your VCMuzzlerII. Between 1/4 and 1/2. Today when I was having issues and the ECO light came on, I immediately looked at the temp gauge because I know that is how the S-VCM prevents ECO from kicking in. The temp gauge was showing just above minimum reading, maybe 1/8. This was after a good 30-45 minutes of driving. Very odd.
 
#11 ·
What is confusing is that the ECO light is turning on but the temp reads low - those should be mutually exclusive...

-Charlie
 
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Discussion starter · #13 ·
phattyduck said:
What is confusing is that the ECO light is turning on but the temp reads low - those should be mutually exclusive...

-Charlie
Click to expand...
This is what got me thinking something is up with the S-VCM. It didn't make sense that the ECO should come on at all if the S-VCM is working properly, nor with the temp gauge dislaying so low. The engine was fully warmed up, but temp gauge was barely registering.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
2011.2017.odyssey said:
idle and air fuel ratio mixture are based on engine temp.

pull the s-vcm off and see what temp reading you are getting, plug in an obdii reader to get real numbers.
its possible the sensor or s-vcm is toast.
Click to expand...
Pulling off the S-VCM and checking sensors/wiring, air tube tomorrow. The issue has only occurred twice now with a week in between, so it may take some time to know if it is the S-VCM for sure. If it happens again right away after I take off the S-VCM, at least I can rule that out.

I tried ODB2 reader tonight. No codes. No codes when this last happened a week ago too.
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
So I took the van out for a drive this morning. No issues, ran fine and temp gauge looked correct. I decided to take the S-VCM off for a week or two anyways, just to see if the problem returns or not. Took the van for another drive. I must say, after getting used to the van muzzled, having VCM active again sucks. Temp was good and rpm smooth still.

When I was disabling the S-VCM, I checked all sensors/wiring and everything looked good. I also checked the air tube and it does have a crack, so it is getting replaced.

161030


The rubber of the hose actually feels very dry and brittle, like it could easily split if I put any pull on it (I am giving it a little pull in the pic to make the crack more visible). So called dealership and part 17228-RV0-A00 is now on order. $30.76 CAD. The crazy thing was the clamps for each end. They were $35 and $50 respectively. Not sure why, they look like basic hose clamps, although they are sized for this application (they are marked for how tight they should be fastened). I asked if they needed to be ordered too, but the parts rep didn't see any need.

So, I will replace the air tube in a few days once it comes in. I will give it a week or two without S-VCM. If all good, I will reinstall the S-VCM and see what happens.
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
So the new air tube came in this morning. Took about 20 minutes to swap it out. I felt confident that the cracked tube had to be the cause, so I went ahead and re-enabled the S-VCM. Really can't stand having the VCM active. Did a quick trip to the grocery store and back home. As soon as I pulled into the driveway, the engine started acting up again. So, it wasn't the cracked tube and I unfortunately failed to rule out the S-VCM. Could be something else completely too. Still no codes. I guess I will have to disable the S-VCM again tomorrow.

Again, the rpm starting bouncing (it would drop from 1000 to around 500, then back up to 1000 for about 4 seconds, repeat) very rhythmically. Sounded like it was going to stall, then would return to normal idle. It wasn't erratic, there was a pattern. It never surged above 1000 rpm either. At the same time, the temp gauge dropped almost all the way to bottom, then back up to normal operating temperature. I could see the gauge slowly move down then back up with a slight fluctuation, the total movement from "normal" temp to bottom and back taking about 15 or 20 seconds. No ECO light this time.

The other thing I noticed is that this happens after some driving and coming to a halt. The first two times happened while waiting in a drive-thru lineup. Today was after a drive to the grocery store. It started up as soon as I stopped in my driveway.

I managed to get video of the rpm bouncing, but the temp gauge had already finished moving around by the time I thought to record it and grabbed my phone. At least I have that to show my mechanic if I give up and bring it to him. Nothing worse than a problem you can't reproduce at a given time.

So, disabling S-VCM again for now and seeing what happens next. If anyone else has some troubleshooting ideas, please share.

Thanks!
 
#18 ·
Take a close look around the engine bay for chewed wires from mice/rats/etc. They like the insulation on the wires and the warm, dark engine bay. Broken or near broken wires could lead to some funky problems.

-Charlie
 
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#19 ·
2011.2017.odyssey said:
check the air intake tube for splits/ cracks.
seems to be common on these, esp ones where the motor mounts are finished thanks to VCM activation.

based on a recent post, the part is 20USD at the dealer or about 200CAD
😂
Click to expand...
Your economy must have tanked big time up there I haven't heard of an exchange rate that unfavorable in many years.
 
#20 ·
Batvette said:
Your economy must have tanked big time up there I haven't heard of an exchange rate that unfavorable in many years.
Click to expand...
It's never been quite that bad and it isn't now. The Canadian dollar translates to about 79 cents US right now, so we Canadians pay about $1.26 for 1 US dollar. It adds up quick. 😕
 
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