[Spark44x]

Hey all. First real post.

From reading some stuff, I have a feeling you guys are gonna say its a VCM issue and to muzzle it…
For completeness, here is the 411.

I recently purchased 07 Odyssey EX L. It does have the leather seats. I assume, VCM.
The vehicle has just over 275k miles.

The Check Engine Light and Triangle Light are always on. The VSA light turns on after the vehicle warms up. (VSA button does nothing - VSA light on or off) The Maintaince Light is also on, but the dealer didn’t reset it. It has had religious oil changes and other regular maintaince.

Using a code reader (BlueDriver BT OBD-II), I get no Engine Codes; 3 AntiLock Breaking Codes - 61, 83 and 84.

One of the coils was replaced 6ish months ago for a misfire issue.

I have purchased S-VCM, New NGK Plugs and New Coils.

Any other parts I should order for the initial new to me car refresh? Or anything specific I should take a closer look at?

Thanx!!

 

[thscott]

Welcome to this forum. Make sure the timing belt is not due for replacement.
Drain and fill transmission fluid.

 

[kernel]

And regarding the maintenance minder and resetting the service, you can download your Owner's Manual here. Purchase 6 new coils? Why? They rarely fail and it makes sense only to replace one when it fails. With VCM (which you're "muzzling") it's usually the oil fouled plug(s) that cause the misfires.
+ on transmission fluid drain and fill.
Welcome!

 

[Spark44x]

And regarding the maintenance minder and resetting the service, you can download your Owner's Manual here. Purchase 6 new coils? Why?

thank you for the link. That will be useful.

why replace the coils? This has been sop for me when doing full tune ups after purchasing any used vehicle. (Plugs, wires, coil, cap - obviously this is a dis setup and doesn’t have a cap). In this instance, I know they are mismatched. This bothers me. I have seen in this forum there is a push not to do this and use junkyard coils. If you are comfortable with that, cool. I personally am not.

 

[12pawsinn]

I got the same 2 months ago.. same issues vsa abs etc etc, I just muzzled mine tonight going to do the plugs in the morning and coils, im at 210k miles

 

[Spark44x]

Welcome to this forum. Make sure the timing belt is not due for replacement.
Drain and fill transmission fluid.

timing belt and related is in great shape.
I added tranny fluid and filter to the list.

q: is there a drain plug for the automatic transmission? I hope so as it would make changing the fluid so much easier and less messy. Dropping the tranny pan is one of less fav things to do…

 

[Spark44x]

I got the same 2 months ago.. same issues vsa abs etc etc, I just muzzled mine tonight going to do the plugs in the morning and coils, im at 210k miles

awesome!! I am hoping the muzzle fixes the vsa isssue.

I’ve actually been driving this vehicle for the past year. Thats about how long the vsa light has been on. The previous owner is convinced it was caused by doing an alignment.

 

[DIY Fan]

Hondas have transmission drain plugs. Drain and fill the ATF is super easy.

 

[Spark44x]

Hondas have transmission drain plugs. Drain and fill the ATF is super easy.

awesomeness!!

 

[WiiMaster]

Just saying, this philosophy of replacing something that isn't commonly known to go bad just for the sake of replacing it is often how problems are introduced. Especially when inferior parts are used. If replacing the coils helps you sleep at night, only use OE coils. Don't even consider any of the aftermarket junk like Duralast or anything else like that.

If the check engine light is on, there is a code for it. Getting that code is important. Perhaps you need to try and re-scan.

Does the car drive okay and does the engine rev okay? Often times when the CEL is associated with the triangle light and VSA light it's because the engine has been put into limp mode for some reason.

ABS code 61 is a low voltage code, which is frequently caused by a weak (old) battery. Put a known good battery in there and see if the code remains. Code 83 is a PCM/ECM Relation Failure code, which sounds a lot worse than it typically is. This is usually what is thrown when limp mode is triggered. But again, start with the battery first then if that code persists, you can continue troubleshooting.

Since your van is a VCM van I wouldn't be surprised if the VCM solenoid in the rear head is having an issue, which would cause the codes you're seeing, and the CEL would likely be something about the valve pause system being stuck on/off.

 

[Spark44x]

Just saying, this philosophy of replacing something that isn't commonly known to go bad just for the sake of replacing it is often how problems are introduced. Especially when inferior parts are used. If replacing the coils helps you sleep at night, only use OE coils. Don't even consider any of the aftermarket junk like Duralast or anything else like that.

If the check engine light is on, there is a code for it. Getting that code is important. Perhaps you need to try and re-scan.

Does the car drive okay and does the engine rev okay? Often times when the CEL is associated with the triangle light and VSA light it's because the engine has been put into limp mode for some reason.

ABS code 61 is a low voltage code, which is frequently caused by a weak (old) battery. Put a known good battery in there and see if the code remains. Code 83 is a PCM/ECM Relation Failure code, which sounds a lot worse than it typically is. This is usually what is thrown when limp mode is triggered. But again, start with the battery first then if that code persists, you can continue troubleshooting.

Since your van is a VCM van I wouldn't be surprised if the VCM solenoid in the rear head is having an issue, which would cause the codes you're seeing, and the CEL would likely be something about the valve pause system being stuck on/off.

have you ever been stranded because of a failed coil? I have. When you live in the middle of nowhere, it sucks being stranded. No AAA. No cell coverage. Again, if you are comfortable not replacing it, cool. I am not.

I am positive no engine code.

The car drives fine until the VSA light turns on. It won’t rev above 3k when it’s on.

battery has been replaced a couple times in the past year. The kid likes to leave the lights on. And this heat wave killed a battery. Same behavior before and after.

Since your van is a VCM van I wouldn't be surprised if the VCM solenoid in the rear head is having an issue, which would cause the codes you're seeing, and the CEL would likely be something about the valve pause system being stuck on/off.

I would like to know more about this. How would I fix this issue.

 

[WiiMaster]

have you ever been stranded because of a failed coil? I have. When you live in the middle of nowhere, it sucks being stranded. No AAA. No cell coverage. Again, if you are comfortable not replacing it, cool. I am not.

I am positive no engine code.

View attachment 168824

The car drives fine until the VSA light turns on. It won’t rev above 3k when it’s on.

battery has been replaced a couple times in the past year. The kid likes to leave the lights on. And this heat wave killed a battery. Same behavior before and after.



I would like to know more about this. How would I fix this issue.

I'm not going to say you can't replace the coil. Your car, your choice. What I'm saying is if you do replace it, replace it with an OE coil. Replacing with an aftermarket coil may end up creating the scenario you are trying to avoid. I also don't see how a single failed coil can strand you. Worst case scenario, just limp home with a misfire. It's not the greatest for the catalytic converter but you're not really stranded either.

Yep, definitely sounds like your van is going into limp mode and the CEL code is related to VPS (Valve Pause System, aka the disabling of the valves for VCM operation).

The typical fix is replacing the oil pressure switch on the solenoid assembly (and possibly changing and/or cleaning out the gasket if the screen is clogged)

 

[Spark44x]

This is the sensor next to / under the VTEC unit? I remember seeing a youtube video about this.

 

[WiiMaster]

This is the sensor next to / under the VTEC unit? I remember seeing a youtube video about this.

It is located on the rear head. It is what is referenced in this video:

It is often referred to incorrectly as a VTEC solenoid. While it works in a very similar way to how VTEC works, it does not have anything to do with VTEC, it is for VCM.

 

[Spark44x]

It is located on the rear head. It is what is referenced in this video:

It is often referred to incorrectly as a VTEC solenoid. While it works in a very similar way to how VTEC works, it does not have anything to do with VTEC, it is for VCM.

cool. I’ll check out the video. The Preview looks like what I saw before.

yeah, driving the vehicle has been interesting. If you drive with a light foot, the trans shifts just before the point of no acceleration. Sometimes having to take my foot off the gas to get the vehicle to shift (usually at around 40 ish mph). Regularly have the vehicle at 75-80 mph. Other than the 3k rpm thing, it drives great.

 

[WiiMaster]

The 3k RPM thing you mention is limp mode so it should go back to normal once you get this issue resolved. ETCG actually had an 05 with pretty much the same issue you are describing and he shows what he did to fix it. Other than the garbage advice about disabling VCM (because he did it wrong and was then wondering why it didn't work, not to mention the fact that disabling VCM is not how you "bypass" the issue), it's not a horrible video:

 

[kernel]

Purchase 6 new coils? Why? They rarely fail and it makes sense only to replace one when it fails.

have you ever been stranded because of a failed coil? I have.

With my Hondas? No. When I did have one fail, I replaced it with an OEM Hitachi coil that I pulled from the junk yard. The OEM coils seem to last forever. To many reports of: "coils (plugs, alternator too) replaced with ones from the parts store. Now I'm still having problems." as WiiMaster says.

 

[Spark44x]

With my Hondas? No. When I did have one fail, I replaced it with an OEM Hitachi coil that I pulled from the junk yard. The OEM coils seem to last forever. To many reports of: "coils (plugs, alternator too) replaced with ones from the parts store. Now I'm still having problems." as WiiMaster says.

Previously only ever had one Honda. 95 Accord. I hated that car. It had issue after issue and was fairly low mileage. Didn’t keep it very long.

As far as using aftermarket parts. Can’t say I’ve had those same issues, but I typically stay within OEM specs or better. Cheap parts are cheap for a reason. Sometimes they are using lower grade materials. Sometimes the OEM stuff is overpriced (Chevy vs Cadillac parts, which are often interchangeable).

 

[thscott]

timing belt and related is in great shape.
I added tranny fluid and filter to the list.

q: is there a drain plug for the automatic transmission? I hope so as it would make changing the fluid so much easier and less messy. Dropping the tranny pan is one of less fav things to do…

Yes. there is a drain plug and a fill plug. 18 mm crush washer for drain. 24 mm for fill.
No need to replace coils. The original ones rarely go bad and aftermarket ones do not work or last very long.

 

[Spark44x]

Got an email update that the S-VCM has shipped.
Other parts are already in hand. I may do the tune up tomorrow.
Ive heard the back spark plugs can be difficult to get to. I guess Ill find out... Can't be any more difficult than a 4th gen F-Body (that engine practically sits under the dash).