Thread: VVL in and out?????

I am having a pretty big issue with my car. Ok, it runs great, goes into vvl great when it is suppose to, BUT and a big BUT, it will NOT stay in VVL for over 1k rpm and then go out, then back in, then back out. It wont stay in VVL once it hits it

This is killing my acceleration and I am not going to have it fine tuned in this condition, so I need HELP!!!!

First thing I am getting my rpm source from my greddy MSS from the ecu wire, but it is sharing it with my digital tach. Does anybody think that the tach is taking enough power away from the mss to make this happen???? If so I will just attach the tach to the "tam" screw on the back of the gauge and hope thats it..... Next maybe its the distributor??? I got it from one of my old motors laying around in my garage, so maybe I need to replace??? Also my coil pack connector is giving me a problem. When I try and attach it to the connector it doesn't quite "click" , but does go on enough I am assuming to work.

Thats about it, so if anybody has any ideas please post up.

I need this fixed so I can move on to my next project and also get it fixed!! It is such a tease when I here the car get loud and start to pull HARD, but then stop and start all over again Besides all that I want to spray the badboy by mid october(75 wet)

why dont you try the things you just listed first, I know it might seem crazy but thats probably a good idea.

check ur oil..... also check for slack connections

I will once I get back from vacation....it does seem logical




Oil is perfect and has been perfect since day one even driving without 5th gear on the highway at 5K +. The oil is right on the line

The only bad thing about it is I have to set my activation point to 5200 or higher so i am not going in and out constantly...

And what do you mean by slack in connections??? IF you mean are they all connected nice and secure without any being loose, then no there is no slack.

I would take off the solenoids and see if they are possibly built up with sludge. On my motor, they had some sludge from the motor sitting for a long time. Sprayed them out and they looked like new.

I find it weird because my car falls out of VVL occassionally. I was running with a honda the other night and when I shifted into 4th it dropped out and did not activate until 6500. Its weird but only does it somethings. My clips have very very little play so maybe thats it. IDK.

I am almost willing to put money on the rpm signal. Are you getting it from the wire going to the ecu, or the wire going to the tach? Use the one that isnt being used by the digital tach. Also, crimp it AND solder it when you move it.

I am using the one coming off the ecu or going to the ecu( which ever way you look at it??)

I plan to take the aftermarket tach off when i get home from vacation. And btw its crimped on very very well!

Dude my motor was pretty sludgy when I got it so i ran some Auto rx through it and cleaned out the pick up, oil pan, etc.... I'll definitely check the selinoids and see if they have any issues.

What did you do about the sludge??? I mean it is activating, but just going in and out so that is what makes me believe its not the sludge and the signal not being strong enough.

I ran my motor for about 50 miles with cheap oil and drained it. Then ran some synthetic for a day and drained it again. Then did another full synthetic. The sludge is gone from what it looked like. Under the valve cover was getting cleaner so I guess the old oil sitting in the warehouse needed to be broken down. I used I believe carb cleaner to clean out the solenoids. Made the insides shine and flow like new. I am pulling signal from the coil wires on the engine harness. Cams activate using an MSD window switch. Seems pretty good so far. N1 cams are beautiful. Lol.

Can you explain how you cleaned the solenoids??? Do you mean the actual 2 cylinders that have plugs in them? Or something under the valve cover?


And about the cleaning. I used Auto rx and 3qts of oil and let it run for 20 minutes as per the directions, next i drained the oil, dropped the oil pan and cleaned the oil pan, baffle, and took off the oil pick up tube. After that I filled a bowl of auto rx, which if i had to explain smelled like turpentine and put the screen part of the tube in the bowl, left it for about 20 minutes and then cleaned the screen thoroughly and all was good. Next I filled the car up with mobil 1 5w-30 and everything seemed fine. I never actually pulled the valve cover again, but the car felt fine and ran/runs great except for this one on/off vvl issue, which I really attribute to a electrical or ignition issue, but I will find tomorrow when I put on my ST rear sway bar.


keep the suggestions and comments coming.