Check Engine Light (CEL) 9

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Check Engine Light (CEL) 9

By mage182
- Wed May 09, 2007 1:57 am #7537 I've had this problem ever since doing my swap 2 years ago. No one in any other forum (B20Vtec, Honda-Tech, JDMCivic) has been able to give a solid answer on a remedy.

1993 Civic Si
1997 LS Integra Swap With OEM OBDI ECU
Converted to OBDI except for the dizzy which i made a conversion harness for.

Car idles strong but you can feel the engine sputtering. In the winter when its cold you get some 'puffing' from the tailpipe til it warms up and the engine light comes on.

CEL 9 is No. 1 Cyl sensor which is is in the distributor. However, I dont want to go out and spend 200+ dollars on a new dizzy to find out it was something else. Or can I replace the sensor in the dizzy without buying a whole new unit.

Checked the timing and its fine. Checked plugs, wires, cap & rotor. Car doesn't make great power until you get to about 3000rpm and then smooths out.

Any ideas?

By Thateguhate
- Wed May 09, 2007 4:16 am #7543 replacing the dizzy is your only solution..


What happened is your sensor went bad, but honda forbids you trying to replace it. You will fuck up a used (good cond) dizzy trying to do so.


It measures how many times your cams rotate or something like that. When mine first did it, it was still a softcode but it gets worse as time goes on.

Just replace the whole entire dizzy and your problem is solved..

get NEW aftermarket... if you cant afford new OEM parts.. just my 02..

By mage182
- Wed May 09, 2007 10:27 pm #7627 Thank you for your help. Now I'll add the other part of the story. I bought a JDM OBDI LS dizzy and put it in and after 3 days it stopped working. I'm hoping this was just because it crapped out. So does it make a difference if I buy an OBDII or I dizzy as a replacement? Is there a benefit to getting one over the other?
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By teal_dx
- Wed May 09, 2007 10:50 pm #7629 the only difference is the wiring harnesses. I'd get the one to match the same OBD as your engine harness to save you the trouble of cutting & matching up the wires, even if it cost a little more $$.

By mage182
- Sat Apr 05, 2008 12:52 am #49255 Long wait for a reply but complete threads are nice. I bought a new OBDI dizzy and the car runs better now once it's warm. But I still have to feather the gas pedal on cold start to get the rpms up to where they should be. I think I'm going to try a new ECU as soon as I can find a deal on one.
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By k0rean4life
- Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:19 pm #49950 Check ur plugs? Check ur fuel pressure? Sounds like ur mixture is off. Check ur timing one more time.

You could have bad rings, have you done a leak down and compression test?

also have you changed ur fuel filter?
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