I tried putting in the vtec light today and came up with the same problem some other guys from here had. The light comes on for 1/2 second after starting the car and once when shutting off, but nothing in between. Some people said that there are two green wires in that plug, I only saw one, but I want to make sure. DID ANYBODY HAVE THIS DONE ON A TL??? If somebody did could you help me out. PLUS, does the light react to vtec that instant or do you have to keep vtec...ing it?

 

yeah i had that problem too...i gave up...
does anyone know?

 

If some company could make one of these lights and make it somewhat easy to install it would be a best seller. I'd certainly buy one.

 

Somebody does make it. Its a light that you can put inside your factory cluster and it says "Vtec".

 

I've seen various ways to make one but that just takes work not to mention the annoyance of the installation.

 

Hold up!!!


http://mastaminds.com/vtecnewpage.htm

 

That's what I was talking about. But we need to find somebody who has one of these in their car so we know exactly where to wire it to. It's gotta be somewhere out there on the net. I read that the green wire in the plug is in the A4 position of the harness, mine looked like it was the third one in the top row, dont know if thats right or what. It's very easy and only takes 10 min as long as we know where to splice the freaking + wire.

 

If this vtech kit would work, I think it's very inexpensive. But I think I am going to encounter the following:

1) can't locate ECU, even though it was said to be on passenger side, right foot area?
2) to remove the gauge cluster to put the light in might be diffucly

Only if I have a friend who is an Honda/Acura mechanic...

Tatewaki

 

kit comes with instruction as to what to do..which wire to tap etc.

 

Tatewaki,
I am not sure if tls and tl is the same. I have a 02 tl and all I did to get to the cpu is take off the kick panel on the passenger side right where your right foot would be. Just take off that plastic and you'll see a NEC piece with 3 plugs, the wire I think we are looking for is in the middle one ( green with yl stripe)

 

Tatewaki:

That is certainly one of my problems. I have absolutely no idea how to get into my gauge clust. Do you go under the hood or do you have to take off the dash. The unit seems relatively inexpensive but the installation only 30 minutes, MY ASS.
If someone can clearly explain a simple installation for a '99 TL then I will buy this and install it. I know when VTEC is running but for $15-20 of merchandise I would love to have a light that shows me exactly what is going on in the engine.

 

ABDomega,
The wiring will only take about 10 min. And go to the FAQ page and look up how to take the dash apart to take out the gauge clust. If you do buy it please email me at sooslik2001@yahoo.com with the right wire.

 

I just read somewhere that splicing it to the ECU is not that good, it much better to connect it to the solenoid. Can somebody post a pic of the hood and point out the distributor cap, that's where the green wire is.

 

As with all installations on your car, disconnect the negative battery terminal first! Now begin by taking out the gauge cluster. This is accomplished by removing the two Philips screws at the top. Once those are out you have to pull on the bottom of the black trim to pop it out. It's a relatively tough piece, so don't worry about breaking it. With that out of the way, remove the four screws securing the assembly. There are two up top and two on bottom. Carefully pull the gauges out and you'll notice several connections on the back. Simply unplug them. Don't worry you'll be able to figure out which one's go where when you put things back together.

Disassemble the gauge cluster. Pry the tabs holding the clear lens on. Remove the black gauge overlay/trim bezel piece. On the rear of the same piece, pop out the factory indicator mask that contains the oil, engine, and battery warning lights. Please notice the unused oval just above the 5k rpm mark. That is the easiest place to put the new indicator. Now is a good time to say that a steady hand and understanding of what you're doing is helpful here. There is little room for error. You will have to continually go back and forth 'test fitting' the mask in the bezel to ensure proper fit/finish. Carefully and gently file or sand away the black back covering on that position leaving the smoked transparent front. You don't want to damage to already existing indicators. Now position the VTEC indicator you made earlier over that area. Make sure you line it up straight and secure the VTEC indicator to the mask with glue at each corner. Test fit again once the glue begins to set. You have a little time to make sure things line up until it sets. Once it's all dry you can put the gauge cluster back together. But do not put it back in the car yet.

In this step we'll prepare and install the new bulb. Nearly all of the materials can be purchased at your local auto parts superstore like PepBoys or Advance Auto Parts. The small bulb is usually sold in pairs. Just go use their computer or book to select a dash instrument replacement bulb. They're very cheap. You will also need about ten feet of wire to be safe. I've found that small gauge speaker wire or solid copper wire will work. Small sections of shrink tubing will help ensure a professional installation, however are not necessary. Electrical tape can be substituted where these instructions require shrink tube. The bulb will have two connections on the back. Polarity doesn't matter. Solder a piece of wire about 8" long to one of the connections on the bulb. Put shrink tubing over the connection to cover all of the metal. On the other end of the wire strip and crimp the ring terminal to it. That will be the ground. The rest of the wire needs to be soldered to the other connector. Again, put shrink tube on it. The wires will later be connected to the car. Wrap a lot of electrical tape around the base of the bulb. This is the simplest method to hold the bulb in the rear of the gauge pod behind the new indicator that I've found. Nasty, but functional.

Now it's time to put the cluster back in the car. Before you plug in the connectors and screw in the cluster, you must ground the additional bulb you just installed. There is a screw above the steering column that works perfectly for that. Now drop the other long length of wire down to the floor board of the car so you can work with it. Feel free to plug the connectors back in and reinstall the gauge cluster. You may want test the bulb to ensure functionality. You will have to reconnect the negative battery terminal temporarily. Then just touch the end of the long wire to the positive terminal. Make sure the light glows to satisfaction. Disconnect the negative again. You have two options for connecting to the cars VTEC system. Route the wire as you wish. One is at the solenoid (I recommend), and the other is the ECU (more difficult and untested). The solenoid is next to the distributor cap under the hood. It has a single green wire with a white stripe connecting to it. The ECU has a green wire with a yellow stripe that is the VTEC signal wire located on connector 25P. In either case you have to tap/splice into the wire. When the ECU tells VTEC to come on, the power is turned on to the solenoid. Now that will in turn light the indicator lamp.

 

i'm a fan of those VTEC lights that look like a 6in flouresant light bulb.. like blue.. and it has the word VTEC on it.. they are kinda nice, a little too much rice though, i've seen them on ebay, not lately though

 

I emailed the company that makes them. On the website they say that it will fit most of the hondas and acuras including tl but they only have installation insructions for the civic.

 

Will there product work in the installation that you provided above?

 

I connected it to the ECU and nothing happens. I want to try it the othe way.

 

Man I feel for you right now. You realize that with the guys responding to your thread you are the guinea pig. This is something I want to do but I want to make sure its not a false cause. Good luck! :wow:

:smokin:

 

I dont care. I want to know why its not working or where to find the freaking wire by the engine. I WILL MAKE THIS WORK

 

Again Bro, good luck!

This may help but I doubt it

http://www.teamsolwa.com/vteclight.html

 

This vtec light will be a passing fad. When everyone has i-vtec the light wont make sense to have.