KWW wrote:
> Put in a replacement engine in a car. When I went to adjust the timing, the
> 15 degree BTDC mark was way up so that I had to look up in the timing hole
> to see it (could not look straight in and see it). I estimated roughly that
> it was another 15 to 20 degrees out. The check engine light is ON. The
> engine ran very smoothly.

i thought all the ignition timing marks were on the pulley wheel, but
let's move on... and you need to let us know the code.

>
> After my daughter's '93 Accord's engine "died" I came across a
> well-recommended place with low-mileage replacement engines (from Japan) and
> got a good deal on a very clean 2.0 litre engine.
> Replaced all seals, used old intake and exhaust manifold, and old wiring
> harness.
> Used the old distributor and coil due to external vs internal coil and
> associated wiring differences.

ok, to fire at the right time, the computer needs a sensor to let it
know where tdc is.

> Kept the new motor's sensors (that were in the block)

are they a different style/location or merely "new" as in new to you?
if you're using the old distributor/sensor kit, you also need the old
sensors, or at least, the timing sensor, and it needs to work exactly
the same as before.

> but the fuel-injection
> and stuff from the old engine came along with the intake manifold.
>
> Verified that "T" on the flywheel (backplate) corresponded to highest point
> on #1 cylinder.
> Triple checked timing marks for timing belt (3rd time after running it for a
> little).
> Absolutely certain that the distributor is correctly set in the motor.

haynes manuals are abysmal. check with the helm manual, or there's
online sources for this info - go to tegger.com & poke about. on the
civic, different models use different timing regimes on what is
apparently the same motor, so be sure you're using the right one in this
case too.

>
> Per the Hayes manual I did put a jumper in the blue connector in the
> passenger compartment to perform the timing check.

sounds right.

>
> That is when I took off the valve cover and top timing belt cover and used a
> straight-edge to triple-check that the timing belt was not off by a tooth.
> It was dead on with the top of the head.
>
> A Honda technician suggested that either my timing light is off,

possible. make sure you have a clean cable run so it's not picking up
stray signal. and if it's ok on your other cars, it should be ok here.

> or the
> car's computer may be trying to compensate for something,

possible, but if it's in "safe" mode, it's usually retarded, not advanced.

> causing the timing
> to be way advanced. He mentioned something about another jumper under the
> hood,

on older models. it was moved inside for yours.

> but the manual only mentioned the one inside the car. The guy further
> suggested trying to drive it and see if it revs up well, does not bog down,
> runs without pinging, etc. If it does, he thought it should be fine.

ugh.

>
> Has anyone run across this before? Is there any way to "reset" the computer
> if that is the problem? Might there be a bad sensor involved?

revert to the old sensors, use the pulley wheel timing marks, and take
one last look at the cam timing.

>
> Trying to keep 5 cars running and this one is taking an inordinate amount of
> time.
>
> TIA,