L Engine

L Engine

Information on the Honda L12 to L15 engine.








General Information

Cylinders
4
Displacement
L12 1246 cc / 73.1 ci
L13 1339 cc / 81.7 ci
L15 1496 cc / 91.4 ci
Firing Order
1,3,4,2




CAN

This vehicles uses CAN bus for various devices throughout the vehicle. This can include the dashboard, ABS, and Body Control.  This is NOT supported by Haltech.




Model Variants

As with most Honda engines there are a large number of variants of the L engine. Not all are supported.

i-DSI Models

Variants with i-DSI feature dual spark plugs per cylinder with a split time between spark plugs, similar to a rotary engine with the Trail ignition. This is purely for fuel economy and emissions.  This is not supported by Haltech and these models are not covered in this guide.

Turbo Models

L15BF, L15B7, L15B9, L15BG, L15E, L15C.  These are all equipped with Direct Injection and are not supported by Haltech.

L12B

10.2:1 comp, SOHC, VTEC inlet cam lobes only

L13A i-VTEC

10.5:1 comp, SOHC, continuously variable cam timing (i-VTEC)

L13B i-VTEC

13.5:1 comp, DOHC, continuously variable intake cam timing (i-VTEC)

L13Z1 i-VTEC

10.5:1 comp, SOHC, continuously variable cam timing (i-VTEC)

L15A1 VTEC

10.4:1 comp, SOHC, VTEC inlet cam lobes only

L15A7 i-VTEC

10.4:1 comp, SOHC, continuously variable cam timing (i-VTEC), power increase

L15B1 i-VTEC

DOHC, continuously variable intake cam timing (i-VTEC)

L15Z1 i-VTEC

10.3:1 comp, SOHC, continuously variable cam timing (i-VTEC)

L15Z2/5/6 i-VTEC

10.4:1 comp, SOHC, continuously variable cam timing (i-VTEC)




Common Models

Fitted to the Fit, Jazz, CR-V, HR-V, Brio, Civic, City, 






Sensor Information

Crank/Cam Sensor

This engines uses a Crank Position Sensor and a Cam Position Sensor.  The crank trigger has 60x teeth with a 2x tooth missing gap (60-2 pattern).  The cam trigger has 3x teeth with 2x large teeth and 1x small tooth.


Crank trigger plate from L15A7


Cam trigger plate from L15A7



Crank Sensor

A Hall Effect crank position sensor is used.


Pin
Description
Haltech Connection (Trigger 4-core)
1
12V+ Switched
Red
2
Trigger +
Yellow
3
Signal Ground
Blue




Cam Sensor

A Hall Effect cam sensor is used. This is located in the cylinder head at the gearbox end.


Hall Effect Wiring
Pin
Description
Haltech Connection (Home 4-core)
1
SignalHome + (Yellow)
2
Signal Ground
Signal Ground (Blue)
3
12V+12V+ (Red)









Ignition Coils and Igniter

This engine has an ignition coil on each spark plug (Direct Fire). The ignition coils feature an internal igniter.  These can be wired directly to the ECU.   

    

Pin
Description
Haltech Connection
1
ECU Ignition Output
Ignition Output
2
Ground (to cylinder head)
---
3
12V+ Switched
---


Dwell Time








DBW Throttle System

This engine uses a single Drive By Wire throttle body.


DBW Throttle Wiring


Position Sensors
Pin
Description
Haltech Connection
1
TPS1AVI2 (Orange/Black)
2
5V+5V+ (Orange)
3TPS2
AVI3 (Orange/Red)
4Signal Ground
Signal Ground (Black/White)
5
Motor-
DBW2 (Brown/Red)
6
Motor+
DBW1 (Brown/Black)



DBW Accelerator Pedal Position Sensors Connection



Pin
Description
Haltech Connection
1
Signal Ground 1Signal Ground (Black/White)
2
5V+ 15V+ (Orange)
3
Signal 1AVI-4 (Orange/Yellow)
4
Signal Ground 2Signal Ground (Black/White)
5
5V+ 25V+ (Orange)
6
Signal 2AVI-5 (Orange/Green)






Throttle Position Sensor (Cable Throttle Models)

This engine variant uses a cable operated throttle body with a position sensor.

Pin
DescriptionHaltech Wiring
1 - Colour
Signal GroundSignal Ground (Black/White)
2 - Colour
TPS SignalSpare AVI (AVI-10 White)
3 - Colour
5V+5V+ (Orange)









MAP Sensor

This vehicle comes with a MAP sensor. This is located on the inlet plenum.

PinDescription
Haltech Connection
15V+5V+ (Orange)
2MAP SignalSpare AVI (AVI-9 Yellow)
3Signal GroundSignal Ground (Black/White)

If preferred you can use the internal MAP sensor that comes with your ECU.  For higher boost levels an external MAP sensor should be used instead, connected to a spare AVI.








Variable Cams (i-VTEC)

This engine comes with continuously variable cam timing on the inlet cam.  This is supported by the Haltech Elite ECU under the Variable Cams function.









Variable Cams Switched (VTEC)

This engine comes with an On/Off switched variable cam system.  This is supported by the Haltech ECU under the Variable Cams Switched function.







Idle Control

This engine uses the Drive By Wire Throttle to control idle speed.










Coolant Temperature



Wiring is not polarity sensitive
Pin
Haltech Connection
1Any Spare AVI*
2Signal Ground
An AVI with a selectable Pullup should be used.  If not and external 1k pullup to 5V should be connected.







Air Temp

An Inlet Air Temperature Sensor is fitted to this engine.  It is located in the inlet duct.



Wiring is not polarity sensitive.
Pin
Haltech Connection
1Any Spare AVI*
2Signal Ground
An AVI with a selectable Pullup should be used.  If not and external 1k pullup to 5V should be connected.








Knock Sensor

This engine comes with an older resonant style knock sensor.  These are known to be unreliable and can give misleading information on engines that are modified from standard. For accurate knock control a donut style non-resonant sensor should be used, such as the Haltech HT-011100.


Haltech HT-011100 Knock Sensor









O2 Sensors

This engine has Narrow Band O2 sensors.  Although they can be used for light load tuning for Lambda 1.0, they cannot be used for tuning under power.

For correct operation a Haltech WB1 (HT-159976) kit is highly recommended for this application, with the provided 4.9 sensors replacing the pre-cat sensors.  Sensors use a 22mm socket or spanner to remove and replace.








Vehicle Speed Sensor

This engine receives speed data via CANbus.








Injector Data

Flow

The injector flow rate is measured with the injectors held wide open at 100% duty.  For fuel systems with a fixed regulator pressure (often returnless systems) that is not referenced to manifold pressure the flow needs to be mapped over Manifold Pressure for accurate tuning.

Injector Flow: 190cc/min

Dead Time

When an injector is commanded to open for a certain amount of time, the dead time is the amount of time the injector is not actually open during this period.  It covers the time to energise the solenoid and begin to open and the time to close as well.  There are also transient periods during which the injector is opening and closing where fuel flow is not at full capacity so this lost peak flow period is also taken into account.  










OEM ECU Information


   

Location




ECU Pinout

  
   








    • Related Articles

    • Engine Control Relay

      Engine Control Relay The Engine Control Relay function allows the Nexus ECU to control the 12V+ power supply to certain parts of the engine management, such as injectors and ignition coils.  This function should remain enabled when a Haltech supplied ...
    • Mapping an Engine

      Mapping the engine involves filling the look-up tables with the correct values for your engine. The tables are calibrated for an engine by adjusting the values of the cells within the tables. WARNING Driving a vehicle over time, on poorly tuned maps ...
    • Don’t Blow Your Engine!

      We have all heard the stories and many of us have experienced first hand an engine failure. Whether it be a catastrophic “con rods hanging out of the block, piston melting, bearing crushing, block splitting” belter or just a simple gasket failure, ...
    • Engine Limiting Channel States

      Engine Limiting Method: 0  None 1  Fuel 2  Ignition Engine Limiting Function: 0  None 1  Immobiliser 2  Map version error 3  Electronic throttle error 4  Electronic throttle redundancy error 5  Decel cut 6  Over boost cut 7  Ignition switch 8  ...
    • Fuel Pressure Sensor, Diagnosis, and Engine Protection

      This guide is based on the TI 150 psi pressure sensor.  Other sensors can be used however please check wiring and calibration data to suit the sensor. About Haltech Part HT-010904 A fuel pressure sensor is a sensor that can read up to around 150 to ...