In my experience, VCM activates 3-cylinder mode far MORE than I thought it did; unless I'm driving at highway speeds in which case it activates far LESS than I thought it would, lol.
I installed an S-VCM Controller when my Ridgeline had right around 6,000 miles on it. I'm now up over 50k miles and I haven't had any issues. I took a lot of measurements before and after installing my S-VCM Controller and found no difference in my fuel economy.
Here's a graph showing a roughly 50-minute drive with about half on a highway driving with the cruise set at 65MPH and half on back country roads. The thin blue line is the number of active cylinders scaled on the right. As you can see, VCM rarely engaged while at 65 MPH, but toggled VERY frequently at lower speeds.
So my VCM worked well and was very seamless - I was never able to determine which mode I was driving under until I installed a ScanGauge III which will display the number of active cylinders. If you have an inexpensive OBD-II port scanner that pairs with your phone, an app like Car Scanner can also display the VCM status. There are manufacturer-specific codes (PIDs) that need to be entered into the app for it to read something less standard, like VCM status. Here's a list of PIDs:
Just want to open a thread to capture all the various custom ODB pids known for doing your own monitoring of things which the vehicle does not natively display (like transmission temperature, etc). Background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OBD-II_PIDs Honda, like other manufacturers, use custom...
www.ridgelineownersclub.com
Here is step-by-step instructions for how to enter the PID to view VCM status into the Car Scanner app:
The S-VCM Controller installation was straightforward. The first thing I would recommend is shutting your Ridgeline off and waiting a long time for all of the various modules to shut down or go to sleep before starting the installation. This takes longer than just a few minutes. I don't know how long you should wait, but I waited overnight and had no problems. Others have reported error codes after installing their S-VCM Controller shortly after shutting the Ridgeline off because unplugging the temperature sensor wiring harness will cause a trouble code if the module trying to read from the temp sensor is still awake. So after waiting a long time, you pop the big plastic engine cover off by lifting it straight up. On the driver's side, locate the temperature sensor right on top of the engine and unplug it. The S-VCM Controller has two connectors. One plugs into the wiring harness and the other back into the temperature sensor. Lastly, there is one wire that needs to be connected to power. If you want, you can run that wire over to the battery and connect it to a fuse holder and connect the fuse holder to the battery positive terminal. I chose to run mine into the cab to a switch under the dash so I can turn my S-VCM Controller on and off whenever I want as I drive. Other than experimenting with it, I've left my S-VCM Controller turned on all the time so this might not be necessary unless you like to tinker. That's it. Pop the engine cover back on and you're done!
