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Tech Area => General Buick Tech => Topic started by: Steve Wood on May 21 2013, 10:41:26 AM

Title: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: Steve Wood on May 21 2013, 10:41:26 AM
A few months ago after giving up on Innovate LC-1 wb's, I decided to try an NGK-AFX which uses the better NGK sensor.  It's an ugly creature with a boxy display that contains all the electronics.  \

Beyond the physical appearance it comes with a long bulky pair of cables terminated with a plug that requires a 1.25" hole to pass thru to the interior.

As per the picture, I cut the hole at the top of the passenger footwell.  This location comes out just below the heater/ac box and just inside the inner fender to that the wires are not too close to the downpipe and can be routed up to a good ground and power source point.

I used a floor plan plug with a hole cut thru the center and siliconed it into the hole to fill up the excess space once the plug has been passed thru into the car.  Works pretty well.

Oh, yeah, I noticed the other day that the analog out to the PL input was not reading properly on the SM....shades of Innovate-pissed me off so badly that I have not bothered to verify the connections to the PL block or elsewhere.

I have been playing with wide bands since 2000 when I built one from the TechEdge bunch down in Australia.  It still works.

To date, I see no real benefit to the average guy on the street unless he is running something with a lot of tuning capability.  Cars with chips that only allow wide open throttle programming capabilities can do just as well using the the factory narrow band and leaning the fueling down until the car is on the edge of detonation.

I don't know how many emails I get from guys whose cars don't run as fast as they think they should and they tell me the A/f is dialed into a 10.6-1 A/F just like it should be as per the internet (on a car that is running 12.5 in the quarter

Many of them think I am nutz for telling them that the car is pig rich because Joe Blow runs 10.6-1 A/F and his car runs in the Nines

Add alky into the equation and the situation gets worse.  I asked a guy not so long ago what his fuel pressure was at the lights and he told me he had no fuel pressure problem because his wb was reading perfectly.   Yeah, his fuel pump was not putting out (not sure about his sister) and he had been adding alky thru the controller for a year.  No, he did not have a fuel pressure gauge or transducer because he had a wide band to tell him that he was good.

Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: Scoobum on May 21 2013, 12:03:00 PM
Thanks for the pic and the writeup.
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: Pyro6 on May 21 2013, 05:55:26 PM
Steve, alot of my headaches ended when I went with the NGK setup. They are way more tolerant of "other than pump gas" mixtures.
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: motorhead on May 21 2013, 05:57:16 PM
Same spot I ran my LC-1.
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: Steve Wood on May 21 2013, 08:05:04 PM
yes, the NGK is much better suited for Leaded gas...now if I can figure out why the analog out is no longer right...the digital display is right on
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: gnonyx on May 21 2013, 10:25:35 PM
Hi Steve, I have Autometer Ultra-Lite Digital Gauge Air/Fuel Ratio 2 1/16"
Have you ever try them or do you have any comments about them?
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: Steve Wood on May 21 2013, 10:29:06 PM
No...I have not :)
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: gnonyx on May 21 2013, 10:33:41 PM
Here is the Auto Meter PDF in case if you're looking for different avenue.

Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: dennisL on May 23 2013, 10:41:19 AM
Steve, the analog inputs to PL are adjustable and saved in the ini file.  Don't know if adjustments affect the SM display values but certainly affect the PL program.  You can adjust the range (min - max volts) and the "OffsetVolts".  The offset shifts the range slightly (plus or minus).
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: Steve Wood on May 23 2013, 03:05:34 PM
that is right, but, this was working perfectly for some time, then started reading at full scale with an occasional dip when blipping the throttle
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: motorhead on May 23 2013, 05:38:34 PM
I love my MTX-L...
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: Scoobum on May 25 2013, 06:40:20 AM
yes, the NGK is much better suited for Leaded gas...now if I can figure out why the analog out is no longer right...the digital display is right on

Steve...does the NGK-AFX digital display box have a recall button like our SM does?
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: Steve Wood on May 25 2013, 09:21:08 AM
nope...it is a pretty basic device
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: motorhead on May 25 2013, 09:27:03 AM
nope...it is a pretty basic device

That's what the PowerLogger is for.
Title: Re: Wide Band O2 Cable Routing
Post by: Scoobum on May 25 2013, 05:14:42 PM
nope...it is a pretty basic device

Thanks for the info.
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