i have a FJO wide band and i'm wondering if there are any negitive affects to leaving it installed all the time. it is a street car and is run on unleaded 93. as of now i usaully just install the sensor when i'm tuning, but if possible would like to avaid this.

basicly: what is the life of a wideband o2 sensor?

thanks

justin

 

FJO claims that the NTK1 sensor should last 30k miles or more. I know that several forum members have run their NTK1s for several thousands of miles with no issues.

 

guys , its FJO wide band and sensor , better and more precise than the tecedge unit for rotary temperatures ?

 

had my fjo for 10K+ miles and runs and reads fine, then again how would I know if it was .02 off... it's not like I can stick my finger to the back and go "Humm a bit ritch" ???
And I'm not "Ritch" enough to go buy another to compare against...

 

thanks for the replys.

may sound stupid but, does anyone know if the FJO unit can somehow sense when the sensor is bad? are there any ways to tell if it is bad other than comparing to a new one?

justin

 

if you put your wideband too close to teh output of the turbo or too close to the header, then you will kill your o2 sensor. I killed my Bosch LSU sensor already.

Rule of thumb, if the area you are planing to locate your sensor glows red after hard runs, then that area is TOO HOT for your sensor!

 

yeah, too bad the most accurate EGR and AFR readings are "too close"


This can be accredited to the rotary engine huge amount of exhaust heat ... you can get 2k in a rotary under load but most high comp pistonians only get 1400 or so max ... another good reason for rotorhead to invest in a good exhaust (which includes a muffler with ceramic wool or some kinda high heat packing) to keep things on the down low

 

Yeah, if you decide to put your sensor behind your turbo you will have problems. And if you run leaded gas you will have decreased sensor life.

Mine is just at the end of the pipe that would go to the cat.

James

 

what kind of affects to leaded fuels have on the w/b sensor?

minus 50% life
minus 70% life etc...

would a coupla days ~5-10hrs of tuning with leaded fuel leave it useless for unleaded later?

thanks
justin

 

I was told the lead in the fuel will eventually coat the sensor and then it won't work. I think heated sensors like the one in the FJO hold up better to lead, than the non heated one. I would contact FJO and ask.

mark

 

AEM says that running rich for extended periods will also reduce the life of the sensor. Well, too bad! I'm leaving mine in all the time and there's nothing they can do about it. Mine is mounted at approximately 80 degrees above the horizontal, 1 inch downstream of the midpipe and downpipe flange. Should stay nice and cool there, and last a good amount of time (hoping for 25k)

 

I was under the impression that all wideband sensors had a heater element.

James

 

I've heard two explanations about limited life of WB O2 sensors:

1. If you mount the WB O2 sensor in the lower half of the downpipe circumference (i.e. between the 3 oclock and 9 oclock position) then condensation can collect in the sensor which will limit its life.

2. When you have the sensor installed then you must keep it on (i.e. heated) or its life will be limited. Some people install their WB O2 sensor for tuning and then just leave it installed even when they aren't using it.

 

WAAAAY TOO MUCH MISINFORMATION

Here are the researched facts:
Take it or leave it, I am NOT going to debate with you.

1. NTK L1H1 Sensor withstands heat slightly better than the BOSCH LSU-4, but FJO and TechEdge and many other units use both or either. The LSU sensor can be made to work mounted closer to the turbo but a heat shield is required. The NTK L1H1 is rated for 100,000 miles in the OEM vehicle (95 Honda Civic VX hatchback). For extended info see
http://www.techedge.com.au/vehicle/wbo2/wbntk.htm

2. TechEdge is not an inaccurate POS or even less accurate than others. (I have both a TE version 1 (NTK L1H1 sensor) and version 2 (Bosch LSU-4 0057) and both were tested against a $4000 shop unit. Neither ever reports more than .2 LEANER than the shop unit, which is good enough for me. My Version 1 TE with the NTK has been mounted just post turbo in my 3rd gen for close to 30K miles. BTW the NTK was bought used from a Honda Civic VX (where it was the OEM unit on the lean burn engine) with 50K Miles on it when I bought it.

3. Lead in the gas will kill the O2 sensor substantially faster than unleaded (like you'll be lucky to get 1000K).

4. Failing to run the o2 sensor heater circuit while the car is running will degrade the sensor because exhaust solids will condense on that part of the sensor which generates the output voltage (known as the Nernst cell). Unless you burn off the accumulation the condensed solids block the ability of the sensor to "sense" the quality of the exhaust.

5. Mounting any O2 sensor in a horizontal or upside down configuaration will lead to the sensor cracking.

6. All true WB sensors are 5 wire units and all are heated.

7. Running rich for extended periods of time should not cause a problem unless the heater element is not getting the unit up to temp (around 850).