Question About Weld-In Wideband O2 Sensor

[sneaky98gt]

For those of you who have welded in a bung for a wideband O2 sensor, how long was the bung? Does the sensor extend out of the end of the bung when it is screwed in all the way?

I have an Innovate LC-1 wideband (which I'm very happy with, btw). For a couple of months, I ran it in the rear O2 sensor spot with no problems. But, just on account of it being more accurate, I decided to have a bung welded into the pipe further upstream. I had the midpipe out anyways during my recent motor swap.

I used the bung included in the Innovate kit. However, I noticed that the wideband sensor doesn't extend out past the end of the bung once it is screwed in all the way. It is flush with the end of it, at best. I thought this might be by design so that the readings won't jump all over everywhere from the exhaust turbulence.

Well.....the readings jump all over everywhere anyway....at idle, it will go from 10 all the way up to 18ish. At part throttle cruising, it will vary similar amounts. At WOT, it shows it being VERY rich (7-8 kind of rich), and there's no way the car is running like it is being that rich. Getting on and off the throttle will cause it to vary from full lean to full rich.

So, is the fact that the sensor isn't extending out past the bung causing this? Or do I have problems elsewhere?

 

[Mr. Rustypwnz]

can you do the open air test with it? is it calibrated for gasoline? you need to have the sensor IN the pipe, if it is flush with the pipe (recessed out) it will throw the readings off.

 

[ModularMonster]

When I did my Wideband install in my SRT we ported a hole in the pipe with a hole bit (wich im assuming you did).*The wideband needs to be at somewhat of an angle as well to ensure beter readings*, *You should also have installed the wideband down the headers a ways, I did roughly 27 inches away from the head ports, having this too far away or too close could drastically mess with your readings*. The bung I had, had a recessed ridge on it so it would seat itself slightly snug in the hole.We welded it up and pressure tested it with the ends buttoned off the exhaust to check for leaks. Certainly dont rule out that it could be a faulty sensor, it's been known to happen. If you did any wiring yourself, be sure to check that everything is together tight and soldered/ crimped well. A loose wire can cause reading to jump simply due to power fluctuation. Hope this helps a little trouble shooting/ giving you a rough idea of where to look.

 

[Stumbaugh]

I have the same wideband. I took the bung and cut it almost in half, then welded it on. Works flawlessly.

 

[sneaky98gt]

It is welded in the 1 o'clock position roughly at the same spot as the front O2 sensor, which is 6ish inches back from the collector. I was under the impression that this is where it needed to be.

I have the same wideband. I took the bung and cut it almost in half, then welded it on. Works flawlessly.

Yea, it worked fine in the rear O2 slot, but I could tell it was a little slow reacting. When I go home for Thanksgiving, I'll try and see if there's enough room for an air powered cutting wheel or sawzal, and chop some of it off.

 

[Sonic04GT]

I have the MTX-L using the factory Innovate bung and included Bosch sensor. Pretty solid 14.7 at idle and varies between 14-15 under normal driving. Runs rich for the first couple minutes upon starting the car. Starts around 10 and gradually works up.

Never checked to see if the sensor protrudes past the bung.

 

[sneaky98gt]

Thought I'd update this. I finally got around to troubleshooting this past weekend. It turns out that it simply needed to be recalibrated. I guess it being unhooked from any power for a couple of weeks (when I swapped in the PI motor) must have gotten it all out of wack. I took it out and recalibrated it, and it now reads perfectly. 14.1-15.2 pretty much all the time, closer to 14.6 at idle or cruising speed, and the same 11.8 that was shown on the dyno. So everything seems fine.