Definitive o2 sensor identification

[Donnyten]

What's the consensus on the two 02 sensors for the 88 Lxi? Is there a main and secondary Or are they Both equal to each other? I purchased two of the same o2 sensors during my rebuild to replace the 240k miles on the old ones.Since no odb2/fuel trim info id like to look at o2 values with a voltmeter to see if im running rich or lean.

[carotman]

They are both primary sensors.

One is for cylinders 1-4, the other is for cylinders 2-3.

[Oldblueaccord]

What's the consensus on the two 02 sensors for the 88 Lxi? Is there a main and secondary Or are they Both equal to each other? I purchased two of the same o2 sensors during my rebuild to replace the 240k miles on the old ones.Since no odb2/fuel trim info id like to look at o2 values with a voltmeter to see if im running rich or lean.


Invest a little into a Wideband O2 sensor. They are the way to go if your wanting to know how your car is running.

[Donnyten]

How exactly do i do that?

[Dr_Snooz]

You spend about 10x as much for them. LOL!!

[Donnyten]

Is odb1 required?

[InAccordance]

No

[Donnyten]

Any links to this conversion?

[Oldblueaccord]

How exactly do i do that?


https://www.plxdevices.com/PLX-Wideband-O2-Air-Fuel-Ratio-Sensor-Modules-Gauges-s/125.htm

A wideband o2 sensor is an after market O2 sensor that reads your exhaust to see how much unburned oxygen is left. The wide band part means it can read a wide range where as the stock "narrowband" cannot.

It is probably the most useful tuning tool besides reading spark plugs.

They are generally under 200$.

[InAccordance]

You also want it to read all cylinders so best way is to have a bung put in at the point the exhaust runners merge. If you just put it in the stock location, you're only reading one or two cylinders (depending on application).

[Dr_Snooz]

The narrowband works great as long as your initial tune lands within the range that it can read, which is limited. So if you're way out and don't know what direction to go, the wideband is very helpful. Once you have your tune within spec, however, it's just a really expensive sensor you don't ever use to its full potential. Pretty much all production cars use narrowbands because widebands just aren't that useful for daily driving. The whole point of an O2 sensor is to keep the tune tightly within spec than to monitor it when it's way off. Even if your initial tune is way off, you're going to have other issues as well. If you're too lean, you'll have lean misfire. If you're too rich, the exhaust will smell rich and you'll fail smog. So there aren't many situations where you really NEED a wideband. I tuned my carb with a narrowband and had no trouble. Honestly, I tuned more based on how the truck ran and smelled than the O2 sensor I installed. For instance, if you tromp on the gas and the engine cuts out, you don't really need an O2 sensor to tell you that something is wrong. You need to figure out what is wrong and how to fix it. In my example, you have to figure out if it's your accelerator pump, secondary jets, metering rods or springs that are wrong. The sensor can't really help you with that. You have to experiment. That was with a carb on a daily driven truck. If you are doing intensive data logging, building custom maps, racing, forced induction or anything extreme, then the wideband is useful. Otherwise, I'm not sure that anyone really needs one.

Also, do some reading on how O2 sensors work before you spend any money. You aren't going to any useful info by reading it with a voltmeter. The signal oscillates way too fast for any voltmeter to read it. Even an in-car gauge is not very useful (https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dtt-112001). You need an ECU or such-like.

BTW, the difference between the two stock sensors is the length of the wires. That's it.

[InAccordance]

In my application, a wideband would really help me tune my carbs better, but I am an outlier. Maybe next year after winter is over I'll look into getting one. She's running good as is and I'm always tinkering with it trying to get the mixtures good.

[Donnyten]

While a multimeter can react too slow to read an o2, it can still assist with diagnostics to a degree if thats all you have. Being that theres no odb2 in my lxi its better than nothing, without a scanner or oscilloscope. Example is that i had an older camry once that would burn up 20 bucks of gas in 30 minutes.. obviously the car was running way too rich.. without odb2 in that car, i placed a multimeter on the o2 sensor and saw that it was pegged rich..at .9v all the time. Which eventually led me to the cars map sensors vaccum line being rigged( disconnected) that would make the ecu think the car was always running in WOT... i overlooked on visual inspection that but that just goes to show a multimeter is not totally unusable in that regard.

Ive been pampered with odb2 for a while now... graphs, fuel trims, etc..

[Dr_Snooz]

My assemblyman called me the other day. He's putting my suggestion to exempt all OBD1 vehicles in Cali from smog checks on his legislative agenda. No promises, of course. This is a politician, after all, but if that happens, then OBD1 will be the cat's pajamas!!

Woohoo!!

[InAccordance]

What's obd? Lolololol

[Oldblueaccord]

In my application, a wideband would really help me tune my carbs better, but I am an outlier. Maybe next year after winter is over I'll look into getting one. She's running good as is and I'm always tinkering with it trying to get the mixtures good.

Weld in a bung and we can use mine. I got it setup to just use a laptop. Just needs a 12v+ and a ground direct to the battery.

[Haru]

did they change over to 2 sensors in 88?
from what i can tell, my 87 only has 1 sensor in the manifold.