He's not known for his lengthy emails unless he's pontificating to shoot down an idea or a product that he doesn't carry. (ewww, there's a can of worms)


Maybe we can figure this out... I think there are 3 wires to your sensor, right? One is ground, one is power and one is the output of the sensor. Can you tell us how the original (bad) wiring diagram told you to hook it up? Name off the colors of the wires on both sides if possible and how they related to the simulator.

From there we can try to figure out if you happened to reverse bias the simulator (hooked it up backwards).


btw... given that you followed the instructions that were shipped with the unit, and that they were wrong, you might want to poll Gadget on if he thinks you'll be buying a new unit, or if he'll replace it free.

 

Initial instructions tell me to locate Plug E Pin 16 which is supposed to be a Brown wire with a black stripe. Wire is actually White with a blue stripe. I tapped into this wire (I know, I should have stopped because of the wrong color but I have heard that the colors vary year to year so I went for it), apparently this wire is merely for a ground, according to Gadget the simulator does not have a power wire. I tap into Plug E Pin 16 and solder the black wire from the 02 simulator into this wire and move on. Next step calls for Plug D Pin 8 which is a solid red wire. Cut this wire. On the Simulator there is a black wire (ground) already done, and there is a green wire and a purple wire. The Green wire connects to the end of ECU wire going TO the sensor. I connected this wire to its respective counterpart and the connected the purple wire to the ECU wiring coming FROM the sensor into the ECU. I did all of these connections, plugged them back in, put the battery terminal back on and fired it up. Started fine, ran fine, no CEL right away.

Go on my way, no problems at all except for about a 2 minute period where a severe hesitation happened, I would accelerator and it would putter and the more throttle I gave it the lower the RPM's got, but after a few minuts this went away and it has worked fine ever since. Find out that the instructions that were sent to me were the wrong ones.

Tear it all apart again. In the new version of the instructions it says that instead of Plug E Pin 16, I need to tap into Plug B Pin 18. I cut off the black wire as close as I can and retape the ECU wire that was the wrong one. I then strip off more black insulation and tap it into the new correct wire. The red wire was correct on both versions. Apparently the green and purple are for the signal to be passed through the simulator and black is solely a ground.

I put everything back together, starts fine, runs fine, no initial CEL.

About 50 miles later, CEL comes on. Pull the code, P0136...this is where we are at now.

I am hoping that Gadget will ATLEAST cover SOME of the new simulator if not send me a new one for free, I will pay for Rush shipping as I want to get this fixed as soon as possible.

As of now, I am waiting for a response back from him with some more information.

As he told me in his email he asked me to reset the ECU and see if it went off again so I am assuming he means just do a manual clear of the ECU (unplug a terminal for about 2-3 minutes.) The battery terminal was obviously unconnected when I did the initial incorrect hookup and then again this morning when I redid the connection. Since then it has only been cleared using the dealers scan tool.

What do you think I should do next? See if he will send me another unit and try that and see if I get the same code? Test voltages on sensors?

Thanks for the willingness to help midiwall, you've been awesome throughout this whole thing...I really appreciate it!

Fink

 

Was this severe hesitation just after the engine warmed up good for the first time with the O2 simulator uncorrectly installed? Because that may have been when the ECU first went into closed loop with the improperly wired simulator. I think (could be wrong) that is when the ECU starts reading the O2 sensors and maybe it only lasted a few minutes because it took that long for the simulator to get fried and quit working. I'm just speculating here. Gadget or Brian should get back to you within 24 hours. I'm thinking they'll take care of you on this since they sent the wrong info to begin with.

 

That's a good point, I never thought of that.

The simulator being fried would explain everything...other than that, I'm not sure what else could be wrong. I am 99% sure I hooked it up right and did everything by the book (the correct instructions that is).

EDIT: I just wrote Gadget an email telling him about the hesitation, I forgot to tell him about that earlier. I also asked if he would be willing to cover the cost of a new sim (if thats the problem) and I would pay for overnight shipping so I could have this fixed by this weekend (I am tentatively going out of town on Saturday and its a 3 hour drive so I'd like to have this fixed so I can use that trip as a test).

Fink

 

I am debating on whether to get the OBDII scan tool that Erich_870 got...looks like that would allow me to a lot of diagnosing myself in case something else were to happen and I could clear my own codes and do a lot of troubleshooting.

Only $96, thats not bad.

Hmm...I'll have to think about it.

I'll PM Erich and see how he likes it.

Fink

 

I've got one now. They are very nice to have, but it is a must for tuning if you plan on adding a SC and URD fuel kit. It will also work with any other car with OBDII. Some auto parts stores will hook up and check OBDII codes for free. Autozone is one.

 

Yeah my dealership will pull the codes and clear them for me, but I meant if this simulator thing doesn't work out then I could use the reader a voltage meter and monitor it all from the driver seat.

Thanks man,

Fink

 

The OBD tools that let you view outputs as well as just check and clear codes are well worth the investment in my book. You'll be very happy you have one if you plan to work on cars for any period of time (works on all vehicles 96 and newer).

 

Yeah...I'll definitely think about it depending on what happens with the sim. I drove it for about 50 miles today with no CEL (50 miles is what it took for the P0136 code to come up) so I'm hoping it'll stay off. We shall see!

Thanks,

Fink

 

good deal fink

 

Fink--- sorry you are having problems with the sim. I really didn't give you a "bumb steer" when I advised you on the sim. I have had mine on for a year now and it has worked flawlessly. Not one code ever. Hope you and Gadget get it worked out----

Dave

 

Well...I've put nearly a half-tank through it right now and I don't have a CEL on yet. I'm hoping that was just some freak thing that happened and now that I've cleared it, its done.

I am pretty disappointed in Gadget/URD's customer service. Very short emails, not too many responses, no apology, not ONCE for the wrong instructions being sent...just overall not a very good experience.

Hoping my light stays off, thanks guys!

Fink

 

Glad to hear it seems to have worked itself out after all.
Obviously post back if the CEL returns.....might still be worth a look on the OBD scanning tool.

 

Thanks Jamie, I appreciate all the help, I really do!

Turns out I had been emailing Gadget on his personal email. He said that his personal email comes second to the hundreds of emails they get at the URDUSA address daily, completely understandable. I was getting a little annoyed with the way the support had been handled but now it makes perfect sense.

As of now, no CEL. I am guessing I have about 150 or so miles on it since the code was cleared.

I'm assuming that after tomorrow if the light has come on then It'd be safe to guess that it is working fine but I don't know how long it takes for something like that to be triggered.

Gadget said he would be more than willing to have another unit sent out, I am almost wanting to go ahead and have one sent just incase something happens but I'm not sure that makes any sense.

Fink

 

Fink, even if the CEL comes back on it won't hurt anything. I would just wait and see what happens. If it comes back on with a P0136 or P0420 code then maybe try another one. One of my buddies put a sim on and had a code (P0136) after about 50 miles or so. We reset the ECU and the code hasn't returned after 3 months.

 

Oh wow...that makes me feel a lot better then! Atleast I'm not the only one...no light yet, gas mileage seems to still be pretty bad but maybe it takes a few tanks of gas for it to really change, I dunno. These 285's don't help it at all either, lol.

Fink

 

What is your current gas mileage by the way? It took me a full tank to get my mileage back, but I just have 265 70 R16 studs (Which SUCK by the way, I should have gone narrower - 245's)

Erich

 

Near the 15 range without the simulator on...I'll let you know after the next tank of gas.

Fink

 

Hey Fink... Any updates?

The question of the O2 simulator has come up in another thread and we're anxious to hear how it's goin'!

 

On my runner i was having some problems with hesitation under light acceleration. I had a vortex sitting on my couch and read a few articles about clogged cats and this problem. Anyways, i went ahead and had both cats pulled when i installed the vortex, (CA emissions spec) and i get the CEL light as well as VSC and TRAC off. (having a bit of fun with that)

I'm gonna go ahead and order a Magnaflow high flow cat and have that installed and see if that takes care of my problems. If not i'm probably gonna gonna look into getting the simulator. I'd rather try a new cat first because the exhaust is way loud and i'd rather lean towards a legal on road solution.