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A/F Ratio Gauge

Panama XJ

NAXJA Forum User
I'm installing an A/F gauge form Autometer in my XJ 95 4.0L but I'm not shure wich wire carry the O2 sensor signal, I have four cables Green, Black, Black/White and Black/Green, wich one is the right wire and were will be the best place to make the connection (near ECU?? or near the injectors rail??)
 
Those aftermarket gages that work off the OEM HEGO signal are spotty at best - they depend on smoothing an output from a sensor that has a constant "waver" to it (figure the narrowband HEGO - the OEM sensor - switches from "lean" to "rich" about 15-20 times per second.) Also, there is no way for them to read AFR once it's more than a few points from stoichiometric.

That being said, they can help you keep tabs on what's going on - but they only work well for telling you "which way" and not "how much."

The best way to do the job will cost you about US$300, but that gets you a "wideband" HEGO sensor (which mounts in a bung you must have welded to your header/collector) and will give you usable readings from about 8.0 to 18.0:1 AFR - and accurately.

There are two types of HEGO sensor - the narrowband, or "knuckle" sensor, that gives you an accurate stoichiometric reading, but the signal falls off rapidly to either side of 14.7:1. This results in an indication of being rich or lean, but it doesn't give you much tuning information (like I said, it's "which way" but not "how much,") and also puts the ECM into a constant juggling act - every time it sees something other than 14.7 AFR, it jumps the other way - and goes back and forth constantly. I typically refer to this as "NHEGO" or "NBHEGO" when I'm writing about both types, or just "HEGO" when only the OEM.

The other type is a "wideband" HEGO (WHEGO/WBHEGO,) which is capable of giving quantitative signals over a wide range of AFR values. This allows the tuner to not only know if his engine is "rich" or "lean," but just how "rich" or "lean" and a better idea of what adjustment is needed. Originally marketed only in high-end testing equipment for about $1500 for the sensor alone, you can now get a WBHEGO sensor and accompanying meter for around $300 or less. This is a worthwhile investiment, particularly if you are tuning your engine to work with forced induction, alternative fuel, or nitrous oxide injection. Granted, this may be a little more information than most people are inclined to want, but it's imporant information (if I could only have two engine status gages, they would be WBHEGO and oil pressure - nearly everything else can be inferred by senses.)

Now that I've gone through all that...

Per my 1993 FSM (which should be quite similar to your 1995, even tho the wire colours are different) the HEGO has two circuits - one for the internal heating element, and one for the sensor output.

From left to right on my wiring diagram, the colours are:
Black - Light Blue trace line
Black - Dark Green trace line
Dark Green - Black trace line
Black - Tan trace line

I know the colours are different - bear with me.

The heating element will be grounded to the chassis, and fed +12VDC with the key on. This voltage signal will be steady - so you can isolate it quite easily. On my diagram, the heater wires are BLK/TAN and DKG/BLK. These can be ignored for your installation

The sensor circuit for the HEGO is the one you want - and you can figure the "sense ground" wire pretty quickly. Check the HEGO harness and the TPS harness for wires that share a common colour (on my diagram, they are BLK/LBU) - these are sensor grounds for the ECM. You should get continuity between any two sense grounds, since the ECM uses this as a "zero reference" for any sensor outputs. The remaining wire is the sensor output - which should read between 0 and 5VDC while the engine is running - with preference toward 2.5VDC.

As I said, this is using the 1993FSM wiring diagrams, so your colours will probably be different - but the principles are the same.

You should be able to make the connection anywhere convenient, but I'd want to get a signal as close to the point of generation as possible - I'd probably make a "T" that would go in between the HEGO connector and the underhood wiring harness connector, which would make it easier (you can bulid the T on the workbench, and just plug it right in.)

ABREVIATIONS -
NHEGO/NBHEGO - NarrowBand Heated Exhaust Gas Oxygen sensor
WHEGO/WBHEGO - WideBand Heated Exhaust Gas Oxygen sensor
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacture - what came in your vehicle from the factory
AFR - Air/Fuel Ratio
FSM - Factory Service Manual - what every XJ owner should have
BLK - BLacK
LBU - Light BlUe
GRN - GReeN
DKG - DarK Green
VDC - Volts Direct Current

When more than one colour is given for a wire, the first colour is for the "main" colour of the wiring insulation, and the second (& more) colours are for the "trace line" - which is used to allow for more distinct colouration and "grouping" of wires in vehicle electrics.

5-90
 
Narrowband is useless at best. Go get yourself an Innovate LM-1 with the RPM pickup. I just sold mine because I sold my turbo car. It was the best all around wideband I have used. Great for datalogging and he a great digital dash for laptop use.
 
CSaddict said:
Narrowband is useless at best. Go get yourself an Innovate LM-1 with the RPM pickup. I just sold mine because I sold my turbo car. It was the best all around wideband I have used. Great for datalogging and he a great digital dash for laptop use.

At $430 for the unit you need to be really serious about tuning!!! That's a lota beans.
 
What I have found with my car (Subaru WRX) is this:

1. A wideband A/F ratio gauge is the way to go if you want an A/F ratio gauge

2. Just as much information is gained from an EGT gauge, although you have to think to go from EGT to A/F ratio, and you don't have a definate # to back up your inference. You at least know for sure you aren't above the melting point of your engine components

3. Narroband A/F ratio guages look neat on the A-pillar of a Civic, but don't belong in something you need to extract information from to tune an engine

4. Datalogging is really, really important if you want to tune a turbo car at home AND keep all the engine internals inside the engine


Some questions for you to think about:

What are you planning on gaining from the installation of the A/F ratio gauge? Are you running some sort of engine managment that would allow you to adjust the fuel curve to correct a problem with your A/F ratio? How would the gauge allow you to gain the information needed to make the changes? As far as I know the Autometer gauge dosen't even have numbers on it.


I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but what good is a gauge that shouldn't ever change? If you have an auto tranny, you would want to monitor your trans temp. You have an air locker, monitor the air pressure in the line to keep the pressure from creeping up and damaging the seals.
 
highhilleer said:
At $430 for the unit you need to be really serious about tuning!!! That's a lota beans.
Lean A/F means a rod seeing daylight. $430 is not a lot of money compared to building a new motor. Plus the fact I tuned other peoples cars and made some money in the process.
 
So what temp range should your EGT be in and better yet how would you translate EGT temp into A:F ratio¿
 
digibus said:
So what temp range should your EGT be in and better yet how would you translate EGT temp into A:F ratio¿
that would depend on the motor, and the change would not be a whole lot unless it was really lean. you would need a good ($200-ish) gauge, and just run it to find out. a wideband AFR gauge would be a better bargain for the dough.

also, i like the autometer type gauge. it's just not as good, but when you're WOT the motor uses the o2 signal to adjust the fuel, it can also help you see what the motor is running with the puter and how it acts to different fuels, etc.
 
xuv-this said:
...when you're WOT the motor uses the o2 signal to adjust the fuel, it can also help you see what the motor is running with the puter and how it acts to different fuels, etc.
Actually, the PCM ignores the o2 signal during WOT. It uses preprogrammed settings.

K
 
On an OBD II vehicle are hey any scanners that can show you your fuel curve? Since the OEM HEGO O2 sensors are narrow band I would think not. Is there any other way to go about this cheaper than $1500?

-Chris
 
corbinafly said:
Actually, the PCM ignores the o2 signal during WOT. It uses preprogrammed settings.

K
no it doesn't. it's the other way around. the o2 sensor tells the puter to run more fuel. this is how guys can run dry nitrous shots w/o burning stuff up.
 
xuv-this said:
no it doesn't. it's the other way around. the o2 sensor tells the puter to run more fuel. this is how guys can run dry nitrous shots w/o burning stuff up.
your sig says "southwest VA", but, based on your understanding of fuel maps and o2 sensors I would have thought you're from Australia where everything is up-side-down.
 
xuv-this said:
no it doesn't. it's the other way around. the o2 sensor tells the puter to run more fuel. this is how guys can run dry nitrous shots w/o burning stuff up.

Yes it does. Do some research!

K
 
At WOT, the computer goes into open-loop mode and the engine runs A/F ratios that are pre-programmed (usually rich), ignoring the signal from the O2 sensor altogether. The Autometer A/F ratio gauge should be pegged in the green rich zone at WOT, and fluctuate backwards and forwards from rich to lean when cruising (computer in closed loop). When you lift off the throttle suddenly, the gauge should go full lean until you apply throttle again.
 
Dr. Dyno said:
At WOT, the computer goes into open-loop mode and the engine runs A/F ratios that are pre-programmed (usually rich), ignoring the signal from the O2 sensor altogether. The Autometer A/F ratio gauge should be pegged in the green rich zone at WOT, and fluctuate backwards and forwards from rich to lean when cruising (computer in closed loop). When you lift off the throttle suddenly, the gauge should go full lean until you apply throttle again.
i was wrong. thanks dino. mine does that. i had it bass ackwards. but it still doesn't make sense that there is enough extra fuel for a 50 or 70 dry shot of n2o. 4.0's were supposed to be a little lean from the factory...i'm confused now.
 
Dr. Dyno said:
At WOT, the computer goes into open-loop mode and the engine runs A/F ratios that are pre-programmed (usually rich), ignoring the signal from the O2 sensor altogether. The Autometer A/F ratio gauge should be pegged in the green rich zone at WOT, and fluctuate backwards and forwards from rich to lean when cruising (computer in closed loop). When you lift off the throttle suddenly, the gauge should go full lean until you apply throttle again.



Yeah, I've always wondered about this. Why do people go through the trouble of fooling the puter with tricks, or chips or whatever if it's worthless at WOT? So they can part throttle accelerate faster?


And xuv-this, no, I think that most autos run on the rich side from the factory, including the 4.0L. It's much safer. I may be wrong though. :lecture:
 
JeepSpeed said:
And xuv-this, no, I think that most autos run on the rich side from the factory, including the 4.0L. It's much safer. I may be wrong though. :lecture:
virtually all do.

14.7 A/F ratio is optimal for emissions and fuel economy. Optimum torque requires a richer mixture; 12.5 - 13.0. WOT fuel maps can go even richer than this to keep the catalytic converter happy. Even in open loop, the MAP sensor is still in play, so short term fuel trim can enrich the mixture even more.
 
you know you're "Car Crazy" when you wake up in the morning thinking of fuel maps!
Correction to my previous post; no changes in short term fuel trim during WOT. Fuel trim modifications are dependent on input from the o2 sensor.
 
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