Total mod noob needs help putting in a AFR gauge

so as a couple guys know my car has been down for a bit due to broken radiator. well I found the radiator and was way less expensive than I had saved up for well I decided to also get myself an AEM Wideband kit found one for a great price and still saving about for about $50 less than I had expected for practically new.

What I need is someone that can walk me through the wiring process so I can hook it up.
406 647 0772 just leave a message any time of day

.-DoUbLe @-. wrote:

so as a couple guys know my car has been down for a bit due to broken radiator. well I found the radiator and was way less expensive than I had saved up for well I decided to also get myself an AEM Wideband kit found one for a great price and still saving about for about $50 less than I had expected for practically new.

What I need is someone that can walk me through the wiring process so I can hook it up.
406 647 0772 just leave a message any time of day

This is just for monitoring the A/F ratio, not going to tie into an engine management system right?

If so, there isn't that much to it in the widebands that I've installed. They will supply wiring instructions for power and ground and usually recommendations on where to get your power and ground. There will be a thick wire bundle that goes to the wideband sensor, so you have to find a grommet in the engine bay and route that carefully to keep it away from heat. You will have to have a bung welded into your exhaust if you don't already have one open for the sensor itself. The gauge will be similar, just have to figure out where you will mount it, A-pillar or other, run the wires neatly to that location and plug it in.

Is there an area that you are specifically worried about?

basically power and ground it is only monitoring...andc plus I was worried about how in depth the install was going to be seeing as I've never done it. but as long as I can find a good place to keep it from heat and read instructions then I should be fine....thnx now any suggestions on a place to go to tap and weld a bung Rafe can't remember where he went for his I might just go to silent knight chassis as long as he makes sure to keep my downpipe looking pretty cuz it's still a new downpipe I wanna keep it looking good as long as possible

.-DoUbLe @-. wrote:

basically power and ground it is only monitoring...andc plus I was worried about how in depth the install was going to be seeing as I've never done it. but as long as I can find a good place to keep it from heat and read instructions then I should be fine....thnx now any suggestions on a place to go to tap and weld a bung Rafe can't remember where he went for his I might just go to silent knight chassis as long as he makes sure to keep my downpipe looking pretty cuz it's still a new downpipe I wanna keep it looking good as long as possible

What material is the downpipe? If it is just mild steel, I'd probably pick a muffler shop of your choosing. They weld on exhausts all the time, should be affordable and reliable.

For the bung, I'm sure places sell them or the kit comes with one. If not, let me know I have a few extras.

One thing with the bung is to probably have the plug in the bung while they weld. The one I had welded into my STI (was stainless and had a fabricator shop that knew stainless weld it) got spatter in the threads and was a biatch to tap.

Power will probably be from your fuse block, going to be a "key on" source (test with a multi-meter). Any good ground will do (could ohm with multi-meter to be sure it is a good ground) since you aren't tieing it into the engine management (otherwise you want it to be grounded close to the same spot as the ECU).

Beyond that, careful wire routing would be the biggest thing I guess. If you are comfortable with wiring, you shouldn't have trouble. I prefer to solder / shrinkwrap connections than use butt connectors and don't extend the o2 sensor harness if at all possible (should be plenty of it). They will have recoomendations on where the sensor goes, so many inches from the turbo, in the 10-2 oclock orientation (so condensation doesn't pool on the sensor), etc.

I have had bad luck with silent knight welding things, had to have two leaks fixed and it looked horriable (Mild steel intercooler piping). Could have just been one bad experience, but I no longer use them.

f20bmt can weld and will do an awesome job for you. Hit him up on PM.

Also do a little reading, there is a "sweet" spot on your down pipe that will get you the best reading. I don't know all the details just know that I have heard people talk about how/where to get the best/accurate reading when welding a bung in.

Also just as an FYI never touch the sensor, and handle it with great care... they can get ruined pretty easily.

More than likely the best place for the bung would be in the collector on the header, but you will also have to worry about much higher temperatures killing the wideband prematurely. I moved mine to the rear section of my downpipe where most narrow band o2 sensors are installed and it works great and I get over a year on a sensor.

Also, a tip when welding in the bung, make sure you have an o2 screwed in while it is getting done as it will keep the bung from collapsing/shrinking. Just make sure you use an o2 you dont care about when welding.

b1r - TS wrote:

f20bmt can weld and will do an awesome job for you. Hit him up on PM..

Word. Eric did mine in like 5 minutes cause we already had the DP off to weld my internal wastegate dump. He's gots mad skills.

it is best to put the o2 in the 12 to 2 or 12 to 10 position. keeps the moisture out. bosch unitits like the aem u have are very precise, but are not as tuff as the ngk unit from the afx (long story but one of the best sensers that are made, they used to be the same company and now use diffrent companys). it will need to be placed after the turbo, and before the cat (if you have one). 4 inches and further from the turbo is what is reccomended in most cases.

DoodieHead wrote:

More than likely the best place for the bung would be in the collector on the header, but you will also have to worry about much higher temperatures killing the wideband prematurely. I moved mine to the rear section of my downpipe where most narrow band o2 sensors are installed and it works great and I get over a year on a sensor.

Also, a tip when welding in the bung, make sure you have an o2 screwed in while it is getting done as it will keep the bung from collapsing/shrinking. Just make sure you use an o2 you dont care about when welding.

Just buy a pipe plug from ace......


Mine is after the header collectors and has lasted over 2 years so far..