[cuseR]

So at the beginning of the summer I put in a catless obx downpipe and its been great. I put in an o2 spacer and never got a check engine light. About two weeks ago I had a magnaflow high flow cat welded in and of course. Got a check engine light. The spacer is still on there.

I've reset the light a few times and I thought for sure I got it to go away. I drove a ton but sure enough it came back.

What gives? Any suggestions?


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[DrBrutal]

Get rid of the spacer lol

 

[cuseR]

Yeah I'm going to try that. I've been too lazy to get under the car and take it off. But I was also thinking that the spacer was supposed to make the cel go away. It's just a pain in the ass I should have just kept the damn cat off.


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[DrBrutal]

I can't think of what else could cause the problem... I don't know WHY, but I'm willing to bet that's the issue. I ran with a spacer and no issues for a few months before I just took the DP off because of the fumes. I'm tempted to throw it back in now... It's so quiet without it.

 

[LOGBOMB]

pull the code your o2 sensor could have gone bad

 

[cuseR]

I pulled the code today it was p2097 "post catalyst fuel trim bank system too rich" or something like that.

 

[DrBrutal]

I pulled the code today it was p2097 "post catalyst fuel trim bank system too rich" or something like that.

Just remove the spacer.

 

[dougy]

Just remove the spacer.

:thumbup: see if it comes back

 

[xUNiQuE]

It's the spacer. Remove it.

 

[vjaneczko]

Sorry guys, I think you're headed down the wrong path. The benefit of a spacer is to move the sensor further away from the exhaust flow, thereby reducing the particles it's able to sense, thereby tricking the ECU into thinking there's less particles then what really flows past the sensor. If you remove the spacer, that will put the sensor deeper into the pipe, allowing it to sense even more particles. So removing the spacer would cause the CEL to blip on even more. Adding the highflow cat reduces the amount of toxic substances the sensor will see, compared to not having one at all. How you never got a CEL without a cat in the first place is odd, but adding the cat should have reduced the chances of throwing a CEL. It's probably the install of the highflow cat that caused something else to pop up.

Check the basics; clean the MAF, look for vacuum leaks, check for fouled spark plugs, etc.

 

[jstro]

Sorry guys, I think you're headed down the wrong path. The benefit of a spacer is to move the sensor further away from the exhaust flow, thereby reducing the particles it's able to sense, thereby tricking the ECU into thinking there's less particles then what really flows past the sensor. If you remove the spacer, that will put the sensor deeper into the pipe, allowing it to sense even more particles. So removing the spacer would cause the CEL to blip on even more. Adding the highflow cat reduces the amount of toxic substances the sensor will see, compared to not having one at all. How you never got a CEL without a cat in the first place is odd, but adding the cat should have reduced the chances of throwing a CEL. It's probably the install of the highflow cat that caused something else to pop up.

Check the basics; clean the MAF, look for vacuum leaks, check for fouled spark plugs, etc.

+1

 

[DrBrutal]

Sorry guys, I think you're headed down the wrong path. The benefit of a spacer is to move the sensor further away from the exhaust flow, thereby reducing the particles it's able to sense, thereby tricking the ECU into thinking there's less particles then what really flows past the sensor. If you remove the spacer, that will put the sensor deeper into the pipe, allowing it to sense even more particles. So removing the spacer would cause the CEL to blip on even more. Adding the highflow cat reduces the amount of toxic substances the sensor will see, compared to not having one at all. How you never got a CEL without a cat in the first place is odd, but adding the cat should have reduced the chances of throwing a CEL. It's probably the install of the highflow cat that caused something else to pop up.

Check the basics; clean the MAF, look for vacuum leaks, check for fouled spark plugs, etc.

It would also only take about four minutes to remove it, and see what happens.. Then another 4 minutes to put it back in, if the problem persists.

 

[SonicBlueR]

No dude..he needs to remove it cuz the cat installed with the spacer is not letting the 02 sensor have enough gas flow to it

 

[xUNiQuE]

No dude..he needs to remove it cuz the cat installed with the spacer is not letting the 02 sensor have enough gas flow to it

+1 Agreed.

 

[10PassionRed]

No dude..he needs to remove it cuz the cat installed with the spacer is not letting the 02 sensor have enough gas flow to it

+1 Agreed.

So essentially what you are telling him is that in order to alleviate his code saying the bank is too rich you would eliminate the spacer (which makes the sensor detect less gas fumes aka read lean) and place it back directly in the stream, thereby causing MORE fumes to flow into the sensor, causing it to read MORE rich?

Good one guys, but I am with vjane on this one. If the sensor was detecting a LEAN condition, I would remove spacer. Because it is reading a RICH condition, you need to get the sensor more out of the stream.

Leave the spacer on, I am betting it is the o2 sensor wiring from the installation of the cat, as when it is broken it will detect at an A/F ratio of the lowest possible reading from the sensor. Unfortunately if the sensor cannot be soldered, it is most likely a replacement item.

Good luck!

 

[cuseR]

Im going to take out the spacer and see what happens. I'm also going to clean the maf. It's been almost 40k since I replaced my plugs and I have a tune so maybe this cel is just a sign that I need to do some of these things that I've been putting off. If all else fails maybe ill need to replace the sensor but hopefully not. I'll keep you guys posted Thanks for the input

 

[vjaneczko]

Do us a favor and remove the spacer and then give it a test before trying anything else. It'd be helpful to know the specific problem for anyone Googling for solutions.

 

[DarekP]

Silly question, was the 2nd O2 sensor installed after (downstream) the cat?
Just checking.

 

[vjaneczko]

If it wasn't, someone really screwed up!

 

[cuseR]

Silly question, was the 2nd O2 sensor installed after (downstream) the cat?
Just checking.

Of course haha