OBD II Codes driving me crazy

cobrajet420

New Member
Oct 18, 2000
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Ok, here is the situation. I pulled the water temp sensor in order to put aftermarket guages in my car. When I put the aftermarket water temp guage in and started the car, it started to stall and black smoke came out the tailpipes. I had it scanned and four codes came up... 1st- O2 sensor heater circuit malfuntion, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th were all...Fuel air metering codes. Now, I took my car to Ford and they wouldn't work on it because I have n2o(not hooked up completely yet). I told them I would pay anyway(car is still technically under warranty with 32,000) but they would not work on it. Well to make a long story short, there have been 3 shops that will not even look at it because of the n2o. I guess I have got to do it myself! That is were you guys come in. I thought about ordering a new O2 sensor but other then that I have no clue what these codes mean. I am sorry for the rant but I am just so angry with these damn codes. Any and all help is much appreciated. If you have any questions for me just list them and I will try to answer them so maybe this can be figured out. Thanks in advance.
 
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well your car will adjust fuel and air acording to the o2 sensor readings, so if there is a problem there that ight casue those codes. Also the mass air could cause mixture problems. There must be more specific codes though. The codes will usually scann bank 1 or bank 2. Up or down stream. Be more specific if you could. Also does the car have cats or not.



John
 
might need more details....did you do anything else while installing your water temp gauges?? Not sure why those codes would be tripped due to a water gauge install?? did you keep the stock sending unit in place?? or leave it out??

I am thinking you might have something else goin on that maybe just happened to emerge at the same time you were installign the guage
 
First question...sorry it was upstream bank 2(drivers side?) on the o2 sensor.
Second question...there was not a place to hookup the stock sending unit sensor on the after market water temp unit. I know the sending unit goes through the PCM and other things(always after the problem do you figure this stuff out :( ) Any other suggestions and help is appreciatied. Thank you.
 
cobrajet420 said:
First question...sorry it was upstream bank 2(drivers side?) on the o2 sensor.
Second question...there was not a place to hookup the stock sending unit sensor on the after market water temp unit. I know the sending unit goes through the PCM and other things(always after the problem do you figure this stuff out :( ) Any other suggestions and help is appreciatied. Thank you.
yep you need to reconnect the stock sending unit....place the aftermarket gauge sending unit in the side of the block....there is a drain plug near the driverside header flange...just crawl under the car and you will see a brass plug on the block....just remove that and stick the sending unit there...that's what I did....might want to drain some coolant before you do it though...or you will get a nice splash in the eyes...
 
Slithering_Joe said:
Re-install the stock sensor, disconnect the guage and see if the problem returns or goes away.

maybe just hook it back in, with out installing it. when cold there will be no difference, when hot not the same but i,m not sure there's that much difference. If the code don't go in thene your's almost there
 
moreause said:
maybe just hook it back in, with out installing it. when cold there will be no difference, when hot not the same but i,m not sure there's that much difference. If the code don't go in thene your's almost there

sorry guys, i was saying just plug the old sensor with the harness, and don't remose the new one, save some trouble, so the old sensor will tell the air temperature... when the engine is cold it's the same anyway.., and if the codes go away then you know were the probleme is...

but it seem that somebody else have narrowed the problems so, i will not talk for nothing :spot: :spot:
 
Thank you for all the replies. I put the stock sensor and plug back in the car the other day and it still is running like crap. I just can't figure it out. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.
 
cobrajet420 said:
Thank you for all the replies. I put the stock sensor and plug back in the car the other day and it still is running like crap. I just can't figure it out. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.

keep the stock sensor in, but you need to reset the computer by unplugging the battery for a while.
 
Well I did everything that you guys told me. I unplugged the battery cables for almost 30 mins and I do have a little good news. Instead of four codes I only have two now. :bang: The codes are the "O2 sensor heater circuit malfuntion" and the "fuel air metering code". Anything else that I might be missing? :shrug:
 
im going to be really cocky and say everyone is wrong except for the fuse.

i had about 15 codes (10 of which generic scanners couldnt see) and no one could figure out what it was, i checked the fuses(the ones under the dash and thats what it was) . i didnt drive my car for about a month because of this and i felt so stupid when i figured it all out.

ps. i had the same 02 circuit malfunction ones.