M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Engine management => Topic started by: Systema on March 06, 2010, 09:15:43 PM
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I'm going to have to replace my O2 sensor pretty soon, but I'm trying to avoid spending $100+ on an OE one. I read about replacing it with generic Bosch units, but I can't find any specifics besides that PDF detailing how to splice the wires. Does anyone know where exactly I can find one of these kits, and what exactly I should be buying? Thanks!
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I'm watching this too. I'm told a newer Mustang 4-wire works but the wiring colors are different.
Found this thread:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=589134
Ford Econoline FTW!
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So, from what I'm getting out of that thread so far, I'm going to need a 3 wire Bosch universal sensor, which I can just splice in to the old connector?
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1994 Mustang GT. It's a 4-wire. Just cut and crimp, wires are all the same colors. I just did this yesterday.
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Awesome, thanks for the help guys. Just ordered a Mustang O2 sensor (Ford part # 5C5Z9F472AA if anyone needs it) from Ebay.
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You said you hae a 3 wire yet you ordered a Mustang 4 wire?
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You should use Bosch sensors .When I did mine on my audi I used bosch universal and soldered the wires together.I also used shrink wrap over the wires.You have to keep the length close to original cause if you coil up the wire you'll get a false O2 code .Don't ask how I know,this is how we learn.
I didn't like the looks of those connectors and if soldered I know there's a good connection.I've shown a link to what your looking for and I 'm sure there's others out there.When I did the one on my bmw I bought the real deal with the connector on the end .
Good luck
http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/BMW/318is/Bosch/Oxygen_Sensor/1991/Base/4_Cyl_1-dot-8L/BS15736.html?loc=Before+Catalytic+Converter&tlc=Engine+%26+Drivetrain
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What sort of false O2 code do you get?
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What is the OE length of the sensor wiring?
The Mustang one I bought is a Bosch. It's the same part as the m42 oe one.
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What sort of false O2 code do you get?
I would get an 02 sensor fault after I just installed a brand new O2 sensors.After driving awhile I would get a check engine light (audi),and when I check the codes it was an 02 fault .When I straightened the wires out I no longer got a check engine light.Remember this was on my audi which has two 02 sensors. 2.8 V6
As far as length goes just make it the same length as the one you take off.
I believe all bosch 02 sensors are the same ,it's just a matter of how many wires they have.
Here's a link to the bosch site and the m42 sensor with part number
http://www.boschoxygensensor.com/resultsApp.asp?productTypeID=4
Wire length says 37 inches.
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You said you hae a 3 wire yet you ordered a Mustang 4 wire?
That thread on Bimmerforums mentioned something about E30s having 3-wire sensors, so I was a bit confused. A bunch of other things said that E30s are four-wire and that the mustang sensor will work fine, and since I could pick one of those up on Ebay for like $40, I went with that.
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The e30s are all three wire. Except for the M42, that is. That's why we need this group - the e30 m42 is quite the little hybrid beastie.
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Ahh, that makes much more sense. I was starting to worry a bit, haha. I should be getting the new sensor in a day or two, maybe I'll do a little write up with pics if anyone's interested?
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Here's a link to the bosch site and the m42 sensor with part number
http://www.boschoxygensensor.com/resultsApp.asp?productTypeID=4
Wire length says 37 inches.
Thanks i just added this link and corrected my writeup...
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What is the OE length of the sensor wiring?
800 mm
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So I installed the new sensor, and everything went pretty smoothly up until I went to start the car. It started, sputtered out, and died. Now it won't start. It cranks, and it's getting fuel. Anyone know what could be wrong?
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So I installed the new sensor, and everything went pretty smoothly up until I went to start the car. It started, sputtered out, and died. Now it won't start. It cranks, and it's getting fuel. Anyone know what could be wrong?
That has nothing to do with the O2 sensor. You touch anything else under there? The O2 sensor only comes into play when you're up at operating temp.
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^^^ That's what I figured, but I didn't mess with anything else so I don't know what could possibly have gone wrong.
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UPDATE (Just in case anyone cares): Got the car running again, turns out it wasn't actually getting fuel. Bad fuel pump connection. I reseated the wires and everything seems okay on that front.
More importantly, the new O2 sensor fixed all of my problems! I had a really funky idle (sometimes it'd be near-stall low, and sometimes it would be up at 1500), stuttering/hesitation on acceleration, and loss of power all over the rev range, as well as a 1244 CEL code that would go on and off as I drove around. Since installing the new sensor, all of that's gone, including the CEL, which was starting to worry me. All fixed for around $45.
I hope this helps someone else who might be having the same problem as me.
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As far as length goes just make it the same length as the one you take off.
I believe all bosch 02 sensors are the same.
Wire length says 37 inches.
I don't think that lenght of the wires is relevant. However the quality of the connections is.
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I don't think that lenght of the wires is relevant. However the quality of the connections is.
True. The length of wire will only increase and decrease the resistance of the circuit, and since the resistance of copper wire is ridiculously low in the first place, a few inches longer or shorter is really negligible.
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I just did this with butt connectors, but I think I'm going to go back and re-do it with solder connections. I think the butt connectors might add too much resistance for what the sensor is spec'd for.