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Dawes AFR strangeness... *confused*

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Old 12 February 2004, 10:12 PM
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chrome
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Question Dawes AFR strangeness... *confused*

ok,
had a Dawes AFR fitted (TSL) and the unit is constantly on BLUE (ie: mega rich) on WOT..

'destructions' quote that : "Blue light stays on all the time: You have the white wire connected to 12v. You may have connected to the 12v line for the oxygen sensor's heater" BUT the technician (bye Ian!) double checked the wiring and its all FINE...

bear in mind my car:

550 injectors,
hybrid turbo
FMIC
LINK ECU
uprated fuelling (components and pressure)

??? SO is it just that the MAP is too rich? Pat mapped it using wideband and got it damn near spot on stoich mostly..
??

knackered lambda perhaps? btw- the AFR is soldered onto the lambda as close to the sensor as possibe..

any ideas guys?
Old 12 February 2004, 10:30 PM
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RON
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The fact that the blue light is on from what you've said is normal, if the blue light is on when the engines not running but the ignition's on then you have a problem, you should be getting blue on WOT, thats the whole idea!!
The lambda's not knackered, is working fine, if it was knackered the afr would show nothing!
Old 12 February 2004, 11:19 PM
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WagonRich
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The car should run rich on WOT - the extra fuel helps prevent detonation and cools the cylinders too.

Rich
Old 12 February 2004, 11:57 PM
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Dark Blue Mark
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It should flash back and forward at idle / cruise. Blue on WOT.

Anything else, you have a problem.

Trouble is with the dawes, is there's only 4 lights so you cant get an accurate voltage. Having said that, as long as its blue, its fine, and non of them are very accurate. More of a guide.

MB
Old 13 February 2004, 12:32 PM
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chrome
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it IS accurate to 0.05v though according to the technical docs from DawesDevices..

the blue light is on all time at idle/WOT

according to their instructions I *should* be running on the yellow light @ WOT.. (yellow- near as stoich as dammit) when my map was done it was with Wideband and the fuelling was setup only for being overly rich on cold starts..

bit bemused? altho to their credit TSL have offered to check it all again to make sure, and I have emailed JWR to let him know..

*sigh*

feckin cars..

Last edited by chrome; 13 February 2004 at 12:36 PM.
Old 13 February 2004, 01:40 PM
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Dark Blue Mark
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It may be accurate within itself, but if it doesnt have about 20 lights on it, so how do you know where in the "Blue" light you actually are? It probably has a range of 0.75-1v or something. Even so, its good enough for what we need

MB
Old 13 February 2004, 07:23 PM
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RON
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Chrome,
was it on at idle when the engine was cold, or hot, as when cold the engine would be running rich, as if it were on choke, that might go a little way to explaining it!
Old 13 February 2004, 07:30 PM
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chrome
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on whenever... when it was fitted the car was cold.

I drove it home some way, and drove around a bit more.
got home. turned it off. then went straight back out (hot start)

the blue light was still on, and stayed on
Old 13 February 2004, 08:27 PM
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Dark Blue Mark
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Ah, its on all the time. That means you either have a 12v signal going into the gauge, or the sensor is buggered, and has failed full scale +ve.

You haven't changed the sensor lately have you? If you get the wrong type, this can happen.

Best thing you can do is get a volt meter onto the signal wire, and see what voltage you're getting.

MB
Old 13 February 2004, 10:48 PM
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mark@wrx
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Hey DBM, guess where i've seen this before? Remember our "conversation" earlier this week?
Old 13 February 2004, 11:05 PM
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stephen emery
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hi this chap knows his stuff
Old 13 February 2004, 11:53 PM
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chrome
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ok. cheers mark.
probably a buggered sensor
TSL were certain the wiring was spot on..
Old 14 February 2004, 09:59 AM
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Dark Blue Mark
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Mark, it does look similar

Stephen, ta (if you meant me ) I know a little to help out here and there.

Chrome, I have just read that BRD sell "cheaper" but good sensors. Well worth getting a new one and see what happens. I would trust TSL's wiring, so supect the sensor. Although a bit odd it was ok when recently mapped, and now its not They can just die though. Given your mods, its probably a bit hotter than normal

If the new one doesn't work, at least you have a spare for when it does die! Keep us posted, its good to see these things resolved.

MB
Old 14 February 2004, 03:28 PM
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chrome
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good advice. will ring bob/branko and see whats what

will keep you all posted..
Old 16 February 2004, 09:17 AM
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Jamie Whitfield
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Exclamation

Hi Brad

YHM

It could be one of two problems, the knackered sensor or the fact the feed was taken directly off the sensor and not off the ECU.

As I said in the email though, we have never had a Dawes AFR go wrong so please don't worry about that.

Let me know how it goes.

Jamie

www.dawesdevices.co.uk
www.j-w-racing.co.uk
Old 16 February 2004, 11:28 AM
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Dark Blue Mark
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ECU and lambda feed are the same From the sensor it goes into the loom, then to the ECU.

My bet is still the sensor.

MB
Old 16 February 2004, 06:42 PM
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chrome
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Unhappy

Mark- That was my immediate thought.. soldered to the lamdba sensor wire as close as poss for an uninteruppted (sp) signal.. as per the Dawes instructions... but no joy. Blue all the time.. no matter what the scenario.
ign ON- Blue light.

Now waiting to hear from mr dawes himself via Jamie, and TSL only did as instructed via the fitting notes- http://www.dawesdevices.com/wrxmeter.html

I'm not happy particularly as it should have been so straightforward... now I have to take yet more time off and spend more cash to fix it... grrr

hoping this can be sorted swiftly..


Last edited by chrome; 16 February 2004 at 06:49 PM. Reason: typos :(
Old 16 February 2004, 10:30 PM
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Dark Blue Mark
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Just out of interest, how did you solder it onto the sensor? The sensor wire is made of a funny material, that would not solder when I tried a while ago. Im sure you have a proper contact, just interested.

Still pretty sure its not the Dawes itself.

You still need to check the voltage at the signal wire, as it may just be stuck at 1v and the sensor has failed rich. Get a test meter on there.

MB
Old 17 February 2004, 12:15 PM
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Just had it confirmed this morning that the new lambda sensor that was fitted is faulty. A new one will be fitted Friday.
Old 17 February 2004, 12:22 PM
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Dark Blue Mark
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Result Thought as much.

MB
Old 17 February 2004, 12:55 PM
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HOW MUCH IS A NEW LAMDA SENSOR?
Old 17 February 2004, 09:44 PM
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Depends which you buy. Mine was £50. They can be got cheaper though.
Old 17 February 2004, 11:54 PM
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chrome
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Mark- lemme know where you got yours please

PM or mail ... ta

Last edited by chrome; 17 February 2004 at 11:55 PM.
Old 17 February 2004, 11:57 PM
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LEUVEN
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Originally Posted by Dark Blue Mark
It may be accurate within itself, but if it doesnt have about 20 lights on it, so how do you know where in the "Blue" light you actually are? It probably has a range of 0.75-1v or something. Even so, its good enough for what we need

MB
I have a Dawes AFR, so because it hasn't got about 20 lights on it it's not accurate.
Old 18 February 2004, 10:36 AM
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yeh where from dude?
Old 18 February 2004, 11:59 AM
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The_Judge
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I have a Dawes AFR, so because it hasn't got about 20 lights on it it's not accurate.
In my opinion, the 20 light gauge is more useful than accurate, as it shows you all lambda activity, rather than just in the stoich/rich area, which can help to diagnose problems. For instance, if there are no lights after wiring up your Dawes, how do you know the gauge is seeing any signal at all? A 20 light gauge would indicate some voltage, however small. It could help point you in the right direction...
Old 18 February 2004, 12:35 PM
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Chrome,

For reference once the new sensor is in..

At idle it may well be blue etc as with mine you have 550 injectors and a Link and mine wanted rich to idle.. but with ignition on but engine off it should be no lights.

On boost and foot to the floor you should see blue light..

The Link ECU is not using the Lambda, you are just using the dawes as a monitor..

I too have a Dawes AFR etc..

Simon
Old 18 February 2004, 01:28 PM
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Dark Blue Mark
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Lueven,

Calm down. None of them are totally accurate, and you dont need them to be. They are only useful as a guide. I just prefer the autometer, as Judge says, it gives you more info. Less lights clearly gives you less info, but depends what youre after.

MB
Old 18 February 2004, 02:12 PM
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The_Judge
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They're all as accurate as the lambda sensor they're connected to...
Old 18 February 2004, 06:17 PM
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chrome
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cheers JGM
Im using the OE ECU currently with lowered fuel pressure as my LINK is poorly


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