Cheap: $40 O2 Sensor - DIY

[daihashi]

I'll start with a big thanks to Walky Talky for setting me straight. Previously I thought I could simply transfer the longer harness and be done, but he informed me that each O2 sensor has a resistor that is unique to it and only it. In order to ensure you get the most out of your new O2 sensor I have added steps that show how to transfer the connector housing which contains the resistor.

As everyone knows, the Wideband O2 sensor (front O2, Bosch 17351) for the longitudnal 1.8t is quite expensive when compared against what other car models pay for their O2 sensors. After a bit of looking it appears that the Bosch 17014 is also an LSU 4.2 sensor. Even better than that, this model sensor came on the Audi TT Quattro, Jetta 1.8t, Golf GTI 1.8t, and turbo beetle; these are the AWP, AWM, AMU, AUG engines.... which are essentially the same motors as the AMB. And even more encouraging than this, the Bosch 17351 and 17014 pull up as acceptable replacements for the Audi TT Quattro, leading one to believe that the sensor itself is the exact same part. The only difference between the two sensors is that the cable harness on the 17014 is about 3ft shorter than the 17351. Oh, and there is one more difference... the Bosch 17351 costs about $110 - $190, depending on where you buy it, and the Bosch 17014 costs about $40-70.

My O2 died after my turbo blew a piston seal and killed it with burning oil. I tried to see if it would revive on it's own over time but it did not. I didn't want to spend $140 for a replacement so I opted to go this route instead. I paid about $45 for my Bosch 17014.

Total amount of time it took me: Probably about 30 minutes total.
Difficulty level: I would say about a 3/10. Soldering is not hard, and if you don't want to solder then you can always just use crimp style connectors. This DIY is written under the assumption that you will be soldering. Crimping should be self explanitory

Tools Needed:
Pick
wire stripper
soldering iron
solder
pin release tool of some kind
Heat shrink
electrical tape
Ratchet, extension and O2 socket for removal and installation of oxygen sensor (not covered in this DIY)

1. There's not much to show here, both sensors look identical. The 17014 is on the left, the old 17351 from my car is on the right:
http://imageshack.us/a/img201/5425/20130504120518.jpg





2. As you can see, the wiring on the connector end of both harnesses is identical. This will make it easy to splice the longer harness of the 17351 onto the new O2 sensor, you can just match it color for color. The old sensor is the first image shown, the new sensor is the second image:
http://imageshack.us/a/img843/5053/20130504120948.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img5/1113/20130504121029.jpg





3. I decided to cut the old wiring harnesses about 1-2 inches before the area circled in red. You can cut the new wiring harness anywhere you want. I opted to cut the new harness about half way down.
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/7382/20130504120538.jpg





4. Pull the sheath back and spread the individual wires apart as shown here. This makes it easy to strip the wires and do your soldering later on. You will need to use the 20ga hole on your wire stripper. I took off about 1.5" of insulation, but I later trimmed this down to 0.5".
http://imageshack.us/a/img5/4499/20130504120910.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img201/6495/20130504121256.jpg





5. Get some heat shrink and cut it to be about 0.75 - 1 inch in length. Slide this over each individual wire on the old harness. This part has to be done before you begin soldering
http://imageshack.us/a/img855/3756/20130504120724.jpg





6.
Get your soldering iron and solder ready. Let it heat up to temperature and then you're ready to begin.
There are a few ways you can go about this. I chose to tin the wires on both harnesses, then overlap them and apply heat to join them together.
To tin the wire you will want to apply the heat to the wire strands and rub your solder over top of it. This allows the solder to coat the wire strands instead of your soldering iron tip.
Then take both harnesses, which have been tinned, and overlap the wires. It helps to have something holding them together. If you have helper hands then great, if not then you can do what I did and just used alligator clips. Apply a bit of heat and now they are joined together. Soldering requires both of my hands, so I couldn't take pics of the entire process, sorry.


http://imageshack.us/a/img10/7413/20130504122519.jpg





7.
Once you've soldered all the wires together it's time to use the heatshrink we slid over the wires earlier.
Slide them back up so they are over the solder joint you just made.
Apply a bit of heat to them and you're good to go. I just used the heat from the exhaust area of my butane soldering iron.
It will look like this once you're done:

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/1981/20130504142734.jpg





8. Slide the outer sheaths on both ends of the cut harnesses (a single harness now that you've soldered it together) and wrap some electrical tape around the area.




9. Now we need to transfer the connector housing from the new O2 over to the harness you just created above. This is important because the connector housing contains a resistor inside of it which is unique to the O2 sensor it came with. Do not skip this step!!

I was able to get away without cutting anything except 1 wire. For whatever reason, I don't think the red wire on pin#6 is removable. But before we get to removing wires, we need to remove the cap off the bottom that helps to lock the wires in place and protect it. Take a pick and hook it around the tabs as shown in the pick, repeat for the other side. The cap pops right off with minimal effort:
http://imageshack.us/a/img96/8302/20130506175018.jpg




10.Take a look at the inside of the connector housing. You'll notice 2 slots that sandwich each of the pins, with the exception of pin #2 because it's a dummy pin. You will need a tool of some sort to push into those slots. I had a tool from when I replaced my MAF connector and coil pack connector. If you choose to use this tool then you'll need to sand one side to remove material, otherwise it will hit the inside of the connector housing and not allow it to free the pins due to the awkward angle. If you don't have this tool then you can probably just use a paper clip or something; personally I've never had luck using a paper clip to release pins/wires from the connector harnesses YMMV.



Inside of connector housing showing the release slots:
http://imageshack.us/a/img29/6559/20130506180615.jpg


Pic of the tool, unmodified, and how it hits the inside of the housing. Notice the awkward angle:
http://imageshack.us/a/img28/6039/20130506180305.jpg


Modified tool, notice how it is pretty much aligned with the pin now. I actually removed a bit more material after I took this picture to get it perfect:
http://imageshack.us/a/img259/9307/20130506180723.jpg





11: Push the tool into the release slots, you'll know you can remove the pins because the tool will make a "click/pop" type sound. Tug on the wire sticking out of the bottom of the connector and it will come right out, just like the yellow wire shown in this pic. Repeat for pins 3,4 and 5 (pins #2 and 6 don't release):
http://imageshack.us/a/img259/5748/20130506180811.jpg





12: This step is not shown, but because Pin #6 does not release... you will have to clip it. Not a big deal. Just clip the wire, strip it, and tin the end of it.



13: Repeat steps 9 through 12 for the old connector.


14. Prepare to solder the red wires from the harness, and the new connector, together. Be sure to get your heat shrink in place prior to soldering. Use the same method described earlier in this post.


15. Slide all the other pins back into the new connector. Here is the Pin/Color order just incase you didn't document it when you were taking it a part: Pin#1 = Black, Pin#3= Grey, Pin#4= White, Pin#5 = Yellow, Pin#6= Red

16. We're pretty much done. Pop the bottom cap back on the connector and reinstall your $40 O2 sensor back in your car. Enjoy regained fuel efficiency while not getting ass raped by Bosch for the exact same O2 sensor just because the replacement part for the B6 has a slightly longer cable harness.
http://imageshack.us/a/img401/1407/20130506185938.jpg


Now the most important part. Reward yourself for saving a big chunk of money, and reflect on your awesome DIY skills by kicking back and enjoying a beer... or 6-7! :)

[daihashi]

I should add my experience after doing this:

My car idles much smoother, and part throttle power is much more responsive. I have thrown absolutely no codes and my gas mileage has been restored, from 18mpg back up to 28mpg. Measuring block 031 and 032 both appear to be showing what would be expected and acceptable.

[NickTerry]

why couldn't you have this DIY 2 months ago? thank you for making it though and i will use it in the future if need be. fuck 120 for a stupid sensor

[foley803]

Hey, that's what I did.

+1 Douche point for me for not sharing

[daihashi]

Let me know if anyone has any questions. It's a pretty straight forward process.

[tchuck]

Thanks, dood. I just got the sensor code last week. This is purrrrrrfect.

[vhstejskal]

This is great, will be replacing mine soon... :)

[smtroupe]

one question, i tried reading it couple times but didn't figure it out. so you take the new sensor and you solder the old sensors plug in on? or do you cut the wire out of the old one and clip the new one and just solder in the wire?

[daihashi]

one question, i tried reading it couple times but didn't figure it out. so you take the new sensor and you solder the old sensors plug in on? or do you cut the wire out of the old one and clip the new one and just solder in the wire?

The idea is to use the majority of the harness + connector from your stock O2 sensor because it is long enough to reach the bung on your O2/test pipe. You basically want to make 1 cut on your old O2 sensor, so all you're left with is the piece below. Then you cut the new O2 sensor about 6" or so below the connector. Solder the harness w/ connector onto your Bosch 17014 O2; matching the color of each wire.

You want to use the old harness + connector together so that you have as few solder joints as possible. I hope that makes sense.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/6058/20130505181016.jpg

edit: To give you a better idea of what I mean... here's what's left over from the new sensor after I cut it. Now try to imagine the Harness off the old connector onto being soldered onto the new sensor (in other words imagine the pieces that have been cut/not shown in these 2 pictures being soldered together)

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2410/20130505181611.jpg

[smtroupe]

K makes sense use old (longer) wire and harness plus the new sensor perfect I will do it tomorrow

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[victimdumper]

I too have done this, works perfectly and cuts the price of an o2 sensor literally in half [up]

[tenspeed]

Stagger the solder joints so they are spread over a couple of inches. It's easier to tape and there is less chance of a short circuit from the joints rubbing together.

[daihashi]

Stagger the solder joints so they are spread over a couple of inches. It's easier to tape and there is less chance of a short circuit from the joints rubbing together.

I'm not sure I follow. There's no chance of this happening anyway because of the heatshrink, as shown in the picture of step 7. It's 100% safe. What you suggest would be kind of a pain to do, and you would also lose the OEM outer sheathing. I don't advise your approach, not worth it IMO.

[jubei4769]

I'm not sure I follow. There's no chance of this happening anyway because of the heatshrink, as shown in the picture of step 7. It's 100% safe. What you suggest would be kind of a pain to do, and you would also lose the OEM outer sheathing. I don't advise your approach, not worth it IMO.

it makes for a cleaner install. we stagger all our splices at work so you dont end up with a huge bundle in one spot.

[tchuck]

it makes for a cleaner install. we stagger all our splices at work so you don't end up with a huge bundle in one spot.

I do that too, for the same reason. You can make the splice virtually invisible that way.

[B72011]

Wow that was a lot of verbage to describe the cutting and splicing of 2 sensors! Good lookin out though on that part!

[daihashi]

it makes for a cleaner install. we stagger all our splices at work so you dont end up with a huge bundle in one spot.

If you tin both ends and join them that way then you drastically cut down on the size of the solder joint and you have no bulge. Its hard to tell from the pic because I have the wires spread apart to show the heat shrink, but my splices are no thicker than the original wire w/insulation.

I'll snap a pic next week so you can see. In this particular case I don't think staggering is necessary.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[daihashi]

Wow that was a lot of verbage to describe the cutting and splicing of 2 sensors! Good lookin out though on that part!

A lot of people are intimidated at the idea of hacking up a new O2 sensor and possibly throwing away money. The step by step gives them confidence that they can do this themselves.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[jubei4769]

i prefer soldering over splicing anyways.

[daihashi]

i prefer soldering over splicing anyways.

I'm not sure I follow you, I soldered to splice the wires together. Crimping, soldering, butting, etc. are all splices. Splicing just means to join things together.

This may help others reading who are unfamiliar with soldering understand a bit better. Tinning is a soldering technique, it fills the stranded wire with solder... minimizing the amount of solder needed to join 2 pieces. You then stack both wires, tin the tip of your iron a bit, and then hit the stack with it to form a thin/flat/flush joint.

Hope that help others understand exactly how much (or more accurately said, how little) solder is needed to make a solid joint that doesn't buldge and is not bulky.

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[walky_talky20]

one question, i tried reading it couple times but didn't figure it out. so you take the new sensor and you solder the old sensors plug in on? or do you cut the wire out of the old one and clip the new one and just solder in the wire?

^This guy had the best question. Why is that? Two words:

Calibration Resistor

Each Bosch wideband sensor is calibrated at the factory using different resistors: whatever value is necessary to get that sensor to read properly. By cutting your harness up, you are matching your new sensor with your old sensors resistor (located in the connector plug). This is no bueno. Whilst the new sensor may well be better than your old and busted sensor, the reading will be less accurate than Bosch has intended due to you carelessly swapping around the calibration resistors.

[daihashi]

^This guy had the best question. Why is that? Two words:

Calibration Resistor

Each Bosch wideband sensor is calibrated at the factory using different resistors: whatever value is necessary to get that sensor to read properly. By cutting your harness up, you are matching your new sensor with your old sensors resistor (located in the connector plug). This is no bueno. Whilst the new sensor may well be better than your old and busted sensor, the reading will be less accurate than Bosch has intended due to you carelessly swapping around the calibration resistors.

I said this at the beginning of my first post but I'll say it again.

The b6 1.8 uses the bosch 17351. The Audi TT lists the bosch 17015 and 17351 as acceptable replacements. They are the exact same sensor, the only difference is the length of the cable and the amount of money they cost.

Edit: disregard, I see what you're saying now. So to do this the *correct* way I should have transfered the new connector as well as lengthen the harness. Right?

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[catbed]

^This guy had the best question. Why is that? Two words:

Calibration Resistor

Each Bosch wideband sensor is calibrated at the factory using different resistors: whatever value is necessary to get that sensor to read properly. By cutting your harness up, you are matching your new sensor with your old sensors resistor (located in the connector plug). This is no bueno. Whilst the new sensor may well be better than your old and busted sensor, the reading will be less accurate than Bosch has intended due to you carelessly swapping around the calibration resistors.

I agree with walky on this 100%. I came here to post the exact same thing. Either make 2 splices and extend the plug or see if you can switch over the calib resistor. The cap on the resistor pops off.

I noticed the cheaper o2 and amazon, and was planning on doing this. My o2 sensor placement with my BT is farther back than stock, so hopefully no chopping is necessary.

[igo4uga0586]

What if instead of putting the two harnesses together, if you just extended the wires by the 3 feet? Yes you would have two connections, but this would keep the ends of the harness the same?

[daihashi]

Here's the resistor in question. The lighting in this room isn't too great, but I don't see an obvious way to just transfer the resistor over... it looks easier to just swap the entire connector over; bummer, I don't like having multiple splices if I can help it.

I had assumed that the resistor was the same on both part #'s. I'll correct this tomorrow after work.

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/4695/20130505220817.jpg


What if instead of putting the two harnesses together, if you just extended the wires by the 3 feet? Yes you would have two connections, but this would keep the ends of the harness the same?

yep, it would accomplish the same thing Walky and catbed are talking about. My original intention was to limit the number of splices, but it looks like it's necessary to do this the right way. I'll correct this and revise the DIY tomorrow.

[Charles.waite]

the pins on the connectors dont come out? Weird...

[daihashi]

the pins on the connectors dont come out? Weird...

I haven't looked at it too closely. There is a clip at the bottom of the connector, but I'm not sure if the pins can just be pressed out without damaging anything; I don't see any release pins like on other 5 pin connectors, like the maf or coil pack connectors have.

I'll give it a closer look tomorrow.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[drjonez]

You're welcome. ;)

[victimdumper]

I will also say now that its been brought up (mostly because I totally forgot) that I did throw some codes initially when I soldered and replaced mine.
I realized there was something in the connector housing so i did swap that over to the new sensor. (just for the hell of it, didnt know there were resistors inside)

so my final splice looked like :
new O2 sensor > old o2 wires for extension > new O2 connector

there's been no problems since.
that being said im gonna be pissed to find out if the housing just pops out and can be swapped into the other housing when I took the hard route haha

[AndrA4]

Well to be honest, I think I'll just stick with the correct sensor. For ~$90 you can get a sensor and all zipties and whatnot you need to swap it in. No need to worry about splicing, soldering, no need to swap over connectors, etc. For the extra money spent I'd rather pop in a sensor have the piece of mind and not have to worry about if the connections will hold or whether the reading will be accurate. I'll stick to the notion of "pay nice or pay twice".

[walky_talky20]

^This. I got my wideband for about $85 under the old "17085" number (has since been superseded to 17351).

[drjonez]

Eh. Depends on what you want to do. I paid $28.50 for my 17014....and for that price I can do a bit of soldering. ;)

[walky_talky20]

Ooh. That is a good deal.

[drjonez]

Ooh. That is a good deal.

Advance auto parts and their silly, stackable deals...

[victimdumper]

Advance auto parts and their silly, stackable deals...

x2

if you go at the right time they have things like $20 off $50, and these O2 sensors are only $50 to start

[drjonez]

x2

if you go at the right time they have things like $20 off $50, and these O2 sensors are only $50 to start

Certainly my favorite (and most used) coupon! ;)

[daihashi]

Well to be honest, I think I'll just stick with the correct sensor. For ~$90 you can get a sensor and all zipties and whatnot you need to swap it in. No need to worry about splicing, soldering, no need to swap over connectors, etc. For the extra money spent I'd rather pop in a sensor have the piece of mind and not have to worry about if the connections will hold or whether the reading will be accurate. I'll stick to the notion of "pay nice or pay twice".

My peace of mind is not disturbed at all. It is an electrical current that carries a signal based on it's voltage. The resistance through a solder joint is non existent. The steps I list in the soldering area are to help people avoid putting an excess amount of solder on, burning the resin or overheating the wire. It results in a joint that has a minimal amount of solder, that is shiny and concave.

A good joint; which is easier to make than people realize, will resist oxidation, vibration, and humidity.

The whole point of this DIY is to provide a cost effective means to replace our oxygen sensors. If paying $100-180 on an oxygen sensor just because it has a longer cable is your idea of peace of mind... then more power to you, but for me, and i'm sure a number of other people, that's a waste of money... there's no technical reason that justifies the 66-70% mark-up on price.


Eh. Depends on what you want to do. I paid $28.50 for my 17014....and for that price I can do a bit of soldering. ;)

Yep... I was kicking myself in the rear for not checking to see if retailmenot had a coupon for something like $15 off $50 before I bought the sensor. Pretty sure I probably could've picked this up for $30 if I had spent 2 minutes to check. I love ordering parts off the advanceauto website and then picking up in person; parts end up being cheap as dirt.

[daihashi]

I'll be trying to remove the pins from the connector housing today and updating the DIY with several more steps. Special thanks to Walky/Catbed for pointing out the resistor in the connector is unique to each and every O2 sensor. Special thanks to Charles for pointing out the obvious (that I can probably just swap connector housings instead of making another splice).

Updated pictures and steps to come once I get home from work.

EDIT:

Here's a coupon that gives you 30% off any purchase of $50 or more, and here is the link to advanceauto that has the 17014 for $56. Total for the O2 sensor, using this coupon, is $39. There are probably some better coupons out there, but this is just an example of how you can get the Bosch 17014 dirt cheap.

http://www.retailmenot.com/view/advanceautoparts.com?c=4536452

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/PartSearchCmd?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&pageId=partTypeList&suggestion=&actionSrc=Form&langId=-1&searchTerm=bosch+17014&vehicleIdSearch=-1&searchedFrom=header

EDIT#2:

Coupon Code: ES123 will give you $20 off of 50; bringing your total to $36.

[Charles.waite]

I'll be trying to remove the pins from the connector housing today and updating the DIY with several more steps. Special thanks to Walky/Catbed for pointing out the resistor in the connector is unique to each and every O2 sensor. Special thanks to Charles for pointing out the obvious (that I can probably just swap connector housings instead of making another splice).

Updated pictures and steps to come once I get home from work.

Tugboat?? [;)]

[daihashi]

Tugboat?? [;)]

Tugboats were going to happen even if you didn't ask. [;)]

[texasboy21]

It is my understanding that the Audi preferred technique to splice the wires is by using butt connectors, and actually discourages the use of solder.

My personal experience with soldering on the harness has not been good. Each connector that was soldered has since been replaced in order to correct an issue.

[daihashi]

Not sure, all of my connections where I've had to put repair wires in place are done with soldering. I've repaired wiring for my MAP sensor, #4 coil pack connector, MAF connector, Coolant reservoir, now the O2 sensor and a few others. My car purrs along happily.

I've heard the same as you, but I don't listen to people..I'm a rebel, I do what I want.

http://www.somegif.com/gifs/1359834832361029823.GIF

[texasboy21]

^Lol just letting you know what I have heard. That said, I soldered in my boost gauge and dont have any issues there. Solid write up! [up]

[drjonez]

It is my understanding that the Audi preferred technique to splice the wires is by using butt connectors, and actually discourages the use of solder.

My personal experience with soldering on the harness has not been good. Each connector that was soldered has since been replaced in order to correct an issue.

The intent there is that solder joints can fail, especially in the hands of someone without experience. Note that the military doesn't solder either...

I'm with dai- I solder everything and have for decades. Interesting, my solder joints have never been a point of failure...

[Charles.waite]

Tugboats were going to happen even if you didn't ask. [;)]

Yusssss!

[daihashi]

Massive thanks to Walky, I swapped the housing with the one that came on my new sensor and there was a significant difference. I wish I had logged 032 and 031 with the old connector and again with the new connector; but I did look at the blocks visually and the best way to describe things before is that with the old connector... things looked kind of sleepy. With the new connector, lambda seems to be in a hyper meth induced reporting frenzy. :)

I'll update the DIY with how to swap over the connector housing here in a bit.

[Charles.waite]

Massive thanks to Walky, I swapped the housing with the one that came on my new sensor and there was a significant difference. I wish I had logged 032 and 031 with the old connector and again with the new connector; but I did look at the blocks visually and the best way to describe things before is that with the old connector... things looked kind of sleepy. With the new connector, lambda seems to be in a hyper meth induced reporting frenzy. :)

I'll update the DIY with how to swap over the connector housing here in a bit.

Yay!

[old guy]

Great write up [up] Unfortunately I'm too damn lazy to do all that cutting and soldering.

[imnuts]

Any chance you can find a similar replacement for the Bosch 17353 O2 sensor? Those are what is used for the front 3.0 sensors. I'd like to replace mine at some point, but the $100/each price tag and needing two of them is a real downer to getting them done.

[daihashi]

Any chance you can find a similar replacement for the Bosch 17353 O2 sensor? Those are what is used for the front 3.0 sensors. I'd like to replace mine at some point, but the $100/each price tag and needing two of them is a real downer to getting them done.

Well, you can get them for $70 each from FCPeuro: http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/audi-volkswagen-oxygen-sensor-17353

But if I was a betting man, which I am, then I would say the 17014 sensor should work on the 3.0 as well. The 17353 shows to be a compatible replacement part with the 1.8L beetle and the 2004-2006 TT Quattro. Coincidentally the Bosch 17014 also shows to be compatible with those too models. Try it at your own risk, but IMO I could take the chance... considering you could get both sensors for $70 total from Advanceauto. You'll have to sign in as a guest on advancedauto and use the $20 off $50 coupon on 2 seperate purchases. If you make an account then you can only use coupon codes once. Anytime I go to advanced I typically break my order up into 3-4 orders to get the biggest discount possible. :)

[daihashi]

the DIY has been updated to show the transfer of the connector housing/resistor. As well as give thanks to Walky Talky for the info on the resistors being unique to every physical O2 sensor.

[catbed]

Any chance you can find a similar replacement for the Bosch 17353 O2 sensor? Those are what is used for the front 3.0 sensors. I'd like to replace mine at some point, but the $100/each price tag and needing two of them is a real downer to getting them done.

Those are wideband as well, so you can use the same sensor. The sensor is just a Bosch LSU 4.2 wideband.

[igo4uga0586]

Here is my new 17014 compared to my stock o2 sensor with 140k mi

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa3/tanman05/null_zps75e25a8e.jpg (http://s203.photobucket.com/user/tanman05/media/null_zps75e25a8e.jpg.html)

[customa4]

Good job on the write up! This is perfect for the people like me that will put a little extra labor in to save some money. As seen here it's not for everyone but this post is very informative. Thanks for all of the info and explanations to make this very easy and dummy proof.

[daihashi]

Wow... that sensor is nastiness. Lol

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[walky_talky20]

Massive thanks to Walky, I swapped the housing with the one that came on my new sensor and there was a significant difference. I wish I had logged 032 and 031 with the old connector and again with the new connector; but I did look at the blocks visually and the best way to describe things before is that with the old connector... things looked kind of sleepy. With the new connector, lambda seems to be in a hyper meth induced reporting frenzy. :)

I'll update the DIY with how to swap over the connector housing here in a bit.

You're very welcome, sir. Re-reading my post I see I came across a little more critical than expressly necessary. My apologies for that, I usually try to be more constructive. (<< Ok, maybe that's a lie. I generally just speak my mind and apologize later. Crap, I'm doing it again).

I was not expecting the resistor to make that much difference really. That's good to know. If we could figure out a way to recalibrate these things every 10k miles, then we'd be golden.

[BARRY]

It is my understanding that the Audi preferred technique to splice the wires is by using butt connectors, and actually discourages the use of solder.

My personal experience with soldering on the harness has not been good. Each connector that was soldered has since been replaced in order to correct an issue.

no auto manufacturer uses solder to join their harnesses. they use a specific type of crimp connector that isn't a butt connector. you don't butt the wires and crimp like those cheap wire butt connectors. you overlay the wires then crimp them over one another. They do not use solder joints for the fact that a solder joint introduces a weak point which cannot withstand bending or heat very well. once solder has been applied to the connection it allows for a brittle section of wire that can sever upon bending.

in regards to solder techniques the steps given work, and are the easiest way to solder wires together. i personally use the technique in which you wrap the wires around each other like as a piece of rope looks. i then solder this union, as it promotes the greatest level of wire to wire contact to eliminate any resistance that may occur. another good type of solder joint is the hook and loop, or eyelet joint. you fish each end of wire together and bring the loop back around to create a 8 looking union. you then solder this joint. this too allows for decent wire contact, but not as good as the wrap around technique.


BTW good write up...someone should complete a heated resistance test rather than bickering back and forth. i think you simply need a pot of boiling water and a butane torch. something like that.

what i do know is that the two sensor types as a whole have different outputs, as most aftermarket widebands have different calibrations for the two different sensor models.

[smtroupe]

Reread it with new steps little confused on the #2 the dummy one is that cut a second time and resoldered also?

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[catbed]

If we could figure out a way to recalibrate these things every 10k miles, then we'd be golden.

Isn't that the point of the resistor though? To not have to worry about calibration every few thousand miles like innovate widebands?

[daihashi]

Reread it with new steps little confused on the #2 the dummy one is that cut a second time and resoldered also?

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Step 2 is just showing you the wire color is the same, so you can match it color for color when soldering later. Cut your old O2 so most of that cable is in tact. Cut your new O2... solder old cable/harness onto new O2.

Pretty straight forward.

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[smtroupe]

Could a person just cut twice and solder just the wire into the new one and not have to worry about all that box switching?

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[daihashi]

Could a person just cut twice and solder just the wire into the new one and not have to worry about all that box switching?

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You could, but its more effort than swapping the housing. I'll try to take a video so you can see how little effort it actually is.

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[smtroupe]

I would just hate to break something and soldering is easy.

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[smtroupe]

Have to solder the red and dummy wire twice anyways

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[daihashi]

Have to solder the red and dummy wire twice anyways

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If you want to solder it then go for it, it will work just fine... but it really is more work. Stripping, tinning, soldering, heat shrinking. 10 wires (both sets of wires) vs 2 (just the red wires).

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[smtroupe]

Any suggestions on how to get the old o2 out?? I have the socket and took the air box out to help with room. But the socket keeps slipping and I'm afraid of stripping the bolt. I'm soaking it in pentrator rust stuff right now..

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[old guy]

What socket are you using? Do you have an actual lambda wrench? I've never had a lambda wrench slip.

[customa4]

When I removed my 02 sensors I used a 7/8 box wrench and they both came off with ease.

[walky_talky20]

Isn't that the point of the resistor though? To not have to worry about calibration every few thousand miles like innovate widebands?

The point of the resistor is that it's calibrated to be "perfect" from the factory. There is a certain amount of expected "drift" as the sensor ages. If you start out at "perfect", then the drift still leaves you somewhere close after a while. This is good enough for the OE application. But if you start out with the wrong resistor, the initial readings will be incorrect, and it will drift even further as it ages.

The Bosch spec for a new sensor is +/- .15 AFR. As it ages, their laboratory tests show the accuracy widening to +/- .29 AFR after 500 hours. And after 2000 hours to +/- .59 AFR. If you use the incorrect resistor, you may well start out with a sensor that reads .5 AFR too low, for example. After the sensor ages a bit, you may have a sensor that reads a full AFR point low, which is not good. So starting at "perfect" is important for longest usable sensor life and accuracy. This is especially true in our "chipped" turbocharged applications which take up a lot of the factory safety margins to get more performance.

It would be nice to be able to reevaluate the response of the sensor after some miles, and pair it with a new resistor value to get it "perfect" again. That would require knowing the various resistor values and how those work, and a way to accurately compare the reported AFR values against known good readings. Certainly do-able, if somebody was so inclined to figure it out. Due to the relatively low price of these sensors, this would really only apply to people who already had an aftermarket wideband gauge installed to compare with.

[catbed]

The point of the resistor is that it's calibrated to be "perfect" from the factory. There is a certain amount of expected "drift" as the sensor ages. If you start out at "perfect", then the drift still leaves you somewhere close after a while. This is good enough for the OE application. But if you start out with the wrong resistor, the initial readings will be incorrect, and it will drift even further as it ages.

The Bosch spec for a new sensor is +/- .15 AFR. As it ages, their laboratory tests show the accuracy widening to +/- .29 AFR. And after 2000 hours to +/- .59 AFR. If you use the incorrect resistor, you may well start out with a sensor that reads .5 AFR too high, for example. After the sensor ages a bit, you may have a sensor that reads a full AFR point off, which is not good. So starting at "perfect" is important for longest usable sensor life and accuracy, especially in our "chipped" turbocharged applications which take up a lot of the factory safety margins to get more performance.

Cool, good to know. [up]

[smtroupe]

I'm trying to use a 7/8 o2 sensor socket and a Rachet but it is a weird angle.. I'm soaking it over night and going to cut the wire tomorrow and use a normal socket. I should be pulling towards the bumper the loosen correct?

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[customa4]

Counter-clockwise

[daihashi]

Righty tighty, lefty loosey.

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[smtroupe]

Yes I know that. Just making sure audi didn't change it to pass me off lol

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[diagnosticator]

The problem with soldered connections in a vehicle wiring harness, is that the vibrations the harness is subject to, will eventually fracture the solder joints, resulting in failure of the connection.

[smtroupe]

Jb weld it is then ha

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[ADCS]

The problem with soldered connections in a vehicle wiring harness, is that the vibrations the harness is subject to, will eventually fracture the solder joints, resulting in failure of the connection.

I say this is a non issue. For an OEM it is time and consistency which drives crimps.

I have (and still do) worked at multiple aerospace defense companies which all use solder splices in wire harnesses on products worth millions of $.... the same applies for our ground vehicle systems. As long as you can solder correctly and strain relief the harness there is no issue.

[ADCS]

To the OP, thanks for posting this! I will be trying this out shortly using 2x solder connections and the new connector.

[daihashi]

The problem with soldered connections in a vehicle wiring harness, is that the vibrations the harness is subject to, will eventually fracture the solder joints, resulting in failure of the connection.

The problem i find with statements like the above isn't that I think they're false, but rather no definition is given to the time frame "eventually".

I could say "your car is made of metal, so it will eventually rust out".. but that could be 5 years from now or 500 years from now.... neither which are likely.

I would put money that the sensor would fail before a solder joint would. Vehicle manufacturers choose to use crimps to avoid liability/warranty work. Plus its more efficient and cost effective on an assembly line to crimp.


I say this is a non issue. For an OEM it is time and consistency which drives crimps.

I have (and still do) worked at multiple aerospace defense companies which all use solder splices in wire harnesses on products worth millions of $.... the same applies for our ground vehicle systems. As long as you can solder correctly and strain relief the harness there is no issue.

Exactly.

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[igo4uga0586]

So does the resistor need to be changed to the new sensor?

When I installed I took my new sensor and extended the wires 3 feet and then shrink wrapped it all. Did not cut or take anything from old sensor

[ADCS]

So does the resistor need to be changed to the new sensor?

When I installed I took my new sensor and extended the wires 3 feet and then shrink wrapped it all. Did not cut or take anything from old sensor

You want to re-use whatever resistor originally came with the sensor that you are installing. So the resistor that came with the new sensor should be used.

[igo4uga0586]

You want to re-use whatever resistor originally came with the sensor that you are installing. So the resistor that came with the new sensor should be used.

Got it. So the new sensor keeps the new resistor, the old resistor stays with the old sensor

[tchuck]

Just placed my order. Thanks, Rich!

Also, those coupon codes listed on page 1 are still valid as of 5min ago...

[Charles.waite]

Somebody want to make me one of these? Tugboats await!

But seriously, I want to do this, but that means I'd have to buy a soldering iron and learn to solder. Unless there are crimp connectors that are sufficiently low-profile enough to live in the harness without making a huge lump...

[DiertyEuroSpec]

Doesn't take a genius to solder...It's actually very easy.

[Charles.waite]

Doesn't take a genius to solder...It's actually very easy.

Hmm, it was payday yesterday and I have to go to Home Depot Motorsports anyway...

http://www.troll.me/images/victory-baby/challenge-accepted.jpg

Any reccomendations on a good/cheap soldering setup?

[victimdumper]

Hmm, it was payday yesterday and I have to go to Home Depot Motorsports anyway...

http://www.troll.me/images/victory-baby/challenge-accepted.jpg

Any reccomendations on a good/cheap soldering setup?

harbor Freight or radio shack FTW, you dont even need anything nice for something as simple as soldering wires like this.
get some flux though, it helps.

bitches love flux

[imnuts]

Any reccomendations on a good/cheap soldering setup?

I have this kit (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062759) from Radio Shack and it has worked well so far for everything I've used it for.

[igo4uga0586]

There are heatshrink connectors I used to do this, made it so simple. Just do as suggested earlier and stagger where you make the connections

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_20082.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-pack-18-22-gauge-watertight-heat-shrink-butt-connectors-66595.html

[smtroupe]

Did it yesterday easy as pie

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[drjonez]

When I did this, I just swapped cal resistors- 2 solder points vs. a bunch of solder joints.

And if anyone cares, here are the resistor values:
OEM B6 sensor: 101.6 Ohms
17014: 92.7 Ohms

I suppose you could always parallel something else on the OEM one to drop it....but why?

[walky_talky20]

^It's not just as simple as 2 different resistances. There are probably on the order of 30-100 different precision values for the calibration resistor. The correct calibration resistance is chosen at time of manufacture, individually, for each sensor as it goes through testing.

[drjonez]

^It's not just as simple as 2 different resistances. There are probably on the order of 30-100 different precision values for the calibration resistor. The correct calibration resistance is chosen at time of manufacture, individually, for each sensor as it goes through testing.

I'm not saying that at all.

All I'm doing is giving a comparison of the OEM B6 (i.e. the one in the connector you're likely swapping...) to the correct value for the 17014.

[walky_talky20]

Doctor, I think perhaps you misunderstood my post. The numbers you gave in post #91 are giving a comparison of *your* OEM B6 sensor to the value of *your* 17014. The resistors are all different (sort of like snowflakes [;)]) as they are used to dial in the sensors on an individual basis at the factory.

[drjonez]

Understood, but the values are "grouped" by sensor type/application....exact values differ, but you should be in the same ball park.

[imnuts]

Understood, but the values are "grouped" by sensor type/application....exact values differ, but you should be in the same ball park.

Do you really want to take the chance though with the front O2 sensor? Even a small change could affect your fuel economy and how the car runs. The 9% difference between the two sensors you tested isn't that much, but I'm sure if you tried to use it you'd think otherwise. I would say that unless you test both, and both are the same, swap resistors, otherwise you're asking for problems.

[drjonez]

Do you really want to take the chance though with the front O2 sensor? Even a small change could affect your fuel economy and how the car runs. The 9% difference between the two sensors you tested isn't that much, but I'm sure if you tried to use it you'd think otherwise. I would say that unless you test both, and both are the same, swap resistors, otherwise you're asking for problems.

Try reading my original post (#91) and it should all make sense...

[imnuts]

Try reading my original post (#91) and it should all make sense...

Not every replacement sensor is going to have the same resistor, as walky_talky tried to explain. You could get one 17014 O2 sensor with a 92.7 ohm resistor, then go and buy the same 17014 sensor with a different resistor. Every sensor is paired with its own resistor at the time of manufacture to account for small variations in how they work. Just because the sensor you got has the 92.7 ohm resistor in it doesn't mean that all of them are that way.

[old guy]

Wow. All this discussion to save $50?? Just replace the damn sensor with an OEM Bosch one and be done with it. It will probably be the one and only time you replace it unless you plan on running your B6 for over 200k miles. And in that case the $50 will only be a drop in the bucket anyway :)

[igo4uga0586]

$50 is a tank of gas!! thats 375 miles of road (on 87 octane [:D])

[Simplyclean_]

I gave this a go to replace the old o2 sensor because it was throwing P0130 code , put in the new o2 sensor and it keeps throwing the code?

[Smithyork]

How about a catalytic converter than i can get for cheap for my A4 1.8T??

[my1stturbo]

Can you just splice in 3' of wire to lengthen the new 02 sensor? That way you can do the splice ahead of time and then pull the old and pop I'm the new. If so, what gauge wire is needed?

[tchuck]

Can you just splice in 3' of wire to lengthen the new 02 sensor? That way you can do the splice ahead of time and then pull the old and pop I'm the new. If so, what gauge wire is needed?

I think the reasons the OP didn't take this route were to limit the number of splices and to retain the oem heat shielding.

[daihashi]

I think the reasons the OP didn't take this route were to limit the number of splices and to retain the oem heat shielding.

that's it for the most part... if someone wanted to splice in a length of cable then that would work just as well.

[my1stturbo]

that's it for the most part... if someone wanted to splice in a length of cable then that would work just as well.

Thanks. I figure it would be easy to do ahead of time and then just swap in.

Anyone know if this works for the rear sensor as well?

[foley803]

Holy shit, Rich is alive!

[Fast4esT]

I just used the trt30 code that is linked in an earlier post, it still works. I did not have to splice or lengthen my wires. The wire is shorter than the stock 02 sensor still but I disconnected the plug from underneath the coolant resivoir and it had enough length to connect to the o2 sensor without cutting anything. I do have an ER pipe running off the turbo, don't know if this makes a difference or not. I can post up pics if ya like.
I'd say this TT sensor is a score! Only $41 with tax and it direct fit

[DiertyEuroSpec]

Yea deff post a pic b/c I was under impression that there was no way it would reach

[maitai]

Is there anything similar for the rear sensor?

[caldy315]

I did this today and added ~3' of wire. Really a person only needs about 2 feet of wire as after mine was done I had too much slack. I measured after the fact and 2 ft I think would be sufficient. One question I have is once replaced, does anything else need to be done? Does something need to be reset with VCDS or am I good to go?

[Fast4esT]

The ecu will adapt after a few key cycles from normal driving, you shouldn't have to do anything

[maitai]

I was able to use the 17014 without splicing. I moved the coupling out of the bracket closer to the passenger side and zip tied it to keep it secure.

[19jdog]

What happen to all the diy pics???

[caldy315]

What happen to all the diy pics???

From what I remember just lengthen the wires. Cut and add two ft and call it a day. If you get fancy, stagger the wires. I'm still running mine and it's running just as good as day 1. Didn't see too much improvement mileage wise but piece of mind. Still have the old one if I wanted to do a back to back test

[tchuck]

From what I remember just lengthen the wires. Cut and add two ft and call it a day. If you get fancy, stagger the wires. I'm still running mine and it's running just as good as day 1. Didn't see too much improvement mileage wise but piece of mind. Still have the old one if I wanted to do a back to back test
I've had one of these for a couple years now. No complaints.

[Menyahs]

Just did this yesterday. I ended up de-pinning the wires from the old connector. Cut and spliced the wires on to the new sensor, then reinstalled the wires into the new connector housing. Figured this was the best way as I retained the new connector and resistor, while only having to make one splice.

Really was a pretty easy job that can be completed in under an hour. . . Yay for saving $50 to go toward other maintenance. So far idle has smoothed out and getting fewer random misfires on cyl 3 at idle (ongoing problem for me). Still need to install new MAF and downstream o2 sensor.

Biggest improvement I've noticed so far is much less bogging down when accelerating from low RPM in a high gear. Too early to tell if I will see an improvement in MPG.

[vtraudt]

Are photo links not working anymore? Or is it just me?
If so: can someone restore the photo links?

[vtraudt]

that's it for the most part... if someone wanted to splice in a length of cable then that would work just as well.
They both sensors (B6 and Bosch) work as shipped (resistors and all), but Bosch is too short for B6 application?
And options are:
one splice/heat shield: with old and new in hand, transfer over
two splice/heat shield: splice in a (xxx inches long) section of wire into new Bosch, be ready to swap over.

[OlivierA4]

these O2 sensors are for A4 B6 1.8T but not for 3.0L right?

[cleoo]

I just did this. It took me about 2 hours at a leisure pace. 150k on the odometer.

I did it right after going for a ride to make it easier to torque off the O2 sensor. Just place some cloth towels around the HOT engine parts so I didn't burn my arm. Wasn't too difficult since I used a U-joint to twist it off. The cutting, splicing, soldering and heatshrinking took the longest.

Sorry for all the pics. I didn't do as the OP I just spliced in about the length of the original using 18 gauge wire.

I moved the metal clip holder from its position on the NEW sensor. I just used the blade of a box cutter to pry it apart and move it to the original spot. Then I transferred over the metal clip.

Thanks for the DIY.

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[vtraudt]

I need to do a 2005 B6 A4.
Have the short Bosch sensor here.
I am surprised how LONG the OEM sensor is. Isn't the upstream O2 sensor 'right there', after the turbo.
Why do we need to make an extension? Is the respective connector all the way on driver side?

[customa4]

I need to do a 2005 B6 A4.
Have the short Bosch sensor here.
I am surprised how LONG the OEM sensor is. Isn't the upstream O2 sensor 'right there', after the turbo.
Why do we need to make an extension? Is the respective connector all the way on driver side?

The 02 sensor purchased for the job is made for a different car and is too short in length. The connector is on the drivers side, directly behind/under the coolant tank.

[paul85]

these O2 sensors are for A4 B6 1.8T but not for 3.0L right?

I'm going to try this on a B1S1 Heated sensor failure this week on my son's 2002 3.0 liter A4 quattro (code p0135). From what I read on an earlier page, there's a good chance it will work and I'm all for saving $50.

[paul85]

It did work on the 3.0. Using the same cheap sensor as the 1.8T guys do listed above, I swapped out the connector, soldered the red wire, etc, and on the 3.0, the wiring harnesses are the same size, so there was no need to splice on a longer section of wire. Got it all swapped out and boom, no more 02 sensor code. Car runs smoother, doesn't smell like fuel either.