Will wrapping a one wire O2 sensor with aluminum foil get the sensor to read richer?

cheapybob · 06-22-2008, 02:52 PM

Will that really work or not? Has anyone tried it and determined whether it really works or not? Is there any way to know how much richer it is reading?

Is there a better way to accomplish this without spending $60 on an EFIE?

GasSavers_RoadWarrior · 06-22-2008, 03:25 PM

The O2 has vents on the back to let in ambient oxygen, it's the balance between the amount of O2 in the air, and the amount of O2 in the exhaust that it's measuring. So obviously, if it gets very little O2 pulled in the back, it "thinks" that the tiny proportion in the exhaust gas must mean it's running VERY lean, relative to the available O2 for combustion... so swaddling the back of the O2 sensor such that it can't pull in air is going to be a bad idea....

However, keeping heat in the O2 sensor, makes it warm up quicker and makes it react quicker when running, and helps stop any sudden cooling of it, if you were to suddenly let off the gas on the highway (had high engine bay airflow and weren't burning fuel)

Also, arranging things so it pulls in hotter air, would make the oxygen on the backside relatively more chemically active, so that would bias the sensor to read richer.

So, it can plausibly work if one attempts to shield the O2 sensor somewhat, while allowing an air path.

IMO, the ideal way to do it would be something like a metal funnel, or tin can jammed over it, with a cutout to wrap it's mouth around the exhaust pipe there, so that it's always pulling air over the hot exhaust, and so the whole deally heat soaks very well from exhaust heat, making the O2 it's pulling in the backside as hot as possible while shielding it from possible cooling drafts, and letting it get hotter quicker.

cfg83 · 06-22-2008, 04:48 PM

cheapybob -

This was my comment from 08-17-2007 :

Oxygen sensor wrap

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfg83

ffvben -

Quote:

Originally Posted by ffvben

some o2s get the outside atmosphere from the air inside the wiring of the o2 sensor. it would be tough to block the atmosphere on some o2s

That is exactly what I just read here :

OXYGEN (O2)SENSORS: Diagnose and Replace
http://www.aa1car.com/library/o2sensor.htm

Quote:

HOW IT WORKS

The O2 sensor works like a miniature generator and produces its own voltage when it gets hot. Inside the vented cover on the end of the sensor that screws into the exhaust manifold is a zirconium ceramic bulb. The bulb is coated on the outside with a porous layer of platinum. Inside the bulb are two strips of platinum that serve as electrodes or contacts.

The outside of the bulb is exposed to the hot gases in the exhaust while the inside of the bulb is vented internally through the sensor body to the outside atmosphere. Older style oxygen sensors actually have a small hole in the body shell so air can enter the sensor, but newer style O2 sensors "breathe" through their wire connectors and have no vent hole. It is hard to believe, but the tiny amount of space between the insulation and wire provides enough room for air to seep into the sensor (for this reason, grease should never be used on O2 sensor connectors because it can block the flow of air). Venting the sensor through the wires rather than with a hole in the body reduces the risk of dirt or water contamination that could foul the sensor from the inside and cause it to fail.

The difference in oxygen levels between the exhaust and outside air within the sensor causes voltage to flow through the ceramic bulb. The greater the difference, the higher the voltage reading.

An oxygen sensor will typically generate up to about 0.9 volts when the fuel mixture is rich and there is little unburned oxygen in the exhaust. When the mixture is lean, the sensor output voltage will drop down to about 0.2 volts or less. When the air/fuel mixture is balanced or at the equilibrium point of about 14.7 to 1, the sensor will read around .45 volts.

At first I thought I had a little hole in my 02 sensor, but now I think it is in the wire.

CarloSW2

BUT, I've never tested this, so who knows for sure?

CarloSW2

GasSavers_RoadWarrior · 06-22-2008, 06:08 PM

Mine in Marvin, a 4 wire, has about a 3inch perforated metal tube on the back of it.

That trick with using distributor ozone, I wondered if instead of piping it into a vacuum line, you ran it to the O2, whether that would make it read richer, due to O3 being more active than O2.

collegekid01 · 06-30-2008, 01:36 PM

So then If starving the outside of air would be detrimental then would shielding the inside portion of the sensor with mayb a small air hole be beneficial to making the engine run leaner? or would that just muck things up more...? cuz I've seen some people saying they have that mod and are getting some great gas mileage on here... whats up wit dat?

GasSavers_RoadWarrior · 06-30-2008, 02:22 PM

They're either wrapping a sensor that pulls it's air down the sleeving of the cable, or they're wrapping it loosely enough there's still an air path.

grey · 06-30-2008, 04:14 PM

I have not read the previous "studies" done on this.... but reading this thread title gave me the impression that this was about the electrical path being shielded with tin foil.

collegekid01 · 06-30-2008, 04:52 PM

No I understand that, I was saying the piece that actually sticks inside the exhaust tube, the little sensor part. Could that not be wrapped or stifled somehow with aluminum foil or something like that?

01olds · 04-11-2013, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfg83

cheapybob -

This was my comment from 08-17-2007 :

Oxygen sensor wrap

BUT, I've never tested this, so who knows for sure?

CarloSW2

hi i am new to this forum & not just how to navigate this site..... i have the 01 olds alero 3.4 & did wrap the 02 censor a bout 3 wrapps with aluminum foil up stream one i think this trick help more than any thing even those efie devices..... friend i think your suggestions make real basic sense i keep reading the main 02 censor controlls the vehicle fuel needs so by wrapping it keeps it temp. slightly higher allowing it to lean out just a tad i have some basic knowledge of car & truck stuff but i not a qualified mechanic so i thank you for your post

GasSavers_BEEF · 04-11-2013, 09:14 AM

... You just quoted something someone said almost 5 years ago.... on a post that has been dead for almost 5 years...

Many (if not all) of the members that commented on this thread are no longer active.

Most people have an introduction post for their first post or start a thread saying "hello" or something.

To each his own.

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