Is a "wideband" O2 the same as a "Lambda" O2 sensor? The godforsaken cars I work on for a living have "lambda" O2 sensors, according to the know-it-alls at Tech Assist. If they are indeed the same, I also wonder if they can be used for tuning purposes, since a wideband is needed. They don't swing like a "normal" O2 sensor, more or less stay at one output voltage if that helps.

 

AFAIK, lambda means change, and the term is used for ordinary O2 sensors as well as wide bands. Regular O2 sensor outputs swing high/low with proper fuel trim.

 

So do wideband sensors swing like normal O2 sensors, or do they have a consistent output?

 

narrowband (regular) O2 - four or one wire
wideband O2 - five or more wires

widebands have to be driven by a controller and the voltage changes on two of the wires.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Relic1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">narrowband (regular) O2 - four or one wire
wideband O2 - five or more wires

widebands have to be driven by a controller and the voltage changes on two of the wires.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the info. You just won me $50

 

I recently inspected a car in the shop and it has exactly what you describe. Now what I wonder is if it can be used in tuning applications......

 

if you have a seperate controller for it, yes. If you don't, no.
the ECU connected to it (honda = VX or HX or newer civic) can control it but the info from it remains inside the ECU. There is no way as of yet to pull the info from it.

 

I was wondering because everyone says you need a wideband to tune a car, and if these sensors are in fact wideband if they can be used for such. They're only 150$ list brand new, and everyone I've spoken to says most wideband sensors are like 250$ and higher. Now if you had say a Hondata ecu, does that drive the sensor, or do you need a controller like you mentioned. i f you know a website I can visit, it might help me avoid asking more noobish questions.

 

there was a DIY kit that could be made to control the honda wideband O2, but I don't know if the site is back up. It's been down for a while now.
Hondata ECUs are simply honda ECUs with the hondata chip in it. It will not control a wideband.

If you want to learn about tuning check out PGMFI.org, but be very cautious about directly asking questions like this.
There is an extensive WIKI as well as step by step process from a few users from their noob states to full fledged tuners, and of course the search feature will turn up more than you can possibly imagine.

If you feel overwhelmed feel free to ask me directly via PM on here or on PGMFI.org. (same user name)

 

Thanks for the info. Websense can suck my ***, so I'll have to wait till I get home to check it out.