AHHHH!!!! I threw a CEL on the way in to work today.. - Honda Prelude Forum

Monas · 12-06-2002, 12:23 PM

I was driving into work today, driving normally because it was raining out, so I was shifting at like 3-3.5k and not going over 60mph on the way in. About two min out from my apt. the CEL comes on.

i just checked it and it is #65 Secondary Heated Oxygen Circuit. Is that the O2 sensor that is after the cat?

those are like $200 for the sensor from what I have been hearing.

I am going to check to see if it didnt get disconnected somehow tonight or see if the wires didnt get cut.

Am I on the right track with this? this is the first time I have ever had a CEL happen.

Well thanks for any help or experiance you have on this.

Chris

Oh if it is the $200 sensor I think I am just going to leave it be and save up for an OBD1 change over. Will that hurt my engine if I run like that for a little while till I save up the money?

go pre · 12-06-2002, 12:42 PM

that would be my guess as well... obdI ludes only have the 1 o2 sensor before the cat so it would seem that the secondary one for obdII would be after the cat.

you might want to opt for a generic bosch o2 sensor if you dont' want to spend the 200+ for an oem one. I picked one up locally for around 70 bucks and it works fine. you just need to splice the wires and reuse the connector from your old sensor. also, i think www.oxygensensors.com might sell one with an oem connector too. some people will say that the generic one's don't work as well but I really can't tell the difference.

Monas · 12-06-2002, 12:48 PM

Mark, are you talking about the OBDI Ludes or the OBDII Ludes? I thought I read somewhere that the OBDII's have 2 O2 sensors? I could be wrong, especially on this one, I have just started looking into it. Do you know if it will hurt the engine to run with the bad O2 sensor for a little while, or will it just hurt my gas mileage?

Thanks again;
Chris

go pre · 12-06-2002, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Monas
Mark, are you talking about the OBDI Ludes or the OBDII Ludes? I thought I read somewhere that the OBDII's have 2 O2 sensors? I could be wrong, especially on this one, I have just started looking into it. Do you know if it will hurt the engine to run with the bad O2 sensor for a little while, or will it just hurt my gas mileage?

Thanks again;
Chris

uh.. my name isn't mark?

anyway, yeah I meant that your car is obdII so you should have 2 o2 sensors, the one that's causing the problem is probably after the cat like you said.

Mark94 · 12-06-2002, 01:21 PM

go pre, he was referring to post that I have since deleted after realizing that he has a 96 Prelude if he is OBD II. I basically replied that we only have one O2 sensor not taking into account the OBD II 96 model.

Sorry for the confusion.

Your not going to do major damage to the car if your O2 sensor is bad. Your gas mileage will decrease, you may experience hesitation, you could ruin your ignition coil (like I did on my Civic), and the car may run rich because the ECU isn't getting an accurate reading from the sensors causing the plugs to fowl.

If the problem is the O2 sensor I would replace it soon.

Mark

ME · 12-06-2002, 02:26 PM

Well you can see my 02 sensor replacement tutorial thread below. The NTK universal is $65 vs. $200 for the Honda part. As far as which 02 sensor is the secondary, and where it's located, I don't know. But the procedure in my tutorial should be identical.

4G VTEC Oxygen Sensor replacement Tutorial

Monas · 12-06-2002, 02:52 PM

ME, thanks. that write up will come in very havdy

i am debating on weather or not i want to spend the money on the sensor or save up and do a OBDII -> OBDI swap. i am running N2O and the reseting of the ECU is starting to get old

.

is there anyone out there that can confirm the location of that second O2 sensor? if not i am going to have her up in the air Sayurday and i will let you all know then

.

Mark, thanks for the info on the coil, i think what ever i do is going to be done with in a week or two.
i hope that dosent do any damage.

thanks again all
Chris