nuezdaman44

just started workin on cars so bear with me...

so i was pissed the other day when i was doin my oil change cuz a while back i went to jiffy lube and they use oil filters that i cant get off. it had been on there thru like 3 different oil changes and i also just switched to synthetic so i figured it was time to replace it. so in all my fury i took it off by drilling holes all the way thru it and shoving a screw driver thru it to get some torque on that fucker.
i guess i didnt really think about the consequences... when i was done a noticed i had gotten some oil all over everything in that general area (including where the upstream o2 sensor is connected) when i turned the car on the check engine light came on almost immediately which i figured was most likely an electrical failure somewhere. pulled the code and got 65 (secondary oxygen sensor heater circuit malfunction)

it would be easier to diagnose the problem but the oil change isnt the only thing i did while i was under the car. i thought i heard the exhaust leaking from somwhere so i decided to seal both sensor ports with exhaust sealant. not only does the exhaust still sound like its leaking (thinkin now its comin from the flex pipe) but i cant get the upstream sensor out... im a fuckin genius in case u cant tell. i tried everything to get the bastard out cuz i thought some sealant might have gotten into the sensor or clogged one or more of the holes but it wont budge. the bolt started to strip so i gave up on that.

i also wasnt really sure which sensor it was tlaking about so i took out the back one too. i recently installed an MIL eliminator and thought that could be the problem but i rewired everything and used shit loads of electrical tape just to be safe. the light is still on tho and the other thing is that the eliminator had already been in for about 2 weeks before the oil change disaster and seemed to be working perfectly. i actually noticed a difference in power (im guessing cuz the ecu thought the exhaust was cleaner and allowed more fuel into the mixture) unfortunately all i have are guesses cuz i really didnt even work on cars till like 2 months ago when i put on a new header, muffler, and did some custom exhaust piping.

the last thing i checked was the coating on all of the wiring around the oil filter... everything on the o2 sensor wires seemed fine but seeing that i cant get the sensor out i couldnt get a good look. one thought is that oil might have gotten into the wiring harness it connects to. ..

there was one other set of green wires and orange striped black wires there that just looked like they attach to a piece of metal coming out of the frame. so im thinking those are grounding wires and arent really a big deal but i couldnt get that out for a closer look either cuz the other end seems to go all the way to the ecu.

if someone could give me some advice on where to go next id appreciate it. duno if anyone will actually take the time to read all of this but bein a complete noob with cars isnt helping me. seems like my approach to learning (fucking with things till i break them then trying to fix it) isnt really working as well as it did with computers so any advice at all is appreciated

turbo9mm

wow I would def. have to say find someone with knowledge of cars to try and fix your problem. I mean yeah it might suck but if your not sure on things then just take it to the shop. also the type of car would help out also.

DOHC crx VTEC

Sounds like a hondaaaa/Acura. any cliff notes? ADD murders me

nuezdaman44

yea my add is prolly why i was babblin on and wrote so much... but yea its a 2000 prelude with an h22a (im assuming never really checked)

and turbo, the reason im doing shit to my car in the first place is so i can learn how to do it... plus its fun... so taking it to someone kinda defeats the purpose

and to make a pointlessly long story short and make figuring my shit out less of a pain in the ass:

problem1: threw code 65 (secondary o2 sensor heater failure - circuit malfunction)

problem2: before i f'd everything up and code 65 came on the car was fastest right after i would reset the ecu then it would gradually slow down as the sensors adjusted (after i had drilled the cat, done headers and exhaust, and installed the MIL)

possible causes:
-accidentally got oil all over everything in the general area of the oil filter, including the o2 sensor port and one other set of green wires and black wires with orange stripes

-MIL eliminator on the sensor behind the cat (although it was working fine for the last two weeks without any CELs... the CEL was on prior to that but turned off when I installed it)

-may have gotten exhaust sealant on the sensor in front of the cat

-may have accidentally shaved off the coating on some wires around the oil filter

questions:
-i was already getting poor throttle response at low rpms so im thinking i should get a new sensor anyways and hopefully it will fix my problems. is this worth buying?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEWA%3AIT

-which sensor and heater wire is code 65 talking about?

-what is the likely cause of the CEL?

-whats the best solution to get my ecu to stop taking away engine power and get the car running right...

thx for the help

JSL1CE

Next time try telling us what kind of car you have first lol. replacing the sensors wouldnt hurt, they are usually cheap and its good to replace from time to time. what are you using to pull the codes? If it was me, I would start with removing the MIL eliminator, and going from there.

kawgomoo

first off, a o2 elimator only mimmicks the sensor side of the 02 sensor, you need to keep the o2 installed or it will still t hrow codes for t he o2 heater. thats why theres four wires. o2 sensors dont work w hen cold, so they have to be heated to read oxygen content in the exhaust stream properly.

second, o2 seal with a crush washer, not around the threads. NEVER put sealent on an o2 sensor. a, you prob overtightened the sensor, b, you got rid of any antiseize that was on there {they are stainless steel, which is hard and galls threads so u can never get them out} c, sealant will kill an o2 sensor if you get any on the element. which is the part with all the lil holes in it. really its inside there but whatever.

lastly o2 eliminator, mil killer whatever is only for the REAR o2 sensor. the o2 before the cat needs to retain intact or the car will run like shit. the engine uses the front o2, the rear o2 is only there to make sure t he catalytic converter is functioning. which is emissions related and not really part of the pgmfi system. {pgmfi for all intents is the ecu functions that make the car run}

ground wires are HORRIBLY IMPORTANT to an efi car. dont fuck with them. electricity flows from the batt through the ground to the device and back to the batt through the pos side. this is of course according to electron theory.

anyhoo dont fuck with wires that you dont know what they do. getting oil on wires wont hurt anything. if you get oil everywhere simply grab a can of brake clean from the auto parts store and hose everything down.

an oil filter gets its strength from its shape. they are thin sheet metal, jabbing a screwdrive through it is the worst way to try an get it off and will cause a huge mess. just get a set of oil filter pliers, or the socket that fits on the back of ur filter to remove it.

quit working on your car.

sk8rmike

It honestly sounds to me like you fucked one of the heater wires on the rear o2 sensor. Check to make sure they're all still intact and no wire on them is exposed and grounding or anything.....i dont know it looks like i started one hell of a mess lol.

nuezdaman44

arite well i fucked with it a little more yesterday... switched the primary and secondary o2 sensor to see if it was the sensor or some wiring that i couldnt really get to closer to the ecu

when they were switched it threw a code 41, primary o2 sensor heater circuit malfunction. this leads me to believe that its the sensor itself because i also removed the mil eliminator and was extra careful with the rewiring....

so im gonna just have to get a new o2 sensor... will any sensor that says it works for a 2000 prelude work upstream or downstream?? im thinking since the front one is pretty old and giving me some syptoms tellin me to change it, and since the rear one is giving fake voltages anyways with the eliminator, im just gonna put the new one in the header and put the one that was there behind the cat after puttin on the eliminator...

yea and the advice to stop working on my car... horrible.... everything else was good tho. its not like i wasnt expecting shit like this to happen i knew nothing 2 months ago... thats why i need you guys cuz u kno a hell of a lot more than i do.

Fabrik8

I'm going to stay fairly quiet.
But I will offer a few suggestions.

-Buy a filter wrench. Sears sells a nice 3-prong self adjusting one for cheap, and it works great.
-Don't wait 3 oil changes to change your filter.
-Don't go to jiffy lube
-Don't put the filter on so tight that you can't get it off, it really doesn't need to be on very tight, just enough to seal and retain itself.. If Jiffy lube did it, see above.

nuezdaman44

yea i gotta say it was a learning experience... i duno maybei thought i could get jioffy lube back somehow by drilling thru their filter?? bnut yea ill do it the rigth way next time... fortunately tho ive pretty much decided thats not the problem with the CEL