carmagnut

I recently had an Mugen Header/Cat and Exhaust put on my 06 5at. The Check emission light came on on the way home. I was able to go back to the shop in the next couple of days to see if it was anything more serious than the parts just put on the car They mentioned it can be common after getting this type of install, clear the light and told me to tell them if it came on after they cleared it. It did and they said they would order an o2 sim to help get rid of the CEL light and have the car running normal again.

Quick question... If I do not get the part put on soon because it is on back order, do I have to worry about any long term ill effects to the car itself. I am only talking a period of 1/2/3 weeks driving around with the light on. Any help appreciated. Thanks in advance.

godfather2

you should be fine, but IF THE SHOP YOU GO TO SAYS THEY ARE ON BACKORDER FOR THE ANTI-FOULER THEY ARE FULL OF IT. they could make you a custom one for less than $10! you can even order them online.

goodluck,
vinny

carmagnut

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not too savvy when it comes to this stuff and unfortunately have to rely on the net and fortunately people on this forum for info. I am not sure if anti fouler and o2 sim are the same thing. I know (from searching) that they may do the same thing but that is as far as I was able to take it with my limited knowledge. I do trust the shop owner and the guys that work there as they have spent a lot of time with my dumb questions but hey... I heed your warning. Thanks.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Like I have mentioned before. Don't buy anyting until you know the the CEL is. Since you installed header and cat at the same time, the problem could be the primary O2 sensor (on the header), or the secondary O2 sensor (on the cat). A defouler or O2 sim won't help anyting at all if the CEL is related to the primary sensor. Therefore, find out what the code is first.

godfather2

^ correct.

fyi: o2 simulator = anti-fouler = defouler

JTso

iTrader: (2)

^^
Actually, they all try to achieve the same result (trick the ECU) but the method is not the same.

O2 simulator mimics the voltages read by the ECU during normal operations (idle, cruise. etc) and it's an electronic device connected between the O2 sensor connector and ECU. The O2 sensor location doesn't change and the sensor element is in the stream of the exhaust gas.

Defouler or other similar name is a mechanical device that relocates the sensor element away from the exhaust stream resulting a lower voltage reading to the ECU.

carmagnut

THanks for the help. I know I am new to this. I there a benefit to having one setup/peice over the other?

JTso

iTrader: (2)

If your car actually needs one, the mechanical one costs less, but it's clearly visible if emissions inspection is a concern. The electronic one costs more and it's hidden beteen once connected.

Btw, I would double check the installation before considering any of this. The Mugen header primary O2 sensor location is on the opposite side (if they haven't changed the design). Therefore, if you didn't have an extension harness for the O2 sensor, there's a potential problem of proper wire routing or connection.

carmagnut

O.K. The "upgraded" piece we were waiting for has not come in yet but the shop owner said we could try and just do the de-fouler type fix. I had the piece put in and I thought things were fine. On the way home, spirited driving, no lights. I thought the issues were gone and I could go on my merry way. After stopping to get some food and dropping my friend off, I was loafing down a service road 60mph at 2K RPMs and BAM the light comes on. So pissed. Any thoughts.

Of course, I did not ask questions about the extension harness, wiring, etc. before they put the piece on. I tried to search for this thread but had trouble finding it. Double . Should have listened to JTso...

I am going to take it a shop that is 40 minutes closer and have them see what they can do. I feel like I just wasted 80 bucks (parts/labor) and I know it's not the shops fault but... I just want fix the issue and move on. Being that I am not mechanically inclined I am not looking forward to doing anything other mods to the car because everytime the car farts I have to take it to a shop and lay out cash. (no more ranting)

chokin

hey man, so u solved the problem yet. I installed the test pipe with the defouler, the CEl came on. So i reset the ECU, and then it drives fine. But whenever i turn off the car and restart it, the CEl will come bacl on again

carmagnut

Thread Revival!

I am getting closer to inspection time and still have no solution to this problem. I have tried two different spacers and neither has worked. I am wondering what other options I have. Here are some that I thought of/have been told may work...

1. Get a stock header/ stock cat and just change them back for the inspection. I thought just getting the cat may do it but I got one from LI Cat Converters and it seems the connecting bolt pattern is not the same and it does not seem the same length (meaning it may not fit). My father took a look under the car and said the new cat that I got only has one spot for the o2 sensor and the Mugen one has 2. I have to double check.

2. Have a shop move the o2 sensor farther back on the unit/pipe and see if that would do the job.

3.Try a 90 degree spacer and see if that works. There may not be enough room for it all to fit.

4. Simply clear the code, go to a family owned shop and see if the car will pass. I have heard that if I do this, the machine will know the car has not ridden through proper driving cycles and willl fail the car.

5. K Pro. I believe I read on this forum that something relating to the back o2 sensor can be disabled. I'm not sure of that and was going to make a call to Hondata tomorrow.

Money is an issue as I am just trying to get the car to pass. But if some solutions are going to be expensive (buying parts, labor, etc) and it even comes half way to Kpro-type cash I may just spring for it as I do have intentions on getting it anyway...but not right now.

Some of the above info may not be perfect in mechanic language as that is not my specialty, but I hope you get the jist. Thanks. Any help is greatly appreciated.

purebred08

good input.

carmagnut

Because I need some help/ideas BUMP...

carmagnut

Still looking for a solution. Purchased a new 02 sensor to rule out a possibility of it being bad; should have done that awhile ago. I have been up searching and saw something about doubling up on the gaskets between the cat and exhaust. I am really sick of nickel and diming this problems as I have spent a ton just to fix this code to no avail and it really is pissing me off. Anyone with an 06+ have this problem? What cat are you running and/or how did you fix it?

Any suggestions?

vthree

iTrader: (1)

BUMP i too am looking to resolve this issue; check what codes your bringing up: autozone will read it for free.

i'm getting
P0137 and P0134... randomly goes off on its own..
i found when i removed the defouler the codes stopped for a while and eventually came back.
CT Headers, RT CAT, CT exhaust..

carmagnut

Well I have tried a few things and was able to get the car inspected before the light came back on. Atleast I am good on that issue for another 12 months but I still want to get to the root of the evil here.

JTso-would you have any idea where I may be able to get an extension harness for the primary 02? The code that keeps coming up is the P0420 code and it mentions nothing as to whether or not it is the primary or the secondary. If it is the primary would it be a different code? Thanks.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

P0420 is "catalyst system efficiency below threshold", whcih means the secondary O2 sensor in the cat or the cat itself. I would double check the installation to make sure the O2 sensor or the wire harness/connector is not damaged. Which O2 sensor did you replace? OEM or cheap replacement? If the wiring harness/connector looks fine, try replace the secondary O2 sensor with factory OEM unit. If you have already done that, then the cat converter could be your problem.

I'm not sure where to buy O2 extension wire harness. I know DC sports used to carry them at one point.

carmagnut

I ended up changing the second 02 sensor using an OEM one. ( I didn't even think of using a cheap alternative). The wires on the original one did look visably damaged and as you mentioned awhile back that should have been one of the first things I looked at. Now that I have made the swap and the light is still coming on it may be the cat itself (as you mentioned). How would I know though? If I take it off would I see anything visually? It has been on the car for a year and I wonder what kingmotorsports would say about replacing the unit?