A/F Guage Problems --Help!!!

[Rice Burner]

I just installed a Auto meter A/F guage on my 1g, but it just seems to just bounce back and forth. At idle it doesn't show and only lights up under acceleration. When I hit the gas it bounces to the other side(rich) and once I let off its back to lean.

I hooked it up to the O2 plug on the passenger side kick panel. Could I have a bad O2 sensor??? I have been having unsteady idle problems for a few months now where it ranges from 700 to 1200 rpm at various times of idle (not the constant up/down idle like some others).

Is it supposed to be steady through out the rpm range??
Can anyone tell me how their guage reacts so I can have an idea of how mine should work???

Thanks!!

 

[jdmawd]

the autometer a/f gauge only reads correctly under WOT even then its not all that accurate

 

[Rice Burner]

so how do you use it to tune if its only good at WOT??? What A/F guage works or are they basically all the same????

 

[jdmawd]

you don't, that's why most don't use the autometer a/f gauge. i think it can be calibrated

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

That's why people buy an EGT. That is what is good for tuning.

Later,

 

[TripleDigitTSI]

Autometer A/F is junk, i didnt throw mine away but i put it as far away from my view as possible, near the passenger seat (girls like the look of it ) Your idle problem is something called "idle surge." It can be a nasty little problem that is hard to fix. The easiest thing to check is your idle control screw on your throttle body. With the car off, take out the screw along with whats left of a little o-ring. Slap a new o-ring (you can get one from any parts store like napa for a few pennies) in there and reset your idle and hope for the best. Let us know if that works

 

[Rice Burner]

TrippleDigit...I'll try that...I have adjusted that many times, but never checked the Oring...you never know....

 

[candela]

probably the best a/f gauge is the jumptronix digital, and just to say that, the gauge is supposed to bounce up and down as the ecu is constantly looking for the perfect ratio ( stoichiometric ) it goes from lean to rich to lean and so forth...when its pegged it should always be in the rich ( for autometer ) because they dont read all that well.

 

[Formz]

throw that POS automete a/f gauge out the window. preferably at your nearest rice boy