1G Oxygen ( O2 ) Sensor Connector from OHM-Racing

A few weeks ago my car threw a check engine light for the O2 sensor. Upon inspection, I found a broken wire at pin 2 (black, sensor ground) very close to the connector itself, pictured below.

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I purchased a replacement connector with terminals and the seal from OHM-Racing (http://www.ohm-racing.com/?product=rare-1g-dsm-02-sensor) to get the car back on the road and a spare for a harness I plan to rebuild in the future. The install was very straight forward; the form and fit of the connector was spot on. Once the connector was installed, I verified that the CEL went away, shut the hood and went on with life.

Popped the hood earlier this week for a general wellness check and found an unpleasant sight.

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The car is running fine (no CEL) and the sensor side connector is still normal which would tend to indicate an issue with the connector's exposure to heat. Be that as it may, I could have wired something incorrectly. To test whether it was a wiring issue or an issue with the heat, the sensor connector joint was removed from the OEM mounting point for the sensor (bracket on the water pipe) and left to freely hang. In its place I put the second O2 connector I purchased as a blank dummy (i.e., no attached wiring). I drove the car around town for about 25 miles and went to inspect the new connector. Here are the results.

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Clearly, the material used for this connector was not meant for high temp areas, making it an inadequate substitute for the OEM piece without some extra attention put towards it (relocating the mounting point or providing some other means of insulating the connector).

Short, sweet, and to the point: I will not be leaving this connector in my engine bay and I will not buy this connector again. I will be pulling the wires out of the OEM connector and will attempt to reuse it since it has lasted 26 years in the same environment these new connectors could not handle.

 

[19Eclipse90]

Update:
Three months and about 3000 miles after salvaging the original connector, here's what it looks like.

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In case the picture doesn't do the job for me, the original connector looks great -- no melting or warpage. Until another option becomes available, I would suggest doing everything to salvage your original connector if possible.

Replacement terminal pins can be found on sites like Amazon. Here’s a thread with the part number information: 1G O2 Sensor Connector Pins