Electrical pulse with wideband plugged in

[ohlegend]

I have an APSX D2 wideband and only when it is plugged in and it is on, I get a electrical pulse that I can hear through my speakes and I can see on my voltmeter. I sent it back to ASPX and they said it was my battery. Video:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

My battery is a little low in the video, (It has more of a charge now) and it fluctuates more.

 

[chrysler kid]

What gauge wire are you running to it for power, you should check to make sure the connection for power is fully insulated you possibly have a fray touching a ground point

My camaro had an audible buzzing through the speakers from a crappy best buy installation, everything was soldiered buy I had to wrap the dam power wire five times to get rid of the buzzing

 

[ohlegend]

I have ran the power directly from the battery and it still did it.

 

[steve]

Did you finally get your voltage up above 12v?

 

[Dstarperformance01]

I would double check the grounds to The gauge. Sounds like a ground issue. Early 90's Chrysler 5th avenue's had the same issue in their speakers. Theirs was a poor ground. I also know that the Mitsubishi 3.5l V6 has similar issues with certain components being back fed and you have to add a resistor to solve the issue.

I would also find a key on engine accessory power source instead of direct to battery.

 

[chrysler kid]

I have ran the power directly from the battery and it still did it.

That is not what I asked

 

[Dstarperformance01]

Well, I said don't run directly to battery but what do I know, I've only been a mechanic for over 16 years and ASE certified. Have a nice day and good luck on fixing your issue.

 

[chrysler kid]

Well, I said don't run directly to battery but what do I know, I've only been a mechanic for over 16 years and ASE certified. Have a nice day and good luck on fixing your issue.

I don't have any issues.

 

[ohlegend]

Oh, I know not to run it directly to the battery. I just did that as a temp (trial) fix. I ran its own ground and power lines directly to the battery, away from anything else. I got the same pulse. The pulse only occurs when the wideband is connected to my electrical system. When it is not connected, no pulse, and no buzzing, everything is normal.

 

[ohlegend]

@steve I have an optima yellow top arriving tomorrow. If it pulses with a new battery, i think that the gauge is junk. I doubt APSX is going to give me a refund.

 

[Dstarperformance01]

You can also try starting the car and disconnect the battery cables and plug in wide band to see if it's a battery issue or possible alt. issue too. Just a thought. Yellow tops are Top Notch for sure! Good choice.

 

[A Sharp]

If the battery doesn't help, another possible solution is to solder in a bypass capacitor. I would try soldering a 1000uF electrolytic capacitor from +12V to ground. Do this as close as possible to the gauge. The capacitor will "smooth" the pulses, hopefully to the point where you can't hear them.

I think it's worth a shot since the cap will be less than $1 from your local radioshack.

 

[steve]

They recommend a 3300uf 50v capacitor on their web site, claiming a problem with bad alternators but I suspect the pulsing is due to the heater current for the sensor and maybe they need a heaver wire for the +12 and ground.

 

[ohlegend]

Wow good catch. That is garbage... does the AEM or innovate mtx need capacitors as well? Because I think I will just switch to a system that was built better/right. I think that it is a product flaw like you said steve. They have a whole section on the exact problem I am having. My alt is new...but it may be my battery. I will know tonight if it is a battery issue.

 

[steve]

Wait and see how it works when you've fixed your electrical system.

 

[ohlegend]

Still does it with Optima yellow charged at 12v. Gauge cause my volt meter to pulse from 12v to 11v

 

[steve]

With a fully charged battery you should be seeing close to 13v and if the car is running around 14v.

Are you sharing any of the wiring for the wideband with the voltmeter?

Bosch says that the sensor heater is going to draw 10W (around 0.8A @12v). The wiring needs to handle that without any voltage drop.

 

[ohlegend]

I am sharing the wiring with the voltmeter. Like I said before, I ran its own wiring straight to the battery, so it was the only thing on that wiring circuit. I went ahead and bought an AEM wideband. I am going to stick this one on my Willys Jeep project.

 

[steve]

OK but don't share the wiring unless you run something heavier for both the ground and battery wires. The wideband is going to need current to drive the heater and that wiring runs all the way to the sensor to avoid any voltage drop along the whole distance.

 

[ohlegend]

What gauge wire should I use or what would you recommend that I use.

 

[steve]

It depends on how far the wiring has to go and how much current it has to support. 14 gauge should be fine for up to 20 ft total length in this circuit.

 

[ohlegend]

Installed the AEM WB....and no pulse

 

[steve]

sorry you had to switch vendors to resolve but now we know that the APSX D2 wideband has power issues thanks to your posts.

 

[chrysler kid]

I am sharing the wiring with the voltmeter. Like I said before, I ran its own wiring straight to the battery, so it was the only thing on that wiring circuit. I went ahead and bought an AEM wideband. I am going to stick this one on my Willys Jeep project.

Running a 12v accessory off of a volt meter power wire will cause your issues. My guess is the wideband was trying to draw more current than your tapped line would allow and was causing your issues, but you also said you ran it direct so it could be a grounding issue

16gauge wire is what I use for everything electrical. It's thin enough to hide and has enough girth in the line to support nearly all 12volt accessories.

You can run the line to the battery, but it needs to have a fused power supply in case something ever short circuited or you jump start the car, a situation where too much voltage is a bad thing.