LC-1 Will Not Function

[Dhan]

I had a question about how to wire the LC-1 and the a/f gauge that comes in the kit.

I used this guide to put everything together, ECMlink's LC-1 install.

Red Wire to the 12V Radio wire (I don't have a radio)
Blue Wire to a bolt on the chassis for ground
White Wire now goes to pin 24 on the ECU
Yellow is taped off
Brown Wire now goes into pin 4 on the ECU
Black is setup to the calibration LED/switch per the instructions

In the the ECMlink guide it says to tape off the yellow wire and use link's narrowband simulator. So that's what I did. However I can't get the LC-1's O2 sensor to calibrate (the LED just keeps blinking and gauge just blinks "7.4").

But in Snowboarder's install guide, it states to put the yellow wire to the gauge's white wire (from that link I'm using the fifth one down, for a 1g).

I'm wondering if the yellow wire being disconnected is causing my calibration troubles.

I've checked and rechecked my wiring, and everything is grounded and routed properly according to the above guides. The LC-1 kit is brand new.

Car is a '91 fwd TSi and I'm using the LC-1 sensor in the OE O2 sensor location (so no stock narrowband sensor).

EDIT: I have another question, should the white wire to 'sensor ground' (pin 24) be spliced into the existing wiring, or should the existing wiring be cut in the same way you wire the brown into pin 4?

 

[boost97gst]

Yes, it is causing your problems. the gauge is not getting the 5v signal cause the yellow wire isnt hooked up. You might say, as i did, "why cant we just tee off the brown wire and run it to both the ecu and gauge and not use lmconfig?" Idk personally but just to head that idea off, u can try it, but it sure didnt work for me. And i used an oscilliscope to verify the brown wire was functioning like it should: putting out a 0-5v wideband signal. Maybe its a load problem, but i digress: Run the yellow wire like sno says and itll work, but you HAVE to use lmconfig or youll be sending a 0-1v narrowband signal to either the ecu or gauge and youll have problems. Sorry for the long post, just thought id answer a possible future question.

 

[nfernotalon]

I wired mine just like snowborder said for logging with ecmlink and itll freak out for no reason and blink codes then i shut the car off and start it and itll work fine. Hm i did just cut the 2 wires to wire up the lc1 i didnt splice into them.

 

[Dhan]

I'll solder the yellow wire per sno's instructions this evening. I've read that maybe the O2 sensor itself could be bad. But my LC-1 kit is brand new. How common is it to have an O2 sensor DOA?

 

[Dhan]

So I rewired the setup to match Sno's write-up. Nothing has changed though.

I can't even get my laptop to see the LC-1 module. I plug it into my laptop using the 9 pin connector and launch the LM Programmer v3.31, and it just hangs up on the "searching for device" window.

Another thing, the red calibration LED just blinks 9 times every two seconds. That's all it will do. According to the LC-1 manual, that's an error code indicating that the 12V supply voltage is too low. I checked right at the connection and my multimeter says 12.01V though.
I'm using the 12V power supply for the radio because the car has no stereo.

I'm kind of at a loss. Could the whole LC-1 module be faulty?

 

[AQuinonez90]

im going through the same sh**. I've email innovate trying to get an RMA numbrr but instead kreps emailing me if i did yhis and that. gosh i just want them to repair mine.

 

[autotalon]

I had a similar issue as well. when wiring it up I had to connect the gauge wire and the ecu wire to the 5v wire from the sensor (brown). that was the only way to get both the logger and the gauge to read the same. I have different colors on the db gauge too (purple[not used], blue, red, black).

Now my issue is the reading is fluctuating from 10-20 and I would like it to be closer to 13-17. I use ds-map tho, not link. my changes seem to make it go too lean or too rich, not staying in the middle.

HTH.

 

[nfernotalon]

I just put my 12 volt source on the cig lighter fuse. Works fine as long as the car is running and not just with the key on.

 

[Dhan]

I'll try the cigarette lighter 12V instead. Worth a shot.

 

[NHerron]

How did you check voltage. Black on pin 24 and red on cig lighter/radio/etc right? That is the proper way.

I ran the blue/white together and grounded them off a terminal strip ran directly from the battery. It was already there since I was planning to run heated seats.

 

[Dhan]

Made some progress!

I used the 12V wire from the cigarette lighter and the unit now communicates with my laptop. I guess there just wasn't enough current going trough the radio wire. I checked the amperage of both wires and sure enough, the cig lighter is the way to go for something like the LC-1.

It started raining, so I had to put everything up for the day, but things are looking up. Thank you all for the help and advice

 

[AQuinonez90]

Made some progress!

I used the 12V wire from the cigarette lighter and the unit now communicates with my laptop. I guess there just wasn't enough current going trough the radio wire. I checked the amperage of both wires and sure enough, the cig lighter is the way to go for something like the LC-1.

It started raining, so I had to put everything up for the day, but things are looking up. Thank you all for the help and advice

Was your lc1 throwing any sort of error code? Mine throws error code 8 even after I swapped using a known (used) working one. error code 8 bad sensor....smh.

 

[Dhan]

For me, the only hint that there was something wrong was the LED that's hooked up to the calibration wire. It would just cycle a 9 blink sequence every two seconds (according to the manual, that means there's >12V).

How are you getting the error message? Via the LED? I know if some types of O2 sensor's heater wires aren't hooked up properly, the sensor itself can't heat up and the hot exhaust gases will ruin them. Maybe that's what happened with yours......
I noticed Innovative recommends building a little copper shield/heat sink to protect the sensor. Probably a good idea.

Can your LC-1 module communicate with your laptop through the 9-pin plug?

 

[AQuinonez90]

True. My best shot would be going and purchase a new sensor from the auto parts store and see if I can manage to go through the calibration process. If not return it.