Powering the WB

[Sy769]

Anyone see any problem with powering the heater circuit from the Cig lighter plug? OR I could run a wire over from the fusebox for the heater circuit. I plan on wiring in a plug for power, ground, F14 pin, from the ECM for the controller circuit. Anyone ran both circuits from the ECM power? I would like to make it somewhat portable as I have a couple trucks to use it on.

As the tangle of wires and cables gets deeper..............

 

[Sy#26]

IIRC, WB heater only draws 1.2 amps max - could run from any 12v source that's easy to get at; fuse panel, ECM, etc.

 

[Tydriver]

Good luck, I attempted this last fall/winter before the snow set in. Theres 12v there but its "DIRTY" power and not enough for the heater circuit. It never ended up working correctly. I ultimately ditched the idea of having a TEMPORARY/PORTABLE WBO2 and wired it to the back of the alternator on a switched circuit and it worked like a charm. There wasnt enought OOOOMPH to power the heater circuit using the CIG lighter on my truck even tho it runs the laptop just fine. While it never blew a fuse or anything it just never worked correctly. It seems like the WB wants more JUICE or somthing so the alternator connection was the perfect choice. Just an idea, I'd say TRY your truck and see what works, however if at first you DONT get the desired results, then try the back of the alternator connection and see if that changes anything. You could make it totally portable by installing ALLIGATOR CLIPS on the end of the power leads and just clip it to the back of the alternator when in use, however I'd be worried about it coming off or shorting on something so I hardwired mine.

 

[Sy769]

Did you put the WB box under the hood?

Is 18G. wire really needed to power the WB heater. Several charts I've looked at show a 5ft. run of 20G wire can carry the 1-2amp load generated by the heater circuit. I would like to use a 7 strand 20G cable through the firewall for the sensor.

Any reason a 15 pin serial type plug would not work to make the connection the the box.

I'd appreciate hearing how others have wired their box in.

 

[Tydriver]

Did you put the WB box under the hood?.

Yes, its tucked in the rh fender down near battery, thats just where it ended up, I intend to locate it in a more REASONABLE location eventually.. But since truck expired, its just been sitting

:-/

 

[myclone]

I agree with Tydriver on NOT powering the heater or control ckt off the cig lighter. Im gonna power the sensor ckt off the ECM power and the heater right off the fuse box (I havent decided on exactly what ckt to use).

Heres a few pics of a couple of kits I did to give you an idea of what kinda connectors you can use. These are made by AMP and are available through Newark electronics or the like in any wire count all the way up to 100 pin (there may be larger ones but I havent seen any).

 

[Maxtor]

My WB box is tucked deep into the fender, close to the firewall, on the drivers side (I don't have a windshield washer bottle). Power comes directly from the alternator and is switched on via a solenoid from in the cab. I didn't try wiring it from in-cab power, mainly because other accessories I have powered from inside have either caused a drain on ECM voltage making it read under 13.0V at WOT or have not worked properly.

I still need to move the ground from the WB box over to the ECM - per Dig's advice - although it seems to work being grounded to the firewall.

 

[Sy769]

David, I looked at those very connectors last night at a electronics store.
I still need to find some 18-20G strand cable. What gauge is that gray cable you have there?

It would be easier to mount the box under the hood. Then just run 3 wires in for ECM power,ground,Vout.

One more question for those of you that have it under the hood. Did you run wires in-cab for the LED?

 

[myclone]

David, I looked at those very connectors last night at a electronics store.
I still need to find some 18-20G strand cable. What gauge is that gray cable you have there?

Those connectors will work fine as we use them a LOT at my work as most of the equipment is built in house. They take abuse pretty good, look half way professional, have an outter "ring" that serves as the twist lock mechanism rather than the whole connector requiring twisting to lock, but cost an arm and a leg compared to lotsa other connectors that are available. The only other bad point is you need a ~$60 pair of crimpers to properly crimp the wire to the the pins and keep the engineers happy. If youre good with a soldering iron you can solder the wires to the pins and make just as good (if not better IMO) connection. It all depends on how talented you are with the soldering iron.

I used 18 AWG (gauge) wire for the supply to the heater circuit and from the circuit to the O2 heater. I used 20 AWG for all the rest since theres only mA current draw on those. It might be over kill using 18 AWG but Ive had one vehicle I loved dearly burn to the ground with an electrical fire and refuse to ever let it happen again.

 

[E-Rue]

im glad this post is going on. i got my sensor today, and plan on installing this jewel this weekend........ well that is if i can find a damn honda plug for it.

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