Date:         Sun, 24 Feb 2002 22:09:49 +0100
Reply-To:     Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Subject:      1987 Oxygen Sensor Wiring 2.1 liter Digifant MV engine
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Can anyone help me figure out the wiring on my Oxygen Sensor??

It is the 3 wire type and was replaced several years ago.  I would like to
install a new one, but cannot figure out what the deal is with the main wire
(which I assume is heading into the Computer Control Unit).

This main wire is a rather fat (approx. 3 mm diameter) bright GREEN wire.
It is what I would describe as a "double wire" as it has a "core" of
stranded copper filament wire, surrounded by insulation, and then ANOTHER
LAYER of stranded copper filament wire SURROUNDING the inner wires
insulation.  Then whole thing is then insulated with the thick green
insulation.

The wire appears to me, to be a format typical to "shielded-type" cable...
however I have never seen a shielded cable in a car before (I"ve seen it
often in cable TV coaxial cables, and RJ-45 network cables which need the
shielding from any external electromagnetic interference).

Anyway, this fat green "double" wire has a connector crimped onto the middle
"core" wire, which is at present, rather poorly wrapped around my existing
Oxygen Sensor wire.  And the outer "shielding" wire is simply peeled back,
and taped up with electrical tape.

I cannot imagine that this is the correct way to handle this. When I put my
new O2 Sensor in, I would like to be certain that I am doing it absolutely
correctly (as many of you already know... an O2 Sensor installed wrong, or
not at all, will destroy your lovely catalytic converter within a few months
of driving).

The other 2 wires (I assume are the Oxygen Sensor heating wires) are white,
and have a normal plug, and normal connector... so I have no problem with
these.

So... the question is:

Does anyone know the function of the outer wire of the O2 Sensor to Control
Unit wire?

Does the OEM Oxygen Sensor come with a connector which uses BOTH of these
parts of the fat green wire??

Thanks in advance for any help on this matter!!

RSF

<º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{

Robert S. Fish
Salzburg, Austria
1987 Wolfsburg Vanagon 2.1 Weekender
1987 Golf Cabriolet
1991 Golf