innovate lc-1
 

hey guys ,lately my lc-1 has been taking longer to warm up. then just last week if i was driving for over an hour all of a sudden it would start flashing and read 7.4, like what it does when it first warms up??? its starting to take less and less time to do this. Is the sensor on its way out? i got it from diyautotune about 5 months ago. Ive tried reading a error code on it but nothing shows. i also just recalibrated it but didnt help

haven't you heard? It's LC-1 death season.

List of people who started having issues lately after months or years of normal use:

y8s
Braineack
Shuiend
whitemiata
...


unfortunately it's not obvious what the problem is. pull your sensor and run through the whole recalibration procedure.

i did the whole recalibration, warm up calibration and the fresh air one. Unless im missing something??

Double check your serial cable and terminator connections as well as the other wiring to the sensor. see if jiggling it around changes anything.

add me to that

Damn. I'm just about to install one. Hope I'm not going to have problems.

And Rushin.

ya the wires are all fine, happens sooner and sooner everytime i drive it, if im going down the road and it starts doing it i can shut the car off turn it back on and it warms up and works fine for another couple minutes. guessing the sensors fucked

and me.

i just sent my "defective batch" unit in about a month or so ago. they sent me a free replacement. now i finally have a unit that will hold a calibration. wooohooooh!

It is probably also flashing whatever the overheat code is, I forget. It's in the manual. Surprised the LED is not flashing a code. Does the LED ever work?

BTW when it gets an error like that it will go to some preset AFR value which can be set with the software interface IIRC. The idea is for it to go to an obviously wrong AFR so you know something is up.

Same thing happened to mine. Wiring was OK, serial OK, did numerous full recalibrations, flashed latest firmware, added a heat sink, and nothing worked. Kept doing the same thing. I thought at first it was an LC-1 problem and sent it in to Innovate to get checked out. Nothing wrong with it.

So I replaced the O2 sensor and it started working great again. Now I know when it does that it is time to replace the sensor.

I hate LC1's because of this shit. I had an AEM once also, it just works, none of this dieing shit.

defective batch what now?

I'm running a brand new sensor. still does it. except rarely.

They are supporting a "defective batch" recall pretty much?

These need to be updated from time to time? Never knew this, how do I go about such?

BUY A AEM UEGO AND WIN. it is so much fucking easier to install,and the most important part is you can trust it, it gets the job done well. I had an lc-1, couldn't deal with its shit, replaced it with a uego and now its so much better. It matches up perfect with the ms, and doesnt take long to warm up. do it.

I get the flashing or holding a steady number. Can't say it's overheating, though. First time it happened I was driving in 20F weather and the car wasn't even warmed up. Most of the time it's fine, though.

Mines fine reading on MS, but the gauge doesnt read correctly...im going to try to recalibrate it, i know i almost melted the controler on my exhaust last year though :S

Even with the issues, I still like it over the AEM :)

Since their forum is offline I think you would have to call them.

Yup. I eventually got so fed up with the analog output on my AEM drifting around that I replaced it with an LC-1 and XD-16. No regrets.

I think the reality of the situation is that low-cost wideband technology is still fairly new, and most, if not all of the wideband systems on the market currently targeted at consumer applications are potentially a bit... marginal.

My sensor (for my LC-1) crapped out on me again so I bought a new one today. FYI I found a Bosch sensor that fits the LC-1 at Auto Zone. Same exact sensor, harness, and cable. It is for a 2003 VW Beetle, 1.8L turbo, the 'upstream' sensor. It cost about $55 without tax, which is not much more than amazon, and not bad for get-it-now convenience.

I am going to try out a sensor placement trick that I read about elsewhere. The sensor is spaced out of the flow using 18mm anti-fouling spark plug adapters. The idea is that it will help keep the sensor a bit cooler, but mostly get it out of direct flow. So while I am initially tuning and running pig rich, it is less likely to get fouled by the sooty flow coming down the tail pipe. It will dampen the sensor responsiveness, but for initial tuning no big deal IMO. I think this will help with sensor longevity.

I have crapped out new sensors in only a couple of months while getting the engine tuned. I start with the mix being too rich, then moving towards ideal. Safer than tuning from too lean.

I was on track today and looked at the DB gauge to find it pegged at 15.1. Mildly alarming until I realized it wasn't moving and I still had good-ish power. But I kind of figured I may have overheated the sensor given that it's in the stock sensor location in the mani (naturally aspirated for a few more weeks) with no real heat sink. Tracked it like that for 2 years and never seen that before. What's interesting is that when I got into the paddock the gauge was still pegged on 15.1 but tunerstudio saw it pegged at 11.4. I guess the two analog outs peg at different values? Ennyhoooo, after letting the car cool down for a few minutes it resumed outputting normal numbers and I had no issues the rest of the day. IDK if the sensor is on its last legs or what, guess we'll find out.

add me too.

This shit is getting annoying.

Group RMA?

sick of it....its not like these things are cheap from the get go.

I would have added my name to that list up until I stripped my car (for a whole other reason).
I was sick and tired of code 8 (overheating), and had replaced the sensor and added a proper heatsink, hoping the problem would be cured, only to see the dreaded code 8, and other random crap on the gauge.

I am happy to report that all that is now in the past.
All I had to do was to move the actual controller (the black box thingie on the cable for you ---- techies) from under the car to the inside, right underneath the cavity behind the cigarette lighter. AND, I made damn sure the transmission tunnel is well insulated.
The wire runs through the gear shifter opening.
While I was at it, I ran all the grounds to the engine block as instructed, using a 3mm wire. Resistance is 0.00 ohms relative to the other ECU grounds, BTW.
I do not get any crap from the LC_1, no matter how far I drive, or how hot the day is anymore.

I am fairly convinced the controller (you know, the black box) is rather sensitive to heat, and heatsoaking from the exhaust has dire consequences which we attribute to the sensor itself.

I say move the damn thing to a cool(er) spot. It has solved my problems.

Good to know. As I am about to install mine, I'm glad you posted.

So I bought the new AEM Inline UEGO on Amazon. Paid for next day so I could get it on a Sat, got it next day. 5 min install, literally. Screw in sensor (crx, super easy access), run wire harness through firewall. Connect 3 wires to MS. Turn on car and get instant afr readings.

LC1 can lick my grundle!

good thing the LC1 puts the sensitive electronics on the end of the O2 sensor connector so you can't get it inside easily.

I never had a problem with mine. But I have not had one for over a year now. I was planning on getting one soon, should I not now?

Does anyone have any issues seeing the DB Gauge? I have one in red and can't see shit during the daylight. It reflects everything behind me and isn't bright enough to overcome any sunlight. I have to keep putting my hand over it to read it.

*update: since getting my "defective" unit replace (free of charge), i have not had a single issue. i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

offramps- i have the red DB gauge and can assure you that i don't have any problems reading the gauge. mine is in a pillar gauge pod.....no reflection issues. perhaps yours is mounted elsewhere?

Haven't tried it on the pillar, but just about everywhere else.

I think I "killed" my sensor yesterday. Tuning runs was fine the day before without overheating issues (sensible values and no codes).
But yesterday while going for a training run (planned to do som on-track tuning for perfection), I got flashing DB-Gauge shoving 7.4 (0V I guess) followed by a steady 15.0 (I have it se to "float" the output on issues) and 8 flashes (overheat/sensor going bad). I did not have time to connect the Innovate software to see if there was a meaningful message, might do before I replace the sensor (just to check).
I know this was not overheating since it's been running for about 5 minutes barley over idle.

A new sensor is on it's way and it might live longer since it will be spared the rough tuning in the beginning.
Any cleaning tips for a "fouled" Bosch sensor (if thats part of the problem)?

This happens to me all the time. It usually happens if the cars stalls after turning the car on due to my shitty cranking tune. I usually turn the car off and on again or recalibrate if that doesn't work.