Check Engine Light P0141 and P0161 Faults

[rhallman]

I had the full Belanger exhaust installed on my 2005 Vert last fall and my installer had told me he fixed the CEL issues after install. Since the driving season here in Reno isnt all that good in the winter, I hadnt put many miles on the car until now. I noticed the CEL was on after I drove the car for a few weeks but was told by the installer it would go out with more driving. That wasnt the case. I finally got around to checking out the codes and Im seeing a P0161 and P0141 errors. I also have the Shift-Skip error, but I think that the installer reversed the reverse lock-out and skip-shift plugs. Ill look at that one in the next few weeks.

Wanted to check with anyone who has the Belanger exhaust installed and if so...what o2 sensors are you using for the downstream sensors? Im pulling the sills off today, so Ill see if anything is melted. I may just get 2 other extnsion cables from Lou and looking to just replace the rear o2 sensors and start over. These were the original o2 sensors with 19k miles on them. I cleard the codes several times but come back after a few minutes with the car running.

No...Im not going to drop the car off back to the installer that worked on it orginally. I had issues with them when I had a 1996 Porche 911 TT they worked on several times, but thought since they were under new managment they might be better. Not many options here in Reno for Viper work. Oh well....

Any thoughts....?

Thanks...Rich

 

[rhallman]

I just pulled the driver side sill and looked at the o2 sensor. It had bare wire on one of the white wires right at the metal collar of the sensor. I pulled the sensor out after soaking with WD-40 to get it out.

After reading a few other posts on the forum, there were a few others that mentioned when the o2 sensor wires would melt, it would also blow a fuse which would also create a probalem with the reverse lockout. I had at the same time the shift-skip and the reverse lockout that was not working but just assumed the installer swapped the plugs when he installed the woodhouse tranny mounts.

I looked for the o2 sensor fuse which was a 15 amp blue fuse in the fuse block under the hood. It was OPEN! I installed a new 15 amp fuse and imediatly heard a selonoid click. With the driver side o2 removed, I reset the DTC errors....Started the car and no Shift Skip faults! I could also shift into reverse with no effort! Im also assuming the fuse feeds the shift skip selenoid.

I either need to install new o2 sensors in the rear, or install the o2 simulators and then re-install the sills.

Hopefully this will fix the faults Ive been seeing...

Any thoughts on the sumulators....or upgraded o2 sensors for the rear.

Thanks...Rich

 

[Garron]

Many of my Belanger owners upgrade to Woodhouse mounts. It limits the movement of the engine. A header does not have a flex pipe like the stock exhaust. If the engine goes up and down so does the piping. The oxygen sensor can sometimes hit and rub through the sock. All these cars are different, so some will never have a problem with stock mounts.

 

[fqberful]

I just pulled the driver side sill and looked at the o2 sensor. It had bare wire on one of the white wires right at the metal collar of the sensor. I pulled the sensor out after soaking with WD-40 to get it out.

After reading a few other posts on the forum, there were a few others that mentioned when the o2 sensor wires would melt, it would also blow a fuse which would also create a probalem with the reverse lockout. I had at the same time the shift-skip and the reverse lockout that was not working but just assumed the installer swapped the plugs when he installed the woodhouse tranny mounts.

I looked for the o2 sensor fuse which was a 15 amp blue fuse in the fuse block under the hood. It was OPEN! I installed a new 15 amp fuse and imediatly heard a selonoid click. With the driver side o2 removed, I reset the DTC errors....Started the car and no Shift Skip faults! I could also shift into reverse with no effort! Im also assuming the fuse feeds the shift skip selenoid.

I either need to install new o2 sensors in the rear, or install the o2 simulators and then re-install the sills.

Hopefully this will fix the faults Ive been seeing...

Any thoughts on the sumulators....or upgraded o2 sensors for the rear.

Thanks...Rich

Been running simms in my '06 Coupe for years, no problems at all.

 

[VIPER R]

Pay more attention to the wire routing and insulation wrap to the new o2 sensor, solved my problem.

 

[rhallman]

Finally installed the new o2 sensor this weekend. Drove it for 110 miles so the obd2 monitors would reset. Got home....plugged in the obd2 tester and all faults were cleared and a green light for emissions. Agree...there is a special way to install these sensors on a Belanger, but once you figure it out, it's pretty simple. Even have removing and installing the side sills down to just a few minutes.

Thanks for all the help.