[LapuRizal]

Hey All!

So I was trying to change my LAF O2 sensor but the wire harness is a no go. I tried pushing down the tab and pulling it out to no avail. I saw a slot in the back of the harness and tried putting a flat head screwdriver in it too. Am I missing something?

Also, I was taking a spin around town to make sure my code was true and noticed my battery go from full to empty in a matter of seconds! I didn't drive my car for a week waiting for my O2 sensor to come in. Could that be it?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Eli]

Hmmm. Removing the harness should be fairly straight forward. Just keep messing with it. I don't remember any tricks when I replaced mine.

Your battery going from full to empty is called a negative recalibration, and yes in your case it was caused by the car sitting.

A grid charge before driving is recommended if the car is to sit for more than a few days.

 

[LapuRizal]

Thanks for the quick reply. I been trying for the past half hour and it just doesn't budge. Doesn't help I have large hands either. This bugger is tougher than building a PC!

I'll have to read up more on grid chargers. Thanks!

 

[samwichse]

Mine was the same.... I kept wrestling with it until the plug cracked slightly and it suddenly let go.

I was depressing the tab and all, it just WOULDN'T move. That plug was the hardest part of changing the LAF.

It did help to unplug and take out the middle and driver's side coil pack for better access.

Sam

 

[Willie Williford]

Spray the connector with wd40. When depressing the plastic tab, I think it is on the bottom part of the connector when it is mounted on the engine. You should feel a definite "click".
HTH
Willie

 

[LapuRizal]

I hear the click on that push tab on the female side of the harness. Pulled with all my might. Still nothing. It wiggles a little bit so its not gunked up. Even used pliers and still nothing. Its seems so simple but yet is so frustrating. I bought the OEM LAF sensor and would hate to break the harness or rewire. If I'd known it was such a pain in the butt, I'd have just spliced a universal. Ugh! I noticed on the new LAF Sensor, that on the opposite side of the tab there is a square block that could be hooking on something. Not sure if wedging that flat head behind did anything. Anyone in central NJ know how to unplug this bad boy? Victory beers on me!

 

[Willie Williford]

Where in Central NJ?
Include in your profile or signature.
You might gt a quicker response as some people just "scan" the posts.
HTH
Willie
Maybe try to push the two connectors together (real hard), then push the tab for unlocking.

 

[LapuRizal]

Piscataway, NJ near Edison and New Brunswick area. Tried that too. My hands hurt trying so much.

 

[AClewell]

You need to remove the connector from the bracket first. There is some kind of locking mechanism. Once the bracket is removed it will unplug easily.

 

[Eli]

You need to remove the connector from the bracket first. There is some kind of locking mechanism. Once the bracket is removed it will unplug easily.

Oh snap!

Yep, I bet that's it.

 

[LapuRizal]

Thanks! On my first search attempt, I came up with nothing. After reading your post Aclewell, I found someone who had problems with it too. At least I'm not alone. SMH.

http://www.insightcentral.net/forums/problems-troubleshooting/15592-laf-sensor-replacement.html

Basically on the left side, there was another spot to pry my screwdiver in. Slid right off! I had a sneaking suspicion that little block on the male harness had something to do with it. I was placing the screwdriver in the wrong slot. (That's what she said)

Anyways, thanks again for the help guys! Much appreciated. I can finally drive code free! Weeeeeeeeeeee!

 

[Jivko57]

Hi LapuRizal, thank you for the information,
I start getting the 1162 codes and resetting does not help so seems the time for my LAF is come too.... will get one soonest and will delve into the o2 battles....
I am in Piscataway too, close to the Jose ln and Park ave intersection!

 

[LapuRizal]

Not a problem. I can give you a hand if you have any problems with it. I see in your signature that you have MIMA. How is that running for you? I was thinking about getting me one.

 

[Jivko57]

Thanks, the MIMA works wonders when paired with a charger. My ima battery was on its way out when i got the car 2 years ago (occasional recal twice a week, deterioration codes and a couple of ima lights..).
I drove it anyway (with average mpg ~ 61 for the whole year). However the recals started showing up more often and eventually got to twice a day. I had the simple version of Mike's charger laying around and finally installed it in nov 2010. The recals stopped right away and the battery felt like never before (probably that was the closed to a new battery feeling for me) . At first I was very excited and played with the MIMA so to use up the battery pack to the max on my daily commute of 52 miles. then my enthusiasm gradually wore out and now I just help the engine with the MIMA when trying to climb a heavy incline and do not want to spend too much fuel on it...A year after starting the grid charging, my battery is still dying , but so far not a single recal, it shows less capacity than what it had in Nov of 2010 but I cannot complain with an average mpg for the 2011 close to 71. Before I used to disable the assist/regen with the MIMA and then use some assist when I needed or to turn on the regen when going downhill. But as the battery deteriorated further it started to overcome the disabling feature of the MIMA(in a very unpleasant "pulse like" pattern).

In my opinion the charger is as a necessity for every insight 1 , while the MiMA is a luxury. I still cannot figure out why Honda did not provide a factory installed charger (even as an option). From the experience with my ima battery so far it looks at least some of the failed batteries could have served for years more if they were treated to some occasional or daily grid charging.