LC1.

is it possible to work out the current draw of a device based on the resistance of it?

 

The LC-1 uses PWM of @240hz to regulate the temp @800C. If you hook it up to the factory wiring it will probably be a constant power source and will overheat the sensor. I don't know if you can alter the heater output to do PWM though. Search on Innovates forums before trying anything.

 

oh i see, so there is a on/off thingy going on.

hence I could NOT wire up the heater inputs on the LC1 to the heater outputs on the ECU.

gotcha.. oh well would have been nice

 

During warm-up the heater draws about 3 amps which is roughly 4-5 ohms of resistance) and after warm-up its stable at just under 1 amp which is roughly 12-14 ohms. I just don't know how the temperature is truly regulated, or if it really needs to be. This info I found on their forums may be the current draw for the entire control unit and sensor as an entire unit.

I believe its just a Bosch LSU 4.2 Wideband Sensor right?

maybe this will help:

http://wbo2.com/lsu/

One thing I learned about the WB's is that they will last a LOT,LOT,LOT longerif you wait the 30 seconds for the heater element to completely warm up before you even start the engine. Having ANY exhaust gases pass by the sensor with it being below temp will shorten its life and accuracy.

 

The LC-1 has only a single 12V power in. I would assume that the OEM heater power is not necessarily 12V, but if it 12V, what's the problem with powering the LC-1 off the OEM rear O2 heater power? As long as its a steady signal, should be fine, correct?

My plan is hopefully to tap into the fuse panel by the driver footwell (at least on USDM cars). I think there is an unused IG2 circuit there which would be ideal for for a wideband.

 

Powering the control unit is fine but the bare sensor itself gets its heater circuit controlled by the innovate controller. Hooking just the sensor itself up directly to an ignition source may not be the best idea unless you know its safe for the sensor. All I found so far was the Innovate admin's saying its controlled with a 240hz PWM to regulate the heater temperature to stay at a stable 800*c. A "steady" power source may be BAd for the sensor.

 

ok, you're talking about hooking up the WB sensor directly to the OEM heater power.

 

either way it wont work:

1) hook WB directly to ECU heater circuit, bypassing the LC1 control unit... Wont work, LC1 will probably be unhappy

2) hook LC1 heater input circuit upto ECU heater circuit, LC1 needs a constant stable power supply, whereas the ECU will most likely have a DutyCycle for the heater circuit (to avoid melting the sensor).

So for now the only thing you can do is use the analogue outputs on the LC1 to integrating into the ECU sensor signal.