Check Engine Light (CEL) on after Kooks 1 7/8 Inch Long Tube Headers 2020 GT 5.0

[BrentonWV]

I just had my Kooks Long Tube Headers professionally installed today and I immediately used my SCT BDX tuner that had a custom tune uploaded to the cloud for me.

The tune was sent from American Muscle & BAMA. AM was given all the correct info with the strategy code, list of mods (brand specific even), all the cars factory options etc. But, once the vehicle was shut off & restarted the CEL won’t go off. I used the BDX to read the CEL code and it’s advising the following:

Please see the photos uploaded. P0141 O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Bank 1 Sensor 2. Ford App just says “an electrical concern with one of the exhaust emissions sensors”

My questions are what exactly does all this mean and I’m simplest terms what is going on? How do I know which 02 sensor - aren’t there 4 of them? Did I burn up all my 02 sensors or how do I rectify this and get the light to stay off. I’ve driven maybe 35 miles with it on to get home. Will this hurt my vehicle?

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[drive_55_not]

Bank 1 is the passenger side, Sensor 2 is the one for the catalytic converter.

P0141 is an unusual fault, 1st thing to check would be to see if the wires touched the header.

If the wires are good, swap the O2 to the other side and see if the fault follows.

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[Prodigal]

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[Jackson1320]

ether the damaged the 02s during install or the tune is wrong. i would do what was suggested and swap 02s

 

[tdstuart]

Heater Circuit really means power. Basically the o2 sensor is not getting power as far as the car can tell. O2 may be damaged, or an O2 extension may be bad, or the wires may be damaged from melting by touching the header.

O2 extensions are used when you do headers as some of the factory O2 cable connectors can't reach the new spot on the headers.

My friend had headers installed by a shop and they used a damaged o2 extension leading to check engine lights. The sad thing is it didn't even need an extension haha.

If you have jack stands, get under the car and check that the affected O2 is good. If it has an extension then bust out a multimeter and check that its getting a signal, thats how I determined my friends bad extension. Also swapping O2 sensors from one bank to another will tell you if the problem is the O2 itself or the wires.

Or you could just take it back to the shop and ask that they check that the o2s are getting power.

Also note that if you run e85 the o2s will fail pretty fast with headers. But sounds like you didn't even run the car much or not at all.

 

[Prodigal]

Also note that if you run e85 the o2s will fail pretty fast with headers. But sounds like you didn't even run the car much or not at all.

Is this an absolute? Some seem to insinuate yes but others say no with proper placement and proper tune. I’m about to pull the trigger on a set of kooks and a e85 tune but this on going debate has me paused.

 

[Jackson1320]

Is this an absolute? Some seem to insinuate yes but others say no with proper placement and proper tune. I’m about to pull the trigger on a set of kooks and a e85 tune but this on going debate has me paused.

if you run e85 you want your o2 sensor installed at a slight downward angle. if you have them installed at a downward angle they will last just as long as on gasoline.

 

[Zelek]

I ran ARH headers without the downward angle and E85 for years. I'm not a firm believer in you have to have the angled O2's but I do have Kook's now on my Mach 1 and the idea of it makes sense but I never ran into a single issue with my 17 GT with O2 sensors.

 

[tdstuart]

Is this an absolute? Some seem to insinuate yes but others say no with proper placement and proper tune. I’m about to pull the trigger on a set of kooks and a e85 tune but this on going debate has me paused.

Had 2 O2s fail on me.

I think part of the problem was when I was washing the car I would just spray the pressure washer at the exhaust tips and didn’t care if the water got into the exhaust (because realistically it isn’t going to travel up to the engine), but I think it may have gotten a ton of moisture in the exhaust pipes and cause the O2 to fail atleast once. The other time I’m not sure if that was the cause.

Angled O2 sensors, dryer climate, and being careful not to get water in your exhaust (especially if the exhaust is hot and the water can evaporate) will help significantly.

Like another commented some have no problems. But I had the car for 10k miles and no o2 sensor failures but when I went headers and e85 I had 2 fail in like 5k miles.

Edit: also all O2s have a warranty, I got mine replaced for free the second time it failed.

 

[BrentonWV]

Just an update: pin wasn’t secure into the 02 sensor. That’s all it was!

 

[Jackson1320]

I ran ARH headers without the downward angle and E85 for years. I'm not a firm believer in you have to have the angled O2's but I do have Kook's now on my Mach 1 and the idea of it makes sense but I never ran into a single issue with my 17 GT with O2 sensors.

angling them down doesn't hurt anything so why not

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