O2 sensor heater???

[hatukazi]

my header had a leak so I changed manifolds to one I took off a crashed EX while I fixed my header, I had noticed that on the EX manifold the O2 sensor read off two pipes and my header only read off one.

the CEL started on the EX header, then I switched back to mine after 2 days and the CEL didn't stop, checked and got a code 41 primary O2 heater, both O2's worked fine until removed, do they go bad if you unplug them? or is there another circuit I can check for this problem,I might be trading my del-sol for a 91 civic Si and I don't want to hand over a broken car, I also dont have $80 ATM for a new O2 sensor.

also wondering if my VTEC is still working with this code showing, it doesn't seem to drive any different and since it's a SOHC VTEC, I can't be sure if it works or not.

 

[awptickes]

If you remove power to the heater and leave the sensor in the exhaust stream, it will go bad.

 

[hatukazi]

so, if it's not bad now, it soon will be completly FUBAR.

maybe I could hardwire power to the heater element?
I assume both black wires are grounds, so is white or grreen the heater?
both sensors worked fine before I took them off, and I carefully unplugged them, I am at a loss to explain how they both went bad.

 

[craiger]

The white is either the heater power or heater ground. Man, I never knew that about leaving it in the exhaust stream and not hooked up. That really sucks. Is code 41 upstream or down stream. I have been buying my o2 sensors on ebay for a while. They wrok good for me.