Ecmlink Ethanol sensor

[prove_it]

None. I've only seen that from vehicles that sit a while. It is recommended in race cars that go to storage to push regular fuel through the lines and injectors before storage. This clears out the E85. Ethanol will pull moisture from everywhere and that's where the goo develops. Generally it's white, but the crud from the 20 yr old tank turns it black.

I once put my carburetored R6 on E85, picked up 7whp. I let it sit for a day and the carbs completely gelled up and wouldn't start. Even a small amount pulled moisture from the air.

I've placed raw E99 in a glass jar and threw in a chuck of factory rubber line laying around. Sealed it up and shook it daily, after 6 months the fuel was still clear and the hose was still intact, with no evidence of decay.

Here in SD we've been playing with ethanol for over 10yrs now and no one has had any lines rot out and leak, or gas tanks rot out, or any of those stupid big oil company lies happen. Yes, injectors will "gel" up, but thats due to sitting around for months exposed to the air. A lot of the issues are due to the late 70's Gasohol blends. Back then they were using ethanol and methanol blends. The ethanol fuels had no issues, but the methanol did. Methanol will corrode lines and tanks, which is why that died out. People still associate methanol with ethanol.

Myth busted. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Street Surgeon]

My roomie ran E85 for one summer and probably less than 2000 miles, injectors had "chunks" of black goo come out when the injectors were cleaned.

 

[4thStroke]

While I would love to be able to say I haven't had any foul play while dealing with ethanol, I can't. I posted this just over a couple years back.

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However, I just swapped my 450s in and put the car back on pump gas to get it through emissions and found no black residue on the 1250s after running ethanol for a few hundred miles through the fall and winter. I still cannot draw any sort of conclusion as to the main cause. Several of us use the same ethanol from a mostly private source and while most do not see any buildup, I've seen it a couple times.

 

[curtis]

Summit sells a set of -6 or -8 fittings that slide onto this sensor and lock. Russel brand and I think there like 15 dollars problem is this sensor works but you have to y it on the return so it bypasses some of the flow because its so damn small. Same sensor is used on a Haltech and has a super fast sampling rate. Don't go buying it brand damn new at 200+ each....GM cars in the junkyard has them for cheap. Make sure you get the plug pigtail as well. Seems like it comes on the caddy's and others. Go google searching

 

[donniekak]

$200? They are $50-$60.

 

[Street Surgeon]

Here is what I picked up to run this sensor, Curtis is right about the sensor having a restriction as the fuel flows through it, it takes up maybe 2/5ths of the internal volume of a 6an return! Though, some if not most of these sensors in use don't run a y-fitting and just run it as is so maybe it's not a big deal?!? I didn't want to chance it though.

1. Russell PN: 644123 (black) x2. These are the 6an fittings for either end of the flow-through ethanol sensor.
2. Vibrant dual 6an to 8an Y-Fitting (black) x2. These are the Y-fittings you'll need to make sure there's no fuel return restrictions.
3. Earl's 6an tube nuts (black, two per package) x3. Tube nuts for 6an ports on the y-fittings.
4. Earl's 6an tube nut sleeve (black, two per package, color is wrong in pics!) x3. Tube nut sleeves.

EDIT>>> As for the sensor, I used the GM Part # 13577394 (the long tube version), but if I were to do it over again I would have gone with the GM Part # 13577379 (short tube version), the sensor was about 80 bucks new from GM and is a Continental branded part in a GM bag w/GM part number. I also grabbed the GM pigtail part number 13352241.

Then, all you need is a piece of steel 6an tube, this is how it should look /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Alternatively, you could just use teflon lined ss braided an lines. Also, my return is 8an so that is why I used the 6-6-8an y-fitting.

Total cost to plumb this into the return has been ~ $195.00 not including the SS 6an hard line I'll need to pick up to complete this part of the return.

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[ghostinthevr4]

Here's my harness and sensor.


Then the end result with everything hooked up, I love ECMLink!

 

[prove_it]

ctrl+Q

your best friend /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

(unchecks all boxes at once)

 

[ghostinthevr4]

Yeah but the lines for just the ethanol based stuff would've been boring. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Wookalar]

Quoting prove_it:
I'm going on 3 years of daily driving with E85. Stock feed and return lines. Walbro 255 high pressure set to 42psi idle. I have had no E85 related failures in 3yrs, and about 15k miles of driving. Cold start is a pita, but other than that, no issues. Making around 325whp on a s16g with FIC 880's. Idc at 85% max.

I've grown so tired of all the negative thoughts about ethanol. The truth is that runs clean, does not dissolve your tank or ruin your fuel lines. Support ethanol and run it if you can. It's not this highly corrosive metal and rubber eating chemical. I've got a buddy that is running a neon converted to E85 for over 8yrs now. Just a 255 pump and injectors. I've got several people that mix E30 in their stock cars, and every one has increased gas mileage and better performance.

Best feeling I get is when I fill up my tank, my money is going to American farmers, and not some rich princes in Iraq.


I am inclined to agree with these sentiments. I have been running ethanol since 2010 or so with all the same fuel parts/hardware on the car as I bought it from previous owner. I never changed anything other than the fuel injectors for the additional 30% increase in fuel and everything has been fine. Oh and of course I ditched the vpc/safc combo in favor of ecmlink.

I recently pulled my 1050's to upgrade to larger injectors and the 1050's that have been sitting for over a year did not have any black goo or sludge on them, just a bit of corrosion on the tips.

I never even made the switch to stainless filters due to budget constraints and the paper elements have held up. Although I will be replacing them this summer with SS elements finally.

Great news regarding this new development at ecmtuning.

 

[GSTwithPSI]

So why is the sensor put in the return side of the fuel system? Seems to me it would make sense to see the change in fuel before it hits the cylinders? Can someone dumb this down for me?

 

[turbowop]

Maybe for simplicity or because the fuel isn't under pressure on the return side. Once you start the car, it probably only takes a few seconds for the whatever grade fuel is in the tank to make its way up to the rail and out into the return line. I would think it's not an issue.

 

[prove_it]

Quoting GSTwithPSI:
So why is the sensor put in the return side of the fuel system? Seems to me it would make sense to see the change in fuel before it hits the cylinders? Can someone dumb this down for me?



The sensor would not be to happy with 40-70 psi through it. It should work. Also the bigger reason is that the sensor is technically a restriction. Putting a restriction on the feed side is a bad idea. The fuel on the return side is going to be nearly the same quality as the pressure side since the regulator will bypass fuel immediately once the car is started. Idle conditions will always demand fuel return. Also within the coding of the sensor Thomas put in a delay anyway to prevent issues.


And that sir, is why it's on the return side.