Hi,

I think I have been running rich for a while, at least
I have noticed about a 2mpg decrease in fuel
efficiency.  Things got bad on a road trip a few weeks
ago - I lost all power going up a grade and the van
was idling VERY rough.  I shut off the engine, turned
it back on(resetting the computer), and it was fine.
This started to happen with increased frequency on the
road trip, ONLY ON GRADES, so I disconnected the O2
sensor and she ran great, seemingly with more power
than I had remembered in a while.

I have been driving around town for a week with the O2
disconnected, and I seem to be getting better mileage.

I had a new O2 laying around, so I spliced her in this
weekend, and while I haven't tested it on a grade yet,
I brought the digitool out to check some readings.  It
seems as if the O2 is detecting a lean mixture(?).
When I first turn on the van, the digitool reads about
.6-.75.  However, as soon as I give it any gas, the
reading drops, and as I drive, it will hover between
.15 and .35.  As soon as I let off the gas, it goes
negative to about -.5, then once idling again, its
back to .45 - .55 (when warm).

The other readings seem ok, I think...
AFM is 1.5 -1.65 at idle, 3.5 at 3k RPM - but never
higher, even when its floored - should it be higher
when its wide open??
Temp I - 1.68ish when warm
Temp II - .14 when warm.

Throttle switch is sticky when I first start it up,
but seems great after a minute or two.

I guess my question is what could cause a new O2
sensor to read so low?  I have taken extra care to
make sure the ground on the green wire isnt touching
the female connector or grounding out anywhere.

Im a little suspicous of my cat converter... if it has
failed, could it be messing with the O2 sensor?  I
have a new cat, but am hesitant to swap it out for
fear of blowing it if I continue to run rich.

Thanks!

Jeff

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