Connecting, Calibrating, and Configuring Your Wideband!


How to install and calibrate your wideband!

A wideband accurately measures your AFR to better help you target the exact mixture you are looking for depending on the use of the vehicle and the fuel being burned. To make a long story short you basically must have one of these johnnies to get your setup dialed in and running like a dream!

In this article we are going over how to install your wideband, get it communicating with your Megasquirt and your gauge, and how to calibrate it using TunerStudio. We reference the Innovate LC-2 brand of wideband in this article so installation may be different depending on the brand you have installed on your car.

Innovate LC-2 Install

Installing a wideband controller seems like a daunting task but I promise its significantly easier than you would think! Let’s lay it out as simple as possibly using some info from their user manual.

Above is a basic picture from the Innovate user manual showing the LC-2 controller and its connections. In this article we are only going to focus on the sensor cable connector and the bunch of 4 stripped wires. We will need the status light in a later step to make sure the controller is working properly.

The Sensor Cable Connector is the connection from the sensor to the controller.
1. Decide where your LC-2 controller is going to permanently live and move it in. This needs to be in a dry location, away from direct heat, and other outside elements.
2. Install the sensor 24” downstream of the exhaust manifold collector or 24” after the Turbo. You want the sensor to be between the 9 o’clock or 3 o’clock position when it’s installed in the exhaust pipe (see picture). This is important to avoid damage to the sensor due to condensation.

3. Properly route the cable from the sensor throughout the car and keep it away from direct heat. Plug that into the Sensor Cable Connector at the controller and bing-bada-boom you’re done on that end!

Next, we wire the controller into the car using the 4 color coded stripped wires coming from the controller. This is where people get nervous, but it is super simple! Its up to you how you make these connections. You can solder or crimp or whatever your heart desires.

1. Red – The red wire should be connected to a switched 12v source. Something that comes on with the ignition and is protected by a 5A fuse. We recommend grabbing power from the fuel pump relay. We do this to avoid having the O2 sensor on without the engine running. Similar to the mounting position, there’s a risk of turning the sensor on, having it heat up, then starting a cold engine which blasts the hot sensor with condensation, which then shock-cools it and cracks the ceramic insulator. Using the FP relay for power avoids this, because then it forces the engine and sensor to warm up together.
2. Black – The black wire should be connected to a reliable and clean ground source.
3. Yellow – The yellow wire is Analog Out 1 and should be connected to “O2 In” which is usually a pink wire on our wiring harnesses for things such as MS3Pro. If you are wiring this into an MSPNP unit, please make sure to check the documentation for the unit you have and wire to the correct input for optional wideband o2.
4. Brown – The brown wire is Analog Out 2. You can connect this to the input on a physical gauge or any other external logger that excepts a 0-5v signal if you care to have that or leave it unconnected. If you choose to leave it unconnected make sure to clip and properly cover the bare wires to be safe. Note that this output isn’t programmed out of the box as a 0-5v. This will need to be reconfigured to use it for a physical gauge using Innovates “LogWorks” software. Below are the steps to do this.

Tools required

  1. An Innovate 38120 serial cable. This cable comes with the standard Innovate LC-2 package. We also sell it on its own if you need a replacement.
  2. A USB to serial adapter, if your laptop does not already have a 9 pin serial port.
  3. Innovate’s software package, which you can download from the top of their support page. Click on the large picture that is marked “Download LogWorks” and install the software. You do not need to download any of the firmware packages.

Configuring the LC-2

Innovate LogWorks installer

Run Innovate’s LogWorks setup program and follow the on screen prompts. You do not need to install their USB driver if using our USB to serial adapter.

Once you have installed the Innovate software, connect the four pin OUT plug on the LC-2 to the 38120 serial cable. Connect the other end to your computer, using the USB adapter if needed. If anything is connected to the LC-2’s IN plug, unplug it until you are done changing these settings.

Apply power to the LC-2 and open the program called the LM Programmer on your laptop. The LM Programmer will bring up a window similar to this one.

LM Programmer utility

Click the “Analog Out 2” tab. You will enter the same values shown in the above picture for analog out 2:

  • 0.0 volts at lambda 0.5
  • 5.0 volts at lambda 1.5
  • Use lambda

Once you have entered that, click the Program button. The button should turn gray (as shown in the picture) to indicate you have sent the data to the LC-2.

Once you have programmed the unit, turn the LC-2 off and disconnect the serial cable. If you were using the input or output to connect to other devices, reconnect them now.

That’s it! I told you it was simple… Once that’s complete you can make it all pretty and safe, tuck it all up, and complete the install of the physical controller.

TunerStudio Settings

Next, we need to calibrate our wideband in TunerStudio. This is important to make sure our MegaSquirt receives the signal and reads it correctly. Bad information = Bad tune = Big Sad.
1. Open up TunerStudio and connect your ECU.
2. Go to Tools > Calibrate AFR Table. If this is grayed out, first go to Tools > Un/Lock Calibrations, and set them to Unlocked. This should fix it and make Calibrate AFR Table available.

Unlocking the AFR and thermistor calibration in MS3.

Then select the Innovate LC-1 / LC-2 Default and click “Write to Controller.” Note that some earlier firmware versions may call this an LC-1 default or an LC-1 / MTX-L default instead.

Setting a MegaSquirt-III ECU for the Innovate LC-1 / LC-2 default calibration.

And we are done here! You are all set and ready to rock! We hope this helps clear up any confusion but feel free to reach out to our support team with any further questions.