O2 sensor question...
 

What would happen if the white wires on the O2 sensor were crossed?

Recenly, I cut the O2 wire and used wire connectors to reconnect the O2 sensor line. I needed 15' of cable and only received 3', so I cut both the existing 15' cable and the new 3' cable and reconnected the two white wires and the one black wire.

Would the car perform worse or the same if I accidently mis-matched the two white wires?

It's already performing worse (10mpg now vs. 20 mpg when I first got it).

I will drive a few hundred miles with the O2 sensor disconnected and measure the mpg's.

Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated.

Anytime you cut the wires to the O2 sensor, you increase resistance.

Anytime you use longer wires than stock, you increse resistance.

This resistance may be responsible for your problems as O2 sensors are kinda touchy when it comes to this sort of thing. If you send me your email address, i can send you an article I have written on how to test them.

Article sent..

Nice article. Thank you. Mine is a three wire O2 sensor with two white wires and one black wire. Do you think the two white wires are for the heater inside of the sensor? If so, it wouldn't matter if those wires were crossed.

The black wire shoud be the sender, white the two white ones should be for the heater. Do a voltage check to confirm. Just get a good digital meter and check for voltage. 12V should be for the heater.