Fuel Resistor
Asked by bossman101 Mar 26, 2013 at 11:57 AM about the 2011 Ford Escape XLT FWD
Question type: Car Customization
I recently bought a fuel resistor that plugs into the air intake temp sensor harness. The instructions warn that a possible check engine light might turn on but that it wont cause any problems. Is there a way to turn that off without taking out the resistor? Also I have a transmission light that came on when I installed the resistor and my cruise control does not work now with the resistor in. Is that an issue that I should be concerned about? and how well do resistors work? supposedly they help you get up to +30 mpg more.
6 Answers
migration_judge_roy answered 11 years ago
the proverbial "black tape solution", where black tape is installed long enough for the problem to go away by itself....do recommend this solution if someone has overfilled the gas tank flooding the Evap canister which will take time to clean itself, then the light goes off...confess I've never heard of a "fuel resistor" installed into a sensor....sounds kinda nutty loco insane, but if you say this is the "right thing" to be doin'---still don't understand this, will have to take your word for it.
migration_judge_roy answered 11 years ago
It this were a square deal, everybody'd be puttin' them on!...think about this while you take yours off.
biggest crock ive heard in a while. take it off. or leave it on and see that you dont get any better fuel mileage then take it off. either way. like judge roy said if it worked then everyone would have one.
"Is that an issue that I should be concerned about?" - Yes, they are cheap resisters that are sold for large money by using false claims. --- "and how well do resistors work?" - The work great, they fool the ECU for a while --- "supposedly they help you get up to +30 mpg more." - They can not save you gas. They make the signal to the ECU colder which makes the fuel richer. It makes a small amount of power. It sends raw fuel to the cat converter. It uses more gas, not less. Remove it and try to get a refund.
Those guys, all of them, are right, and all of them are knowledgeable. My vote is #5 of same. There is no conspiracy of oil companies buying or burying the existence of any magic chip, resistor, or anything else to sell more gasoline either.
If the auto maker could get more power and more MPG's from adding a resister across the intake air temperature sensor, don't you think they would have done it? --- If you want more MPG's, add five pounds of air to your tires. Mythbusters showed a 6.2% increase by going from the recommended 35 PSI to 40 PSI. With steel belted tires, it shouldn't wear the middle out any faster.
