How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?
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It is best to replace O2 sensors in pairs. For example, if you replace the downstream left sensor, you should also replace the downstream right. However, on most vehicles produced since 1996, replacing one sensor (especially the front engine monitoring sensor) will cause the ECU to set a code for the other sensors.
The downstream sensor is a heated oxygen sensor and reads the emissions after the catalytic converter. They both function the same but are different enough that they cannot be swapped.
Modern vehicles with V-6 or V-8 engines could have as many as four O2 sensors — one located in each cylinder bank and one after each catalytic converter. If either the oxygen sensor in the cylinder block or the one for the catalytic converter fails, your vehicle could experience serious engine problems.
Every catalytic converter is required to have a couple of oxygen sensors. So if you have a single exhaust system, you probably have one catalytic converter and, thus, two oxygen sensors. Cars with double exhaust pipes, meanwhile, will be fitted with a total of four oxygen sensors.
The oxygen or lambda sensor is one of the most important and one of the most misunderstood components of a modern fuel injection system.
Bank One is always the bank where cylinder number one is located. On the Corvette it will always be the driver side. Bank Two is the passenger side. Sensor 1 on Corvettes is always the sensor that is closest to the exhaust port of the engine.
Depending on the engine design, vehicles can have multiple oxygen sensors, sometimes on both sides of the engine. Reading the trouble codes will tell you exactly which sensor is in need of replacing — either the upstream (top) or downstream (bottom) sensor — and on what bank (side) of the engine.
If you remove the oxygen sensors from your vehicle, you will ruin the efficiency of the engine, thus consuming around 10 to 20 percent more gas than otherwise required, and also cause early failure of many components such as the spark plugs.
A failed downstream O2 sensor should not affect FE. If it is used for setting fuel trim, then its probably under a transient condition.
Sensor 1 is the sensor closest to the engine. Sensor 2 is the downstream oxygen sensor. It is always going to be located after the catalytic converter. Its job is to monitor the oxygen content exiting the catalytic converter in order to determine if it is operating efficiently.
2 into 1 exhausts can offer a better balanced airflow in your engine which can result in more torque and a smoother idle.
Generally, oxygen (O2) sensors last about 30,000-to-50,000 miles if you have an older car. Newer sensors can go 100,000 miles before they need to be replaced. University Auto Repair lists six signs below that your vehicle`s oxygen sensor is dying.
The short answer is yes. The air flow to the engine or the manifold pressure is measured to determine the correct amount of fuel to be injected. The oxygen sensor measures the amount of oxygen left after combustion for emissions and also to keep the engine running efficiently.
Poor Fuel Economy
The oxygen sensor can affect how much fuel your vehicle`s engine burns. By measuring oxygen levels in the exhaust, the O2 sensor helps to ensure your automobile meters and delivers the correct amount of fuel depending on the demands you place on the engine.
A vehicle`s (bank 1, sensor 1) O2 sensor will be located ahead or upstream of the catalytic converter on the bank which corresponds to the engine`s first cylinder. This is due to the fact that bank 1 is representative of an engine`s #1 cylinder, while sensor 1 serves as an upstream designation.
P0162: O2 sensor circuit malfunction (bank 2, sensor 3)
The oxygen sensor monitors the amount of oxygen in the exhaust fumes. If it is not working properly, it can cause the computer to incorrectly adjust the air/fuel mixture, which can lead to reduced acceleration.
There are two types of O2 sensors; a narrowband, and a wideband style — each has a different measurement ability. The narrowband O2 sensor has a limited range of AFR measurement, and can only send a signal to the ECU while it`s in the closed-loop AFR range.
MALFUNCTIONING AND FAILED SENSORS Oxygen sensors can fail when the sensor`s ceramic element is exposed to certain types of silicone compounds or when an oil-burning engine leads to the sensor becoming oil-fouled. Also, a small amount of tetra-ethyl lead in the gasoline can kill an oxygen sensor.
The simple and cheap O2 (Lambda) sensor eliminators are usually just disconnecting the O2 sensor signal to the ECU, and they only contain a smal resistor for the heating circuit to avoid a fault warning in the dashboard.
Input from the downstream O2 sensor(s) is used to detect any problems with the converter(s), and to fine-tune fuel trim. If a fault occurs in an O2 sensor or its internal heater or wiring circuit, the OBD II system should detect the problem, set one or more fault codes and turn on the Check Engine light.
If you remove your downstream O2 sensor, the system for emissions control might not work properly, and your car could emit more pollutants than permitted by law. This means that your vehicle could fail the emissions test and need to be repaired to be able to pass.
Yes, a bad spark plug can confuse your car`s internal computer and trigger the O2 sensor code.
Each oxygen sensor has its own unique characteristics specific to its application. One generic oxygen sensor that may appear to be the same cannot be used to replace a range of these specific oxygen sensors.