How Can I Know Oxygen Sensor Has Gone Bad

[hatharasinghe]

Dear friend How can i identify Oxygen Sensor is bad and to be replaced If vehicle pased the Smoke Emission Test does it mean Oxygen Senor is good and even

my car shows up as a check engine light or malfunction indicator lamp illuminating in the dash board. Can i check this simply or should i go to garage for OBDII code checker is there any thing can do for me using normal toolkit at home (DO IT YOURSELF) but in my case fuel consumption is ok.

[The Don]

  On 11/21/2011 at 1:14 PM, hatharasinghe said:

Dear friend How can i identify Oxygen Sensor is bad and to be replaced If vehicle pased the Smoke Emission Test does it mean Oxygen Senor is good and even

my car shows up as a check engine light or malfunction indicator lamp illuminating in the dash board. Can i check this simply or should i go to garage for OBDII code checker is there any thing can do for me using normal toolkit at home (DO IT YOURSELF) but in my case fuel consumption is ok.

In some cars, there is a way of getting the error code without plugging the car to a diagnostics system, but I propose that since they don't cost too much you do get a diagnostic report done.

Without the diagnostics report its difficult to assume the cause of the problem.

A car can pass an emissions test with a faulty oxygen sensor. They need to be changed periodically like spark plugs but I don't think this is done in Sri Lanka. A more notable symptom maybe a loss in fuel economy.

[MiraOwner]

remove the socket connecting the O2 Sensor to the circuitry. and start the engine. while the engine warms up get a regular multi-meter and check the voltage produced by the sensor. if its between 0.2 V and 0.8~0.9 V then your oxygen sensor should be alright. ideally it should be hovering around 0.45 V (450 mV) for the best balance of fuel/Air (provided that your environment has the right amount of oxygen when testing)

this is a simple test you can perform,

Edited November 22, 2011 by MiraOwner

[Uditha88]

  On 11/21/2011 at 1:14 PM, hatharasinghe said:

Dear friend How can i identify Oxygen Sensor is bad and to be replaced If vehicle pased the Smoke Emission Test does it mean Oxygen Senor is good and even

my car shows up as a check engine light or malfunction indicator lamp illuminating in the dash board. Can i check this simply or should i go to garage for OBDII code checker is there any thing can do for me using normal toolkit at home (DO IT YOURSELF) but in my case fuel consumption is ok.

If O2 sensors like those connected to catalytic converter goes bad, there will be dashboard indication.

If u unplug the connectors, indicator lights will go away, so that u can confirm...