Oxygen Sensors - O2 Sensors

OXYGEN (O2) SENSORS General Information An Oxygen (O2) sensor is an input device used by the engine control computer to monitor the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas stream. This information is used by the computer, along with other inputs, to fine-tune the air/fuel mixture so that the engine can run with the greatest efficiency in all conditions. The O2sensor sends this information to the computer in the form of a 100–900 millivolt (mV) reference signal, which is actually created by the O2sensor itself through chemical interactions between the sensor tip material (zirconium dioxide in almost all cases), the oxygen levels in the exhaust gas stream, and ambient atmosphere gas. At operating temperatures, approximately 1100°F (600°C), the element becomes a semiconductor. Essentially, through the differing levels of oxygen in the exhaust gas stream and in the surrounding atmosphere, the sensor creates a voltage signal which is directly and consistently related to the concentration of oxygen in the exhaust stream. Typically, a higher than normal amount of oxygen in the exhaust stream indicates that not all of the available oxygen was used in the combustion process, because there was not enough fuel (lean condition) present. Inversely, a lower than normal concentration of oxygen in the exhaust stream indicates that a large amount was used in the combustion process, because a larger than necessary amount of fuel was present (rich condition). Thus, the engine control computer can correct the amount of fuel introduced into the combustion chambers. Since the control computer uses the O2sensor output voltage as an indication of the oxygen concentration, and the oxygen concentration directly affects O2sensor output, the signal voltage from the sensor to the computer fluctuates constantly. This fluctuation is caused by the nature of the interaction between the computer and the O2sensor, which follows a general pattern: detect, compare, compensate, detect, compare, compensate, etc. This means that when the computer detects a lean signal from the O2sensor, it compares the reading with known parameters stored within its memory. It calculates that there is too much oxygen present in the exhaust gases, so it compensates by adding more fuel to the air/fuel mixture. This, in turn, causes the O2sensor to send a rich signal to the computer, which then compares this new signal, and adjusts the air/fuel mixture again. This pattern constantly repeats itself: detect rich, compare, compensate lean, detect lean, compare, compensate rich, etc. Since the O2sensor fluctuates between rich and lean, and because the lean limit for sensor output is 100 mV and the rich limit is 900 mV, the proper voltage signal from a normally functioning O2sensor consistently fluctuates between 100–300 and 700–900 mV. NOTE: The sensor voltage may never quite reach 100 or 900 mV, but it should fluctuate from at least below 300 mV to above 700 mV, and the mid-point of the fluctuations should be centered around 500 mV. To improve O2sensor efficiency, newer O2sensors were designed with a built-in heating element, and were called Heated Oxygen (HO2) sensors. This heating element was incorporated into the sensor so that the sensor would reach optimal operating temperature quicker, meaning that the O2sensor output signal could be used by the engine control computer sooner. Because the sensor reaches optimal temperature quicker, modern vehicles enjoy improved driveability and fuel economy even before the engine reaches normal operating temperature. On-Board Diagnostics second generation (OBD-II), an updated system based on the former OBD-I, calls for additional O2sensors to be used after the catalytic converter, so that catalytic converter efficiency can be measured by the vehicle's engine control computer. The O2sensors mounted in the exhaust system after the catalytic converters are not used to affect air/fuel mixture; they are used solely to monitor catalytic converter efficiency.