Thread: Car dies out
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Old 02-05-2010, 08:53 PM   #59
CJ0717
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Re: Car dies out

Found part of what I was looking for. Below is from this web page www.engine-light-help.com
I believe every sensor has a 4 wire connection Black being common(ground) and the others I'm not sure yet. The manufacturer like Bosch would have it avail. I'll look some more.
Here is the section on O2 sensors. They have an output voltage between zero and 1vdc If you are getting 0 or 1 and higher then something is wrong. Normally should be operating at about 0.6vdc

First we need to understand how an oxygen sensor works. The oxygen sensor screws into the exhaust and the sensor end protrudes into the pipe so that exhaust gases pass across the sensors internal element. There is a steel shielding with slots that direct exhaust flow across the actual element. As a note, oxygen sensors used to determine engine fuel ratios are always located in front of the catalytic converter. The sensors behind the cats are called monitors and we will discuss these later. Sensors are normally described with the prefix HO2S meaning Heated Oxygen Sensor and followed with bank and position number. For example HO2S11 would be the oxygen sensor on bank 1 and first in line (pre catalytic converter) and HO2S12 would be on bank 1, but second in line (the monitor) An oxygen sensor creates a voltage between 0 and 1 volt by means of a chemical reaction between the sensor element and the oxygen in the exhaust passing across that element. Outside air also passes through the sensor and it is a comparison between the oxygen content in the exhaust and fresh air that actually determines voltage output (information for trivial purposes only and for curious techs). Believe it or not, the fresh air on many sensors actually travels through the wiring insulation! Anyway, a voltage closer to one volt indicates a rich condition and closer to zero indicates lean. The computer uses this valve to constantly adjust fuel trim to maintain a 14.7:1 air fuel ratio. We will be putting up an article on fuel trim soon but this is a huge topic all on its own. Okay so this is where it gets somewhat complicated. Just kidding! It’s all nuts and bolts; and wires, and chemicals and never mind!
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