Considering the Indispensable Role of Oxygen Sensors
All new vehicles, and most cars fashioned after 1980, have an oxygen sensor. This sensor is integrated at the emission system and sends information to the engine management computer. The primary function of the sensor is to aid the engine to run as smoothly as possible with the least amount of combustion by products and emission.
Engine burns fuels with the use of oxygen and there is a correct amount of air to fuel mixture depending on the amount of hydrogen and carbon in that fuel. If there is less air than needed in the correct ratio, the resulting mixture is considered rich – with left over fuel after combustion. Rich mixtures tend to create pollution because of the by-products. If there is more air than the intended ratio, the resulting mixture is considered lean since there is a surplus in oxygen. A lean mixture produces nitrogen oxide by-products and can be detrimental to the car’s engine and catalytic converters.
The oxygen sensor is located in the exhaust pipe to detect rich or lean mixtures. These components work by a chemical reaction that produces voltages. The Electronic Control Unit then interprets the signal voltages and adjusts the fuel to air ratio in the engine to the correct proportion. When the oxygen sensor fails either because of natural aging or pollutants that damage the sensor there would be an erroneous reading, poor car performance and increased fuel consumption.