Oxygen Sensor - Malfunction Need Help

Firestarter · 6th February 2006, 19:50

Hi Folks,

I need help my Vtec has done around 50,000 Km and when I start the car when its cold after sometime the yellow light in the ignition comes on.However I noticced one thing that after the car is warmed up if I switch it off and turn it on the yellow light does not come. I took it to White filed Honda and they told me the Oxygen Sensor has a malfunction. However they could not replace it coz they did not have it in stock.

My Question is whats the use of the Oxygen Sensor and if its not repaired will it harm your car.

Kindly provide me some insights.

zenx · 6th February 2006, 20:15

Yes it will. It esentially provides feedback to the ECU for the right fuel/air mixture. I'm not tach geek so how do I know ? My 1.3 had it replaced a couple of months ago - and Honda has a heated element type that makes it twice as expensive as most brands'

15k or so for the OHC at least.

BTW, is this Whitefield Honda ? How does one make out if the sensor has *really* gone kaput ? I am not sure I trust those guys too much....

SLK · 6th February 2006, 20:34

Fifteen thousand rupees?..

If O2 sensor was at fault why only in cold engine!.. or its gone partially bad!

If I am not wrong the O2 sensor has no special role to play in a cold engine... it just works as usual. (can anyone confirm?)

viper · 6th February 2006, 20:47

Hi,

Go to any authorised service centre and ask them to connect the HiScan to your car. When they run diagnostics for trouble codes the O2 sensor should come up as faulty or whatever is not working will show up. That way you have the problem part showing up if any.They should not charge you anything for the scan.

Viper

BTW - this procedure can apply to all MPFI cars for any sensor/electronic fault detection

ajmat · 6th February 2006, 21:55

Sometimes, the sensor might need cleaning - consider going to a Bosch service centre for a second opinion

rdkarthik · 6th February 2006, 22:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLK

Fifteen thousand rupees?..

If O2 sensor was at fault why only in cold engine!.. or its gone partially bad!

If I am not wrong the O2 sensor has no special role to play in a cold engine... it just works as usual. (can anyone confirm?)

Hi
The O2 sensor needs to get to operating temparature to work properly. I guess the heater element of the 02 sensor might have given way. Once the O2 sensor has been warmed up by the hot exhaust gas, the computer might not sense the malfunctioning heater element...

2L8uLoose · 6th February 2006, 22:56

see this..
http://www.autohausaz.com/html/emiss...n_sensors.html

drpullockaran · 6th February 2006, 23:10

I vaguely remember this article and a few previous articles now and it should help clear some doubts you might have on the workings of the lambda sensor/Oxygen sensor. I think it was in response to a person who was getting an impossibly low mileage of just 7kmpl in his palio S10. Bye and wear your seatbelts.http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...a/message/6341
I hope this url helps

rdkarthik · 6th February 2006, 23:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by viper

Hi,

BTW - this procedure can apply to all MPFI cars for any sensor/electronic fault detection

Interesting... Any idea how much the HiScan costs?

viper · 7th February 2006, 09:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdkarthik

Interesting... Any idea how much the HiScan costs?

Ideally it should be free of cost. Otherwise some private garages charge between 500 and 1k for a scan in Mumbai.

Viper

Rehaan · 7th February 2006, 09:37

Viper,

I think he means the product, not the service

cya
R

viper · 7th February 2006, 09:49

Hi,

Last I heard was approx 1.25Lacs++ which includes data for all indian cars and most japanese and european cars with free upgrades for a year. There are several brands in the market.

Viper

chetanhanda · 22nd February 2006, 03:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by viper

Hi,
Last I heard was approx 1.25Lacs++ which includes data for all indian cars and most japanese and european cars with free upgrades for a year. There are several brands in the market.
Viper

hey Viper, I have seen people using these laptop based softwares on corvettes ..they are pretty much detailed, they show just about everything the ECU can see ..and they cost less than 150$ only ...
wow !! no idea are they so expensive to get in India ?

viper · 22nd February 2006, 09:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

hey Viper, I have seen people using these laptop based softwares on corvettes ..they are pretty much detailed, they show just about everything the ECU can see ..and they cost less than 150$ only ...
wow !! no idea are they so expensive to get in India ?

Hi,

I am not referring to the software. I am referring to the hand held scanner as well. Here is a pic of what I am referring to.

Viper

turbo_c · 22nd February 2006, 13:56

Slightly off topic, I know but, anybody know where one of us can get the necessary hardware + software to interface the ECU with a PC ?

I heard that most ECUs have a "Serial / RS232" interface commonly known as a "COM Port"; the one where you would plug in older mice and external modems. If that's true, then all I would need is the pin-out details of the ECU and I could build the interface myself. (Guys, dont look so impressed, it would just be straight thru wiring, no electronics necc.

)

But... even if it is a simple serial interface, we would still need software to read (and write!) data to / from the ECU... or at least the protocol to be able to build the software.

I think exploring this would worth it... we gain access to all the ECU's diagnostics and may even be able to tweak the performance of our babies !

Starting a new thread for this...

- T u r b o C -

6th February 2006, 19:50	#1
Firestarter Newbie Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 24 Thanked: 0 Times	Oxygen Sensor - Malfunction Need Help Hi Folks, I need help my Vtec has done around 50,000 Km and when I start the car when its cold after sometime the yellow light in the ignition comes on.However I noticced one thing that after the car is warmed up if I switch it off and turn it on the yellow light does not come. I took it to White filed Honda and they told me the Oxygen Sensor has a malfunction. However they could not replace it coz they did not have it in stock. My Question is whats the use of the Oxygen Sensor and if its not repaired will it harm your car. Kindly provide me some insights.
	() Thanks

6th February 2006, 20:15	#2
zenx Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,161 Thanked: 158 Times View My Garage	Yes it will. It esentially provides feedback to the ECU for the right fuel/air mixture. I'm not tach geek so how do I know ? My 1.3 had it replaced a couple of months ago - and Honda has a heated element type that makes it twice as expensive as most brands' 15k or so for the OHC at least. BTW, is this Whitefield Honda ? How does one make out if the sensor has really gone kaput ? I am not sure I trust those guys too much....
	() Thanks

6th February 2006, 20:34	#3
SLK Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: DL XX XX XXXX Posts: 1,634 Thanked: 1,011 Times	Fifteen thousand rupees?.. If O2 sensor was at fault why only in cold engine!.. or its gone partially bad! If I am not wrong the O2 sensor has no special role to play in a cold engine... it just works as usual. (can anyone confirm?)
	() Thanks

6th February 2006, 20:47	#4
viper BANNED Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,773 Thanked: 19 Times	Hi, Go to any authorised service centre and ask them to connect the HiScan to your car. When they run diagnostics for trouble codes the O2 sensor should come up as faulty or whatever is not working will show up. That way you have the problem part showing up if any.They should not charge you anything for the scan. Viper BTW - this procedure can apply to all MPFI cars for any sensor/electronic fault detection
	() Thanks

6th February 2006, 21:55	#5
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,858 Thanked: 27,925 Times View My Garage	Sometimes, the sensor might need cleaning - consider going to a Bosch service centre for a second opinion
	() Thanks

6th February 2006, 22:56	#7
2L8uLoose BANNED Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bombay Posts: 628 Thanked: 6 Times View My Garage	see this.. http://www.autohausaz.com/html/emiss...n_sensors.html
	() Thanks

6th February 2006, 23:10	#8
drpullockaran BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: ERNAKULAM Posts: 962 Thanked: 385 Times	About Oxygen sensors. I vaguely remember this article and a few previous articles now and it should help clear some doubts you might have on the workings of the lambda sensor/Oxygen sensor. I think it was in response to a person who was getting an impossibly low mileage of just 7kmpl in his palio S10. Bye and wear your seatbelts.http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...a/message/6341 I hope this url helps Last edited by drpullockaran : 6th February 2006 at 23:11.
	() Thanks

7th February 2006, 09:37	#11
Rehaan Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 24,039 Thanked: 34,069 Times	Viper, I think he means the product, not the service cya R
	() Thanks

7th February 2006, 09:49	#12
viper BANNED Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,773 Thanked: 19 Times	Hi, Last I heard was approx 1.25Lacs++ which includes data for all indian cars and most japanese and european cars with free upgrades for a year. There are several brands in the market. Viper
	() Thanks

22nd February 2006, 13:56	#15
turbo_c BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Pune / Mumbai Posts: 132 Thanked: 12 Times View My Garage	Slightly off topic, I know but, anybody know where one of us can get the necessary hardware + software to interface the ECU with a PC ? I heard that most ECUs have a "Serial / RS232" interface commonly known as a "COM Port"; the one where you would plug in older mice and external modems. If that's true, then all I would need is the pin-out details of the ECU and I could build the interface myself. (Guys, dont look so impressed, it would just be straight thru wiring, no electronics necc. ) But... even if it is a simple serial interface, we would still need software to read (and write!) data to / from the ECU... or at least the protocol to be able to build the software. I think exploring this would worth it... we gain access to all the ECU's diagnostics and may even be able to tweak the performance of our babies ! Starting a new thread for this... - T u r b o C -
	() Thanks