Oxygen Sensor (O2S) Monitor: Description

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2004 Dodge Intrepid, 2004 Chrysler Intrepid, 2004 Chrysler Concorde, and 2004 Chrysler 300M. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

Effective control of exhaust emissions is achieved by an oxygen feedback system. The most important element of the feedback system is the O2S. The O2S is located in the exhaust path. Once it reaches operating temperature 300° to 350°C (572° to 662°F), the sensor generates a voltage that is inversely proportional to the amount of oxygen in the exhaust. When there is a large amount of oxygen in the exhaust caused by a lean condition, misfire or exhaust leak, the sensor produces a low voltage, below 450 mV When the oxygen content is lower, caused by a rich condition, the sensor produces a higher voltage, above 450mV.

The information obtained by the sensor is used to calculate the fuel injector pulse width. The PCM is programmed to maintain the optimum air/fuel ratio. At this mixture ratio, the catalyst works best to remove hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrous oxide (NOx) from the exhaust.

The O2S is also the main sensing element for the EGR, Catalyst and Fuel Monitors, and purge.

The O2S may fail in any or all of the following manners:

Slow response rate (Big Slope)
Reduced output voltage (Half Cycle)
Heater Performance

Slow Response Rate (Big Slope)- Response rate is the time required for the sensor to switch from lean to rich signal output once it is exposed to a richer than optimum A/F mixture or vice versa. As the PCM adjusts the air/fuel ratio, the sensor must be able to rapidly detect the change. As the sensor ages, it could take longer to detect the changes in the oxygen content of the exhaust gas. The rate of change that an oxygen sensor experiences is called 'Big Slope'. The PCM checks the oxygen sensor voltage in increments of a few milliseconds.

Reduced Output Voltage (Half Cycle)- The output voltage of the O2S ranges from 0 to 1 volt. A good sensor can easily generate any output voltage in this range as it is exposed to different concentrations of oxygen. To detect a shift in the A/F mixture (lean or rich), the output voltage has to change beyond a threshold value. A malfunctioning sensor could have difficulty changing beyond the threshold value. Many times the condition is only temporey and the sensor will recover. Under normal conditions the voltage signal surpasses the threshold, and a counter is incremented by one. This is called the Half Cycle Counter.

Heater Performance- The heater is tested by a separate monitor. Refer to the OXYGEN SENSOR HEATER MONITOR .