Ok Today When I Was Goin To Work I Noticed I Have A Check Engine Light. So I Went To My Buddies Shop And He Has The Code Reader. It Came Up As Bad O2 Sensor. Its Bank 1 Sensor 2. I Noe The Sensors R Very Expensive But Is It An Easy Instal? Thank In Advance For Any Feedback

 

I don't know much about how the sensors work, but on my old '97 I used to get the bad 02 sensor code when the air filter was dirty. when was the last time you changed it. I used to be able to change the filter and clear the code and I was good to go, that may not have been the most mechanically correct route but it worked for me. search the forum a little I'm sure there's tons of info on it. good luck

 

ive had the truck for a month now and i went muddin a few times so the filter is pretty nasty. but the mechanic cleared the code. so when it comes back up il try wut u said. from what i hear the bad o2 sensor robbs u of power and kills ur gas milage. so i do wanna get it fixed eventually. thnx for the feedback

 

Hi! An oxygen sensor's sole purpose is to do just that - identify the difference of oxygen content between the exhaust, and the outside air. This is used to calculate fuel managment. In open loop, the comptuer ignores the sensor. The PCM also ignores the sensor at WOT. The system enters closed Loop (begins reading o2) when preset time conditions have been met, the coolant temperature sensor indicates a preset temperature, and the O2 sensor gives a rich mixture reading. If any of these conditions are not met, The MIL light will be turned on, relating a code to the problem area. A high oxygen content in the exhaust (Lean condition) will cause a low Voltage reading from the sensor, while a Low oxygen content (rich condition) Will cause a high voltage reading. Most sensors vary from 0-1 Volt.

Remember that it MAY not even be the o2. Improper fuel delivery, A Bad AIR system, leaking injector, Vacuum leak, and or/contaminated MAF may cause an O2 code.

You can test an 02 with a voltmeter (Analog meters are best for this)
Backprobe the sensor using a paper clip at the purple/white wire (I think it's that colour on Fords) Then ground the black test lead from the meter. The voltage should vary from 0-1 Fairly quickly. If it's cycling slowly, It's a lazy o2 and need to be changed.

Have your technician hook up the scan tool, and read the live data. If he's any good, he'll know what you mean, and know what to do. Clearing the code is not the answer - the light came on for a reason.

-jimi

 

wow. thanx for all the info. the first thing i checked when i saw the light was the air filter and the maf. the filter is dirty but the maf seems to be fine. mayb at first ill try a new filter and see if that helps. the light was cleared so i have to wait for it to come back first. thank you very much for all the help

 

I think the key words were"I went muddin". Crawl under the truck and check out the sensors & attached connectors.

 

If the code indicated a bad O2 sensor, you will have to replace it or the code WILL come back. The "sensor 2" is VERY VERY easy to replace.

In brief, your truck has 4 O2 sensors. 2 for the left side (1 front and 1 rear), and 2 for the right side (1 front and 1 rear).

The FRONT 2 sensors monitor Air/Fuel ratio, and send that info to the computer. This information is used by your computer to modify the ammount of fuel it injects. It's purpose is to keep the engine running at the correct air fuel ratio.

The REAR 2 sensors (downstream from the catalytic converters) monitor catalytic converter function. Their purpose is to inform you in the event of a catalytic converter malfunction. Their information is not used for ANY other function of the vehicle.

So... If you have a bad REAR O2 sensor, it will illuminate the Check Engine Light, but it won't hurt anything. If you have a bad FRONT O2 sensor, your engine is unable to VERIFY the Air/Fuel ratio, so it uses a formula to approximate how much fuel should be needed, which could result in a slight decrease in fuel mileage.