All About Oxygen Sensors In Your Car

By:


Many car buyers are unaware that their vehicle has one or two oxygen sensors in their emission control system. However, these sensors are an important part of both reducing emissions as well as ensuring that the engine runs efficiently. Serving as standard car equipment since that 1980s, these sensors monitor the level of oxygen in the car's exhaust, send the information to the engine management computer within the car, and enables the computer to adjust the amount of fuel entering the engine accordingly. They are usually positioned around the tail pipe so that they can detect key factors affecting how much fuel the engine needs or can handle, including outside air temperature, weight of car, altitude, barometric pressure, and the amount of gasoline being burned. If the engine is not able to burn enough of the gasoline entering it via combustion, then the gasoline itself is burned, creating both pollution and eventually engine damage. This is why it is incredibly important that you bring your car in for routine maintenance to ensure they are working correctly and quickly.

As time goes on, due to the location of these sensors, they accumulate dust, ash, oil, and other particles floating your tail pipe. This causes the O2 sensors to either clog or gum up, making them act more slowly or give false readings due to age or decreased voltage. If the sensor is reporting incorrect information, the amount of pollutants produced by your car will grow exponentially. You also run the danger of going through fuel much faster as well as damaging your engine from improper fuel level. If your O2 sensors completely fail, the engine management computer will have to guess and leads to your car consuming much more fuel than necessary - which is inefficient as well as expensive. However, your O2 sensors can be replaced, which will restore high efficiency peak performance for your engine. It is far less expensive to replace your oxygen sensors than to keep paying for gas that merely burns off, so be sure to bring your car in to be checked around every 60,000 miles. Some newer models of cars have a 'check sensor' light that may come on when it is time to service the car. In some vehicles the 'check engine' light may turn on to indicate a need for new oxygen sensors. O2 sensors cannot be repaired, so make sure you understand their need for replacement.

Due to the fact that improperly installed O2 sensors or the failure to replace them can lead to expensive damage to your vehicle, it is best to bring your car to your mechanic so that he or she can examine your engine and determine how effectively your sensors are working and act accordingly. This integral part of routine maintenance will not only keep your vehicle at the peak of its performance but also save you money.


About the Author:
M&R Auto Repair is your locally owned Miami Auto Repair shop. For more information visit us online www.mandrautorepair.com, or visit our shop 8825 SW 129th Street, Miami, FL 33176 - 305-253-7499. M and R Auto Repair.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent UnCategorized Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.