What To Do After Replacing Oxygen Sensor？
Vehicles comprise various automotive parts which help them move. Every part fixed in a vehicle either needs repair or a replacement after a certain period. Making your vehicle’s maintenance your priority is what keeps your vehicle efficient. So just like any other part, a faulty or damaged oxygen sensor also needs an immediate replacement. The oxygen sensor is a crucial part of the vehicle which is found in the exhaust system of the vehicle. So, the oxygen sensor replacement cost is an expense that you should not hesitate to bear.
An oxygen sensor promotes fuel injection and increases the timing of an engine by making it more efficient. It is designed to control the emission of gases from a vehicle. Doing an essential job for your vehicle, a bad oxygen sensor can create an adverse impact on your vehicle’s engine which can lead to air pollution through the emission of gases.
Function Of an Oxygen Sensor
An oxygen sensor is a part of the car that measures the need for an adequate amount of oxygen in a gas or a liquid. A fully functional oxygen sensor makes sure that the engine of your car is performing at its maximum capacity. It keeps a check on the oxygen level and sends a signal to your car’s engine. Then the warning light appears if something faulty is detected in any automotive part.
Why Is Oxygen Sensor Important for Your Car?
The oxygen sensor is a vital part of a car. It aids to send feedback to your car’s Engine Control Unit (ECU) and reduces fuel injection to the engine. Hence, increases the fuel efficiency of the car giving a good fuel average. It also promotes low emissions from your vehicle, saving the environment from adverse impacts.
Maintenance Of Oxygen Sensor — A Vital Requirement
Over time, oxygen sensors get prone to amassing dirt particles. These include ash and oil from the process of combustion in your vehicle. It results in the obstruction of the oxygen sensor, leading to the reduction in the efficiency of its functions. This further causes the oxygen sensor to send wrong computations to the car’s computer. The wrong readings lead to increased fuel consumption.
To avoid all these issues, you should keep a check on your oxygen sensor and consider all the necessary steps to make sure your oxygen sensor is maintained. If not properly maintained, you will have to change the oxygen sensor of your car frequently.
How To Know If Your Oxygen Sensor is Going Bad?
You are advised by automotive advisors to change your car’s oxygen sensor after every 60,000 to 90,000 miles. So, the oxygen sensor replacement cost is not a frequent expense. If you don’t consider this advice, the faulty sensor can create an adverse impact on other functions of your vehicle with an expense of high cost. The symptoms discussed in the article below will guide you to the signs that indicate getting the sensor replaced.
Check Engine Light
This is the most basic sign when there is a fault in any of your car’s sensors. If you notice a check engine light, you should not ignore it. Go get your car checked by an expert right away. This can be a potential sign that oxygen sensor replacement cost is waiting for you!
Poor Fuel Mileage
Are you tired of getting your fuel tank refilled every other day? There must be a fault in your vehicle’s oxygen sensor. The continued fault will keep reducing the efficiency of your fuel average, so it is better to get it diagnosed as soon as possible.
Failed Emission Test
Bad oxygen sensors make sure your car fails the emission test. The failed emission test indicates the faulty oxygen sensor. It is better to maintain and replace your car’s sensor before a test so that you can save money and time.
Roughly Hamper Engine
If your engine is giving you a jumpy and bouncy ride, you should get a checkup of your car done. The most important thing to get checked during this procedure is the oxygen sensor. A damaged oxygen sensor reduces the function of the engine, leading to a bumpy car ride.
How To Avoid the Failure of An Oxygen Sensor?
At times, the automotive parts of your vehicle need frequent maintenance. So, to make sure your parts don’t need a replacement, keep them highly maintained. Some steps you can consider to avoid the failure of an oxygen sensor are discussed below.
Ensure The Setup of the Sensor
Make sure the sensor is properly placed in your vehicle without any damaged wires. Keep a check to ensure that all the inputs and outputs are correctly connected.
Protect The Sensor
Make sure the optimum environment is provided to expand the life of your vehicle’s oxygen sensor. Moisture should not be encountered with the sensor as water droplets reduce the efficiency of an oxygen sensor.
Inspection And Testing of The Sensor
You should get your sensors tested during every engine check. The specific tests for rich and lean conditions should be conducted to analyze the ability and time of the sensor to respond to the change.
Keep The Sensor Clean
To keep the oxygen sensor of your vehicle clean, you will have to locate the sensor first. Then spray some lubricant on the sensor. Now, unscrew the sensor from its housing. After removing it, you have to keep the sensor in a container of gasoline overnight. After soaking the sensors overnight, bring them out of the container of gasoline and clean them dry. Now your sensor is ready to be reinstalled back to its housing.
Replacement Of Oxygen Sensor
The frequent replacement of an oxygen sensor is not a part of your car's regular maintenance. You only need to replace an oxygen sensor once it completely fails to function properly. When you notice any of the discussed symptoms in your vehicle, it is time to get your car checked and replace your oxygen sensor if needed.
What To Do After an Oxygen Sensor Replacement?
Once you notice all these signs in your car, it means you need an oxygen sensor replacement. So, if you are done with the replacement of your car’s oxygen sensor you need to consider a few steps. The most important action is, you need to reset the Engine Control Unit of your car. This helps in erasing the information about the old sensor and collects the new sensor’s information. Hence, it starts giving accurate readings!
Steps To Reset Engine Control Unit of Your Car
The first step to resetting your Engine Control Unit is to turn off the battery. After switching the ignition of your car off, remove the terminals of the battery. This ensures that there is no power being injected into the car. Then you need to tie the wires of the battery with insulating tape. Now you will have to carry out a soft reset. At this step, you will cut the power being delivered to the computer and conduit the currently available power in the circuit. Now you will have to open the fuse panel under the steering column. Then check the fuse at the panel and pull it from the fuse panel.
As the next step, it is a good idea to clean your car’s battery with baking soda and water to save time while resetting the ECU. After cleaning the battery, you will have to wait for 5 minutes before connecting it back to your car. After you connect it to the car, restart your car. Finally, the engine light will blink and then shut down. This shows that the Engine Control Unit of your car has been reset and all its parts are good to go.
Is It Important To Reset ECU After Replacing The Oxygen Sensor?
After the replacement of an oxygen sensor, the check engine light does not perform properly. So you should reset the Engine Control Unit after replacing any faulty part from your car’s computer. It is also important to be able to get the correct readings of your new oxygen sensor. Hence, the first step after the replacement of the oxygen sensor should be resetting the Engine Control Unit to avoid malfunctioning.
Wrap-Up
It is always a good move to get your car’s sensors checked regularly. Not only the oxygen sensor but all other automotive parts. By doing this practice, you can spot faulty parts before they cause any big damage to the engine of your vehicle. Oxygen sensor replacement cost and the activity is not as technical as you think, but its identification is surely a task. So, make sure you have periodic appointments with your automotive advisor. The oxygen sensor replacement costs between $100 to $300, depending upon the variation of vehicles, so don’t worry about the cost while going to your advisor because it will not cost you an arm and a leg.
Keeping all the factors in mind, it is advised to all our readers to take care of their cars and the automotive parts. Taking care of and maintaining your vehicle can save you from hefty mechanic bills.
Have a safe drive!
