O2 sensor error..but which one?
From : Annonymous
Q: i have a 1996 dodge dakota slt 4x4 v-8 auto. i recently had my check engine light diagnosed and was told i have a bad o2 sensor. the mechanic told me i should replace both because his reader will not tell him which sensor is bad. the symptom is that sometimes the truck starts real hard and doesnt want to stay running. if i stay in the gas for a minute it usually straightens out. does anyone out there know of a way to determine which sensor is bad if it means anything the check engine light will be on for a few days and off for a few days. the problem seems to be more apparent when the light is off. greatly appreciated. go by auto zone get them to read the codes. come back and post code numbers here. if its obdii like im thinking it should be on a 96 the code should be p followed by a 4 digit number. like p0301. maybe your mechanic has already told you this code number the code number should tell witch sensor is causing the fault. -- ---------------------------- -chris 05 ctd 06 liberty crd real trucks dont need spark plugs. .
Replies:
From : Annonymous
may have got it. yesterday i bought a coil and a set of sparks. figured the spark voltage mighta been low. from the center coil wire there definitely was spark but a bit pale and yellow. not bright blue. i changed the cap and rotor and then changed the four easy plugs passenger side. they were lampblack all over the insulator in the center of the plug. just for fun turn the key and it fired right up. i did change the other four cause they woulda been the same. at the moment im cleaning the plugs with oven cleaner and a tooth brush figure i can put em back in some time. next time i do a tune up. my best guess what happened the air filter was clogged with dust oil etc. so the mixture riched up and the plugs fouled. not sure the coil was bad but for $13 and non returnable ill leave that in. -- christopher a. young you cant shout down a troll. you have to starve them. .. flash! went for a short drive today two city blocks and the problem is still there. slows acts sluggist. restarts after awhile if i hold the pedal to the floor. slugs along and then runs but very little power. changed the air filter and will see if that helps. incidentally i had the carb rebuilt last year. by a repair garage that has done a lot of carbs. feels like the choke opens very slowly. but that might be just that the air filter was clogged and the machine was running rich. -- christopher a. young you cant shout down a troll. you have to starve them. .. .
From : bryan
hey nate i have a question for you about welders drop me a line please. done. be sure and include the word 1911 somewhere in the message body so that the message will automatically bypass my spam filters. nathan .
From : tom lawrence
george wrote that bulb has two filaments. pull the bulb out turn it 180=ba - this mi= ght fix it. also do you have 2 bulbs in the front one faces front the ot= her faces left. if the side bulb isnt blinking it will cause this symtom. todd wrote everyone could use some insight here. 2000 ram 1500 truck left signal is clicking and flashing twice as fast as normal right signal is normal speed. i know this normally means a bad bulb but that didnt fix my problem unfortunately. here is the scoop. checked the fuses they are ok. left front blinks left rear does not blink. replaced rear bulb with the same one 3157. no change. my truck already has a towing package installed so nothing has changed with the wiring. i also tow a camper and when the camper is plugged in no more fast blink and the rear camper light works just fine. so what else should i check first i did buy a returned pack of opened bulbs from oreilly only because that was the last ones they had. for all i know that could be the problem maybe they are bad bulbs. i might pull a bulb from the right side and plug into the left side to rule out the new bulbs i have being bad. thanks i do beleive there is 2 bulbs on the front and i have verified the side one is blinking. i have not verified the other need to do that. i didnt think about the fact there was 2 in the front .
From : chris thompson
thanks for all the responses i will definitely try this out. i will post my results hopefully i can try it tonight. thanks again .
From : Annonymous
him which sensor is bad. the symptom is that sometimes the truck starts real hard and doesnt want to stay running. if i stay in the gas for a minute it usually straightens out. that has nothing to do with the o2 sensors. the o2 sensors arent used on initial startup. the pcm is operating in something called open-loop mode - fuel amounts are determined by a set of pre-determined fuel maps in the pcm. its only when the engine warms up that the pcm enters closed-loop mode and modulates fueling based on o2 sensor feedback. your symptom of having to stay on the gas to keep the engine running during start-up is indicative of a problem with the iac idle air control motor which could be because of a bad iac itself or could be the cause of a bad battery not supplying enough voltage to the pcm causing all sorts of problems due to invalid sensor readings. first have the battery load-tested and replace it if it shows any signs of not holding a full charge. if that checks out remove the iac from the throttle body give it good cleaning with tb or carb cleaner re-connect it to the electrical connector while still out of the tb and turn on the ignition. the iac pintle should cycle in and out freely and smoothly. if it doesnt replace the sensor. .