Re: oxy sensor ???

[Wallace White <wallace@remdesign.com>]

PlyBoyDoct@aol.com wrote:
> 
> My car has 167k miles on the same O2 sensor.  The car runs fine and
> everything(I think) is up to par.  But I hear people having O2 sensors dying
> @ 100,000 miles and less.  Do you guys think its time to replace my sensor?

Just hook up a multimeter to the signal from the O2 sensor, and ensure
that you get a fluctuating voltage, going back and forth from ~0.2V to
~0.8V (not sure of the values) on a ~1 Hz steady frequency. 

Scott Mockry's site even has a 'scope waveform for an O2 sensor, at
http://www.sjmautotechnik.com/waveform.html or directly at
http://www.sjmautotechnik.com/wave/o2good.jpg. As long as your multimeter
has a fast-response analog bar, you don't need an oscilloscope for this.

As for Vikram's question about locating the O2 sensor, it shouldn't be too
hard to find. On the turbo I-5, it's located right on top of the exhaust
manifold, which is partially obscured by a heat shield. It's a three-wire
unit (2 for the heater, one for a signal), and you can trace the wires
back to the connector, where you can easily check the signal--and check
for continuity on the heater circuit.

- Wallace
  '87 5kcstq 155k