It can be a scary experience when your car stalls in the middle of the road, but thankfully it’s usually nothing more than an issue with the engine. However, there are occasions when something unexpected will cause a car to stall – and one of the most common causes is a bad oxygen sensor. Learn about this problem and how to fix it in this article.
What is an oxygen sensor?
An oxygen sensor is a small, often cylindrical sensor that is located on the exhaust manifold near the catalytic converter. The sensor measures the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas and sends a signal to the engine control module (ECM) that tells it how much fuel to inject into the cylinders. If the level of oxygen in the exhaust gas decreases below a certain threshold, the ECM will disable the fuel injection and cause the car to stall.
Most Ford vehicles from 1996 or later come with an oxygen sensor and an oxygen low warning light (OLW) that will illuminate when the level of oxygen in the exhaust gas falls below a certain threshold. In 2004, General Motors began installing an oxygen sensor on all new vehicles. If your car doesn’t have an oxygen sensor, you can install one yourself by following these instructions:
If your car doesn’t have an oxygen sensor, it’s possible to install one yourself using these instructions.
What does the oxygen sensor do?
The oxygen sensor is used to measure the level of oxygen in the air. When the sensor detects a low level of oxygen, it sends a signal to the car’s computer. This signal tells the car to change gears or stop.
How to replace an oxygen sensor on a car
If your car is stalling because of an oxygen sensor issue, there are a few things that you can do to try and fix the problem. First, make sure that the sensor is actually bad by trying to start the car and seeing if the problem persists. If it does, you’ll need to replace the sensor.
If you’re not sure if the sensor is bad or not, you can instead try to troubleshoot the issue by checking for other issues with the car. For example, is the fuel system running smoothly? Is there smoke or gas coming out of the exhaust? If you can’t find any other clues as to where the problem might be, then it’s probably time to replace the sensor.
What are the risks of having an oxygen sensor replaced?
There are a few risks associated with having an oxygen sensor replaced. The most common is that the car will not start. Other risks include the sensor going out of calibration, the sensor causing a false reading, or the sensor causing a Stall.
The dangers of not having an oxygen sensor corrected can be dangerous. If the sensor does not detect the level of oxygen in the air, the car may not start and could even be dangerous for occupants. A false reading from the sensor may cause your car to speed or perform erratically. Finally, if your car has a Stall due to an oxygen sensor, you may be stuck on the side of the road.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading our article on the effects of an oxygen sensor on a car. In it, we discussed how an oxygen sensor can cause a car to stall and what you can do to avoid this problem. We recommend that you always have your mechanic check your vehicle’s oxygen sensors and replace them as needed, in order to prevent stalls from happening in the first place. Thank you for taking the time to read our article and we hope that it has provided you with some useful information.