Monitor Description: Diagnostics
Monitor Description: Diagnostics
Monitor Description: Diagnostics
MONITOR DESCRIPTION
The ECM uses the heated oxygen sensor information to regulate the air–fuel ratio close to a stoichiometric
ratio. This maximizes the catalytic converter’s ability to purify the exhaust gas. The sensor detects oxygen
levels in the exhaust gas and sends this signal to the ECM.
The inner surface of the sensor element is exposed to the outside air. The outer surface of the sensor ele-
ment is exposed to the exhaust gas. The sensor element is made of the platinum coated zirconia and in-
cludes an integrated heating element. The heated oxygen sensor has the characteristic whereby its output
voltage change suddenly in the vicinity of the stoichiometric air–fuel ratio. When heated, the sensor becomes
very efficient. If the temperature of the exhaust is low, the sensor will not generate useful voltage signals
without supplemental heating. The ECM regulates the supplemental heating using a duty–cycle approach
to regulate the average current in the heater element. If the heater current is out of the normal range, the
sensor’s output signals will be inaccurate and the ECM cannot regulate the air–fuel ratio properly. When the
heater current is out of the normal operating range, the ECM interprets this as a malfunction and sets a DTC.
Example:
The ECM will set a high current DTC if the current in the sensor is more than 2 A when the heater is OFF.
Similarly, the ECM will set a low current DTC if the current is less than 0.25 A when the heater is ON.
MONITOR STRATEGY
Heated oxygen sensor heater current bank 1
P0031, P0037
sensor 1, sensor 2 (low current)
Related DTCs
Heated oxygen sensor heater current bank 1
P0032, P0038
sensor 1, sensor 2 (high current)
Main sensors Heated oxygen sensor
Required sensors/components
Related sensors Vehicle speed sensor
Frequency of operation Continuous
Duration 0.3 seconds
MIL operation 1 driving cycle
Sequence of operation None