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Oxygen Sensor Test

Oxygen sensors are a source of diagnostic information and often an
overlooked service component. This article will address the zirconia oxygen
sensor, which generates a voltage level up to 1 volt.
There are three basic performance aspects that a good O2 sensor should
display.
1. Voltage level of at least 800 millivolts or more when driven rich.
2. Voltage level below 175 millivolts when driven lean.
3. Voltage response time from lean to rich should be less than 100
milliseconds.


Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3
Figure 1 shows a good oxygen sensor waveform switching continuously
above and below 450 millivolts. The number of times the signal crosses the
450-millivolt threshold is called cross counts. The cross counts will vary
between one every two seconds to five per second depending on the type of
fuel delivery system. Test the O2 sensor by running the engine at
approximately 2500 RPM and press the F3 key to stop and save the
recording to a file or select play current temporary recording.
Select a recorded screen and press the F2 utility function and select the
cursor function, Figure 2, and press the enter key.
From the next selection box select Volt Difference.
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Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6
After selecting Voltage Difference the cursor will be displayed on the
screen Figure 4 and require you to select the first voltage reference to be
measured. Move the cursor left or right to the highest voltage level and press
the ENTER key.
Next, move the cursor to the lowest voltage level to choose the second point
Figure 5 and then press the ENTER key.
The two vertical dotted lines in Figure 6 mark the voltage at point one and point
two and display the voltage at the top of the screen. Point one is 0.86 volts and
point two is 0.08 volts and the difference D: is 0.78 volts.

Figure 7 Figure 8
The snap throttle test is a quick way to test the response time of a zirconia
oxygen sensor.
1. Run the engine at 2500 RPM for at least three minutes.
2. Snap the throttle four or five times at 2-second intervals.
3. Play back the recorded signal and measure the response time from lean
to rich, from low to high voltage.
A good sensor should switch from between approximately .175 volts and .800
volts in less than 100 milliseconds. This test is not valid if the oxygen sensor is
unable to switch from .175 to .800 volts.
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Oxygen Sensor Test Setup
Setup for testing an oxygen sensor with an Interro Systems Lab Scope/
Engine Analyzer.
Select Lab Scope from the main menu step 1.
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Step 4 Step 5
Select one the four scope channels, step 2, with the cursor and press ENTER.
Select the O2 probe from the probe menu Step 3. Adjust the voltage gain to 1
volt, step 4. Adjust the time base, step 5.
Press the F3 key and start testing. The PDA automatically records up to 50
screens of data that can be saved, replayed, measured (voltage, time and
frequency) and printed directly to a printer or stored to a PC.