Circuit Description

Heated oxygen sensors (HO2S) are used for fuel control and post catalyst monitoring. Each HO2S compares the oxygen content of the surrounding air with the oxygen content in the exhaust stream. The HO2S must reach operating temperature to provide an accurate voltage signal. Heating elements inside the HO2S minimize the time required for the sensors to reach operating temperature. The powertrain control module (PCM) supplies the HO2S with a reference, or bias, voltage of about 450 mV. When the engine is first started the PCM operates in open loop, ignoring the HO2S voltage signal. Once the HO2S reaches operating temperature and closed loop is achieved, the HO2S generates a voltage within a range of 0-1,000 mV that fluctuates above and below bias voltage. High HO2S voltage indicates a rich exhaust stream; low HO2S voltage indicates a lean exhaust stream. This diagnostic will only run once per ignition cycle. The PCM monitors the rich-to-lean and lean-to-rich transition time. A transition is defined as, the HO2S voltage changes from above 625 mV to below 250 mV or from below 250 mV to above 625 mV. If the PCM detects that the transition time is too long, DTC P0133 sets for HO2S bank 1 sensor 1 or DTC P0153 sets for HO2S bank 2 sensor 1.