DTC P0133 & P0153: Ho2S Circuit - Slow Response - Bank 1 & 2, Sensor 1: Description

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2002 GMC Savana and 2002 Chevrolet Chevy Express. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The Heated Oxygen Sensor (HO2S) is a sensor designed to create a voltage relative to the oxygen content in the engine exhaust stream. The control module supplies the HO2S with signal high and low circuits. Ignition voltage and ground are supplied to the HO2S heater by independent circuits. The oxygen content of the exhaust indicates when the engine is operating lean or rich. When the HO2S detects that the engine is operating rich, the signal voltage is high, and decreases the signal voltage as the engine runs leaner. This oscillation above and below the bias voltage, sometimes referred to as activity or switching, can be monitored with the HO2S signal voltage. The HO2S contains a heater that is necessary in order to quickly warm the sensor to operating temperature. The heater also maintains the operating temperature during extended idle conditions. The HO2S needs to be at a high temperature in order to produce a voltage. When the HO2S reaches operating temperature, the control module monitors the HO2S bias, or reference, voltage. The control module also monitors the HO2S signal voltage for Closed Loop fuel control. During normal Closed Loop control operation, the control module will add fuel, or enrich the mixture, when the HO2S detects a lean exhaust content. The control module will subtract fuel, or lean out the mixture, when the HO2S detects a rich exhaust condition. This DTC is designed to detect a HO2S that is lazy or slow when switching from lean to rich or from rich to lean. The DTC is set when the average transition time is too long.