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[Abiton]

Is there any way to assess the health or otherwise of the lambda/O2 sensor on my Omega. I believe it could be investigated with a "Tech1" reader (1996 car), but can that actually detect a 'poorly'-but-not-sick-enough-to light-the-EML situation?

Fuel economy not what it was...

Anyone near me got Tech1 anyway?
I could probably cobble together the necessary hardware to get a data stream out of the ECU, but is the software available to make any sense of it?

TIA  .

[TheBoy]

Is there any way to assess the health or otherwise of the lambda/O2 sensor on my Omega. I believe it could be investigated with a "Tech1" reader (1996 car), but can that actually detect a 'poorly'-but-not-sick-enough-to light-the-EML situation?

Fuel economy not what it was...

Anyone near me got Tech1 anyway?
I could probably cobble together the necessary hardware to get a data stream out of the ECU, but is the software available to make any sense of it?

TIA  .

Only person I know in Oxfordshire with a Tech1 is leaving the country tomorrow!

Not sure a Tech1's live data is fast enough to see the lamda switching, so possibly not conclusive anyway

[magnul]

If you have a decent voltmeter (or even better an oscilloscope) you can check the sensor yourself. You'll have to pierce through the black wire from the sensor, and measure towards ground with engine running. Healthy sensor should fluctuate without hesitation between ~0.2V and ~4.6V about once a second.

[Abiton]

Ah, excellent.  Very helpful responses gentlemen.  I have access to a 'scope so I can have a look soon.  So what will the sensor do if it's less than healthy?  Will it cycle slower/faster, or through a smaller/larger voltage range, or what?

[TheBoy]

Not sure what a failing (but not failed) sensor would do - it would still cycle, as the ecu is adjusting fueling based on the reading, until its failed enough for the reading to be flagged as unlikely...

[magnul]

I had my gradually failing sensor under surveilance for a while until it failed completely. The most pronounced difference was that the peak voltage gradually decreased (first to 3.5V and after a while even lower). The voltage still fluctuated, but somewhat slower. A reference for a perfectly healthy titaniasensor is shown here:
http://www.picotech.com/auto/lambda_sensor.html

[TheBoy]

I had my gradually failing sensor under surveilance for a while until it failed completely. The most pronounced difference was that the peak voltage gradually decreased (first to 3.5V and after a while even lower). The voltage still fluctuated, but somewhat slower. A reference for a perfectly healthy titaniasensor is shown here:
http://www.picotech.com/auto/lambda_sensor.html

[Abiton]

That's a very helpful link, thanks magnul  .

For all I know the sensor is original, and at 143K on the clock, surely due for renewal, especially as we had a problem with the CTS last year.

It will be good to have a look and see what it's doing though, since they're not dirt-cheap.

Thanks a lot fellas.