What is an oxygen sensor (lambda probe) and what is it for?

To ensure that the fuel is completely burned in the engine chamber, an exact proportion of air to gasoline is needed. Due to this dosage, the machine releases the least amount of harmful gases. This is useful not only for the environment, but for the motor itself. And that this ratio was always correct, and if necessary, the driver carried out diagnostics / repair of the car, there is a special oxygen sensor (lambda probe - its second name). Today we will talk about it.

Principle of operation

With the help of the electronic engine control unit (each vehicle is equipped with it), the system determines the required dosage of fuel in the combustion chamber. Lambda sensor, in turn, is a kind of feedback, through which the electronic unit produces a certain amount of gasoline, prepared for ignition in the cylinders. The amount of fuel consumed depends on the accuracy of the dosage. If this figure exceeds the permissible norm, it means that gasoline burns in the chamber not completely, and some percent of fuel simply flies into the pipe, harming not only the driver (from an economic point of view) but also nature.

It is also worth noting that in all modern brands of machines there are special catalytic converters. In them, the exhaust gases pass through several stages of filtration, after which they enter the automotive catalyst and exit through the silencer. This allows the car to cause less damage to nature, so foreign manufacturers are compulsorily manning their cars with this device.

The oxygen sensor (lambda probe) and its malfunction

Sometimes drivers are faced with the problem of breakage of this device, but not all of them respond in time to the situation. If you notice an inflated fuel consumption, and your car only met the Euro-1 standard for emissions, this means that the whole problem lies in this spare part. The oxygen sensor (lambda probe) can also signal itself for its failure. In this case, the "check engine" light is on the instrument panel (which literally means "check the engine"), which warns of possible malfunctions in the electronic control unit system. But this does not always happen - the sensor can lie, especially for vehicles with gas-cylinder equipment. Therefore, if your "iron friend" is working on propane or methane, you should not react so sharply to this signal.

What should I do if I break down?

If you find a malfunction or doubt it, contact the service station and order a diagnostic service. There the masters will check whether the oxygen sensor (lambda probe) is OK or not. For diagnostics, special equipment is used, which, when the motor is running, determines the characteristic of the exhausts at different engine speeds. There is no other way out of the situation, so if the sensor breaks, it's simply impossible to solve the problem yourself (unless you have the same equipment).