How To Clean Oxygen Sensor Effectively And Efficiently
An oxygen sensor calculates the volume of released emission through exhaust and sends this information to the car’s onboard diagnostics system (OBD-II). Since these sensors are consistently in use, they can accumulate a certain buildup. Though there is no need for cleaning a sensor too frequently, occasional cleaning ensures that it is doing its job properly.
This is a guide on how to clean oxygen sensor in your car. Let’s start with a more detailed overview of how an unclean sensor fails to do its job.
What Happens When the Oxygen Sensor is Dirty?
An oxygen sensor in your vehicle measures the level of oxygen in the engine to ensure optimal performance. Part of the emission system monitors the emissions from your car by maintaining a healthy fuel and air ratio. With a bad sensor, there will be no way to measure and maintain that ratio. Moreover, cars become less fuel-efficient with a bad oxygen sensor.
A vehicle’s internal combustion functions by burning the fuel. This is possible when the ideal ratio of oxygen and gas, 14.7:1 in most cases, is maintained. If the oxygen ratio isn’t ideal the vehicle uses excessive gas, the fuel efficiency may reduce up to 40%.
A car’s engine running on a ratio of excessive air and less fuel is said to have a lean mixture. This mixture yields nitrogen-oxide pollutants that hinder acceleration and may damage the engine. If the car’s engine is running on excessive fuel with less air ratio, it is said to have a rich mixture. A rich mixture causes your vehicle to pollute the air and heat up too quickly.
Both lean and rich mixtures are damaging to the engine and result in poor mileage. A dirty oxygen sensor is a major culprit in both cases.
What Causes Dirt on the Oxygen Sensor?
Since oxygen sensors are integrated in the exhaust system of your vehicles, they are prone to getting dirty. Toxic gases including Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrocarbon (HC) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and fuel contaminate the sensor and impact its performance.
An oxygen sensor’s performance is also affected if there is an unnecessary build-up of soot in its ceramic parts. It may also affect the response time. Besides, there are other types of contaminants that may cause an oxygen sensor to fail or lower its performance:
- Using low-quality fuel reduces the sensor’s life due to the high percentage of lead.
- The internal engine coolant leak causes silicates to enter the exhaust and damage the oxygen sensor.
- Excessive oil consumption produces phosphorus which makes its way through the exhaust.
How to Clean Oxygen Sensor
One of the best ways to avoid all the aforementioned issues is to ensure regular cleaning of the oxygen sensor. You can do it yourself without professional help. Here are some of the effective ways detailed to clean oxygen sensor:
How to Clean Oxygen Sensor using a Solvent
There are many solvents available in the market used specifically for dissolving grime and buildup accumulated on various parts of automobiles. These solvents do not damage other parts of the vehicle. So when it comes to how to clean an oxygen sensor, you can use a solvent. The solvents may serve as an effective car oxygen sensor cleaner.
You will also need some equipment to facilitate oxygen sensor cleaning. This includes emission system cleaners, also known as catalytic converter cleaner and a container of the fuel used in your vehicle.
Here are the 3 simple steps to clean oxygen sensor using a solvent:
- Buy the product that suits your vehicle’s engine. Some solvents are suitable for diesel while others are for petrol engines. Don’t forget to read the description.
- Read and follow the instructions on the manual or the bottle. Some products can only be used with no or specified amount of fuel in a vehicle’s tank. All such details are usually mentioned in the instruction set.
- Drive your vehicle to spread the solvent evenly. How many miles you should cover to circulate it and other related information vary from brand to brand.
How to Clean Oxygen Sensor using Petrol
Petrol has strong components that protect engines from grime deposits. Cleaning different types of oxygen sensors using gasoline is a bit tricky as compared to other cleaning methods. First, you will have to remove the oxygen sensor from the vehicle. The car should be idle hours before so that the engine is cool and can be jacked up. Make sure you are working in a ventilated area free of smoke or sparks. Wear a mask to avoid inhaling toxic vapours.
Follow these steps to clean oxygen sensor using petrol:
- Keep the shop towel on the floor to place the parts.
- Spray the penetrating oil on the sensors to avoid grease on your elbow.
- Remove the oxygen sensor using its wrench and put the sensor on the shop towel.
- Fill the led canister with gasoline but below the brim to avoid overflowing.
- Put the oxygen sensor slowly in the canister to avoid splash.
- Add more gasoline if the sensor’s parts are not fully soaked.
- Close the canister lid and shake it gradually to coat the sensor completely with gasoline.
- Keep the sensor soaked overnight so that the dirt is completely dissolved.
- Keep the shop towel on the floor to place the clean sensors the next day.
- Take the sensor out and clean it with a soft-bristled brush; scrub each component to remove dissolved grime.
- Use paper towels to dry the oxygen sensor.
- Re-install the oxygen sensor.
How to Clean Oxygen Sensor using Blow Torch
The sensor tip may have a layer of carbon due to the heat produced by the vehicle and emitted through the exhaust. Solvents may not effectively dissolve this layer, so a blow torch can be used. Here are the steps on how to clean an oxygen sensor using a blow torch:
- Heat the sensor tip.
- Take the torch close to the tip and don’t move it till the sensor tip turns red.
- Put the sensor tip into the water.
- Blow compressed air to clean the tip.
- The carbon layer will then dissolve.
Repeat the procedure till the carbon layers are not fully dissolved and all deposits are removed.
How to Clean Oxygen Sensor using Electronic Cleaner
Using an electronic oxygen sensor cleaner may prove effective for removing oil and fuel toxins. Besides, no deposits are on the sensor even after drying. The steps in how to clean an oxygen sensor using an electronic cleaner are simple.
Just spray the cleaner on the car oxygen sensor, while keeping a proper distance between the electronic cleaner and sensor. Remember to wear gloves and protective goggles.
When to clean the oxygen sensor
Cars that aren’t driven more frequently may need oxygen sensor cleaning once a year. However, vehicles in daily use may need maintenance and cleaning of parts more often. Generally, an oxygen sensor’s life is between 30,000 miles to 100,000+ miles.
The check engine light usually indicates if there is a problem with the sensor. Other signs that indicate the need to clean the oxygen sensor may include:
- Exhaust smoke
- Poor acceleration and rough idling
- Higher fuel consumption
An OBD-II scanner also helps detect dirty units and the error code will indicate the problem in your vehicle’s emission system.
The cost of cleaning the oxygen sensor is not too high, but it depends on the extent of build-up and the method you choose. If the sensor of your vehicle is completely damaged, you can then buy another oxygen sensor. In case it’s non-replaceable due to which your vehicle needs major and expensive repairs, you might consider buying another car. You can check out used cars for sale in Dubai, in case budget is an issue.
Stay tuned to UAE’s leading auto blog for more car care and maintenance tips.
