ok im pretty much a straight up moron so um.. what the hell does the o2 sensor do anywaays??? cause mine isnt connected and i think its broken. i dont even know if i have a wire to connect it to.. the computer was taken out of my car.

 

If your car is not computer controlled then im pretty sure you don't even need the o2 sensor but just to make sure wait for someone else to confirm this.

 

but what does it do??? detect what..

 

It measures the oxygen content in the exhaust.

 

It's there to detect the air/fuel mixture.

Optimum mixture is 14.7:1 at sea level. The computer uses the O2 sensor (Oxygen is what the "O" means) to sense what the ratio is based on what condition the exhaust is in.

It sends this info to the ECM by voltage. If the computer sees the voltage move from it's pre-programmed setting, it tells the injectors to give the engine either more fuel or less so the ratio stays close to 14.7:1

If you don't have the ECM anymore then the O2 sensor is just there to plug the hole.

 

my car isnt even fuel injected....

 

and by doing so determines if the mixture burned clean/rich/lean. to give you an example of its effect, my 92 TA was getting 11mpg mixed driving before i replaced it, and two weeks later i was at 17ish. if your O2 sensor is more than 50,000 miles old i'd suggest replacing it.

 

Here...... I found this a while ago, I just forgot about it.

http://howstuffworks.lycoszone.com/question257.htm

 

wow thanks!

 

Then don't worry about it. If you don't have fuel injection, then you don't need one.

I was under the impression that you wanted to learn about it regardless of whether you needed one.

 

im pretty stupid, i still know the basics of an engine (what everything is/does etc. ) but i went to that site and learned more then i would have in a month. WOW should post that for all the NEWBS!!!! w00t w00t!!

 

I don't have fuel injection, and I need one...

It's the feedback in a closed-loop, electronic fuel control system. All 3rd gens (delivered in the US, anyway), had an O2 sensor from the factory, whether carb, throttle body injection, or tuned port injection.

 

You're right..... I should have said "ECM" (which I thought I had earlier )