Hi all,

 

Apologies this is my first post, but I have came here as I need some help/advise from you guys who are a lot more experienced than I am... This is my first car, and I honestly don't know much about cars at all!

 

My car has had an orange solid engine light for a few months, and I have finally got around to fixing it, as my MOT is due...

When plugging a scanner into my car, it gives off the following errors:

P0132 - O2 Sensor Circuit High Voltage (bank 1 Sensor 1)

P0030 - HO2S Heater Control Circuit Error (Bank 1 Sensor 1)

 

My mechanic thinks it is either an O2 Sensor/Lambda sensor, but my friend who works at fords thinks it could be something worse such as oil spilled onto the wiring looms.. 

Car is getting 37 MPG, and I've owned it for 11 months, and it's went from 22,000 miles to 30,000 miles during that time. I had it serviced a few months ago, and I don't tend to drive long journeys too often (My workplace is 2 miles from my home).

 

from the failed MOT report:

Repair immediately (major defects):

• Exhaust hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (8.2.1.2 (a))
• Exhaust carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (8.2.1.2 (b))
• Exhaust Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (8.2.1.2 (c))
• Exhaust carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds default limits (8.2.1.2 (b))
• Exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (8.2.1.2 (b))
• Exhaust hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (8.2.1.2 (b))

 

Change the spark plugs and air filter

Fill up with Tesco E5

Take it for a good blast and hold the revs over 4,500 RPM for a while

Take it straight back for retest

1 minute ago, DaveT70 said:

Change the spark plugs and air filter

Fill up with Tesco E5

Take it for a good blast and hold the revs over 4,500 RPM for a while

Take it straight back for retest

Hi mate,

 

Thanks for your reply. Will this "fix" the issue, or just help to temporarily pass an MOT? 

Do you think what my mechanic says, about the lambda sensor, is wrong, and I should be changing spark plugs & air filter instead?

Does any one know a rough cost for this so I can avoid being ripped off :)? 

 

My friend who works at a Ford garage is going to help me pass this MOT tomorrow, but would like the issues fixing so it doesn't effect me in the long-run! 

it shows a CAT sensor died- illuminates the EML in line with said fault - and fails its MOT

so lets not check / swap them out - let hope magic happens....  NOT

@DaveT70's suggestion (but it's for petrol and I'm used to diesel) seems fine as it looks like an emissions issue and an Italian Tune Up (is this the rationale Dave or will that running regime fix the sensor too?) after new plugs and air filter may well fix it (especially if they haven't been done for a while?) providing there isn't an ongoing fault at the Lambda sensor or the wiring?

This site gives lots of potential faults and I believe those sensors can be tested quite simply:
https://www.dtcdecode.com/Ford/P0030

and for testing?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CviauEqXTLk

and:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3l04Pjzb_E

Then powers and grounds and any wiring issues if you clear the fault codes and they return immediately?

Interested in the outcome of this one...

1 minute ago, Botus said:

it shows a CAT sensor died- illuminates the EML in line with said fault - and fails its MOT

so lets not check / swap them out - let hope magic happens....  NOT

I'm sorry but my autism generally means I can't get a grasp on sarcasm, I assume this is sarcastic? 

2 minutes ago, Shearers said:

@DaveT70's suggestion (but it's for petrol and I'm used to diesel) seems fine as it looks like an emissions issue and an Italian Tune Up (is this the rationale Dave or will that running regime fix the sensor too?) after new plugs and air filter may well fix it (especially if they haven't been done for a while?) providing there isn't an ongoing fault at the Lambda sensor or the wiring?

This site gives lots of potential faults and I believe those sensors can be tested quite simply:
https://www.dtcdecode.com/Ford/P0030

and for testing?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CviauEqXTLk

and:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3l04Pjzb_E

Then powers and grounds and any wiring issues if you clear the fault codes and they return immediately?

Interested in the outcome of this one...

Hi mate,

 

I have cleared the codes, they generally re-appear after 1 or 2 days. I will look at the links tonight when I get home, I'll be collecting the car shortly from my mechanic and will post the results of the emissions fail on here and hopefully that can help further! 

I'm confused that the mechanic isn't making recommendations and I would hope it wouldn't be just "firing the parts cannon" (explaining my slight sarcasm...) i.e. just change sensor, without at least checking the powers/grounds/heater connections so that it will be a definite fix if the sensor was changed.
That's why I say test sensor then if that appears sound rule out any wiring fault?

I'm not an expert on this but can only say what I would do as a starting point.

45 minutes ago, Shearers said:

I'm confused that the mechanic isn't making recommendations and I would hope it wouldn't be just "firing the parts cannon" (explaining my slight sarcasm...) i.e. just change sensor, without at least checking the powers/grounds/heater connections so that it will be a definite fix if the sensor was changed.
That's why I say test sensor then if that appears sound rule out any wiring fault?

I'm not an expert on this but can only say what I would do as a starting point.

Sorry lol that went right over my head.

 

I've just collected my car and he said the Lambda sensor 1 is definitely cabbaged, and will need replacing, whether that will "fix" the issue is another question... But it DOES need replacing. £70 parts, and £20 labour.

 

Just got my results of emissions back, see here:

 

 

many sensors on cars are Bosch - its ALL budget designed to fail junk

most CAT sensors have a heater circuit as part of how they function - this is often the bit that gives up - no amount of an Italian tune up can repair that failure

 

when you get the error code you look up what it means - they both point towards the normal failure mode of a CAT sensor

code P0132  The oxygen sensor heater circuit is shorted out or wiring fault

code P0030 Heater circuit element inside the Heated Oxygen Sensor (HO2S) open or shorted

what the sensor does in life....

The oxygen sensor transmits information regarding the oxygen levels in the exhaust to the Engine’s control module (ECM) which regulates the engine’s fuelling after receiving information about said oxygen levels.  Heating up of the oxygen sensor allows the sensor to transport information faster, hence improving the ECM’s efficiency in regulating fuel supply, also known as the closing loop. A shorter turnaround time for closing the loop means lower levels of emissions. 

with euro 4 stds usually two sensors on the CAT - one beforehand sniffs the exhaust to control fuelling and the post CAT sensor verifies the first one is still bothering to do its job properly - thus the second downstream one is really there just to ensure the CAT survived the mess of the first one dying - until recently, bikes that run behind the cars emission stds, never had the check of whether the CAT is still working - which was the euro 3 joke

 

 

These days, the £90 quoted is cheap, especially the labour part (15 min?)

However I would always like to confirm that any sensor is faulty before replacing it as there must be loads of perfectly good kit replaced by "professionals" (sorry) that doesn't fix the problem but is simply added on to the customers bill because parts are just fitted until it is fixed. The risk is that the root cause is never understood or a wiring fault or pipework blockage etc. means that no amount of parts changing will resolve the problem - just my views.
Hopefully, this relatively cheap fix will make it all go away - do let us know!

the liars pretended a service life of 200k miles and 10 years for CAT sensors

certainly 10 years was a common timeline for them to fail - but the crooks weren't stopped with their deliberate scams making faulty parts... so they have just pushed the boundaries and make them die even quicker....  

look on aliexpress selling for £12.99 rather then the £120 scum in the UK charge - and they will probably last longer

anyone ever wondered why so many big car brands still only get a 3 year warranty in the UK ?  ... they fit so much rubbish on them they'd go broke if they gave the 7 or 8 year warranty real companies have offered for at least the last 5 years.....

 

17 hours ago, CJacko97 said:

Thanks for your reply. Will this "fix" the issue, or just help to temporarily pass an MOT? 

Definitely get you through MOT, possibly fix.

I forgot to say, you'll need to clear the DTC before you go back for emissions retest