Different types of O2 Sensors

Online, February 25, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Are you one of those people who like to know everything about their cars? Then let us give you some information about O2 sensors. In case you don't know, oxygen sensor is a device fitted to fix the oil/air ratio in the car. This is a very important tool for any car as it ensures an efficient usage of fuel, better performance by the engine and lesser pollution from the car.

There are various different types of oxygen sensors available out there. You will find three categories of sensors in the market - zirconia O2 sensors, titania O2 sensors and wide band O2 sensors.

Zirconia is the most common type of air fuel ratio sensor out there. It comes in two types - Heated and unheated. The unheated zirconia sensor is the first oxygen sensors to be created. This sensor relies on the heat coming from the exhaust to heat up. Thus, it takes a lot of time for this sensor to create a signal. This type of sensors cool down when the vehicle stops and don't produce the signal which may cause the engine to go back to the previous setting i.e. older, wrong gas/oxygen ratio setting.

The heated zirconia oxygen sensors have a heater circuit which automatically heats up the sensor within a minute of the car's start. This allows the engine to receive signals from the sensor much sooner. This decreases the cold-start smoke coming out of the car's exhaust. This type of sensor doesn't cool down when car stops and thus, no false or wrong signals are sent to the engine's computer.

The second category of oxygen sensor is Titania O2 sensor which is made of different kind of ceramic than zirconia sensors. The method to send signal of this O2 sensor is much different as instead of creating voltage, it lowers its resistance when the fuel is rich in fuel and increase the resistance when it is lean. A base voltage is supplied by the computer of the engine which is used as the base reference to read the changes in the sensor. This kind of sensor is used in limited models of cars.

Some latest car manufacturers are now using a Wide Band O2 sensor. This sensor creates a higher level of voltage that changes the ratio of gas and oxygen in its direct proportion. Instead of creating rich and lean mixtures repeatedly, this kind of sensor creates the perfect ratio and helps the engine to stay on this balance.

It is important to know that the fuel and oxygen ratio can differ from one type of car to another. The model of the oxygen sensor can also change, but it will be a part of one of these categories only. By knowing the type of oxygen sensor used in your car, you can understand its functions beter.

For more info: http://www.o2sensorsdirect.com