Date:         Wed, 19 Feb 2003 19:29:05 -0800
Reply-To:     Mike Pedersen <mikeped@SHAW.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Pedersen <mikeped@SHAW.CA>
Subject:      Re: Running Rich - O2 sensor reading low?
Comments: To: THX0001@AOL.COM
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Thanks George,

Not only did I add to my Vanagon knowledge, I added to my vocabulary as
well.  Word of the day be damned...

Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "George Goff" <THX0001@AOL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2003 4:34 PM
Subject: Re: Running Rich - O2 sensor reading low?


> In a message dated 2/18/03 11:37:15 AM, vannman99@YAHOO.COM writes:
>
> << I guess my question is what could cause a new O2
> sensor to read so low? >>
>
> Jeff, my man, check for a hinky injector.  I only suggest this because I
was
> occasionally enduring the same symptoms which you described, except that
it
> sometimes took a couple of reboots to get the van running properly.
> Yesterday, on a slight but long grade, the throttle got flabby again but,
the
> van would not submit to the magical powers of The Restart.  The good news
was
> that it was acting the same dead cold or fully hot so that ruled out a lot
of
> the fuel injection control system.
>
> Before I worked on it today, I drove it around a bit with what seemed like
a
> slight misfire and the attendant lack of zip.  After going through the
> ignition system and only finding that it was running rich, I turned my
> attention to the fuel injection.  For the hell of it, I pulled the plugs
from
> the injectors one at a time to see if one of them was blatantly bad.
> Hallelujah!  The third one I pulled made no change.  When I metered it, it
> showed an open coil.
>
> In answer to your question, the O2 sensor might be DOA, or, a cylinder
with a
> queefed out injector would just be pumping air which would lean the
exhaust.
> Then why was my van running rich with a bad injector, you ask?  Because
the
> OXS was detecting a lean mixture and the ECU was trying to arrive at the
> proper mix by bathing the 3 good cylinders with excessive fuel.
>
> You know, I am amazed how well these things run on 3 holes.
>
> George
>