Gasoline engines run best when the air-fuel mixture is accurate. The air-fuel
mixture must be controlled to reduce exhaust pollutant emissions. This is the
reason why every modern vehicle including your Dodge vehicle and most cars produced
after 1980 are equipped with an oxygen sensor. Oxygen sensor is part of the emissions
control system and feeds data to the engine management computer. The catalytic
converter, also an important part for emission control, also likes a controlled
lean air-fuel mixture. The purpose of your Dodge oxygen sensor is to help the
engine run as efficiently as possible and also to produce as few emissions as
possible.
How do they perform this task? Oxygen sensors detect the air-fuel mixture of
a gasoline engine by measuring the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas. There
is a specific ratio of air and gasoline that is perfect, and that ratio is 14.7:1
(different fuels have different perfect ratios — the ratio depends on the amount
of hydrogen and carbon found in a given amount of fuel). If there is less air
than this perfect ratio, then there will be fuel left over after combustion.
This is called a rich mixture. Rich mixtures are dreadful because the unburned
fuel produces pollution.
On the other hand, if there is more air than this perfect ratio, then there is
excess in oxygen, and this is called lean mixture. A lean mixture tends to produce
more nitrogen-oxide pollutants, and, in some cases, it causes poor performance
and even engine damage. The fuel-injection system will trim the mixture richer
or leaner based on the signal from the oxygen sensor. The engine's computer looks
at the voltage to determine if the mixture is rich and lean, and adjusts the amount
of fuel entering the engine accordingly. This assures that the engine will be
given not just the best possible fuel economy but the lowest possible exhaust
emissions as well. Dodge oxygen sensors requires a high temperature (>350 C) to
operate.
Sensors are usually mounted in the exhaust manifold, where the hot exhaust gases
will pass by it. When the oxygen sensor fails, the computer can no longer detect
the air-fuel ratio, so it will end up guessing which results to poor car performance
and the bad thing is your auto will demand more fuel than it needs. If this thing
happens, replacing your Dodge oxygen sensors is the single thing you can do. Here
at Parts Train, we will offer you replacement Dodge oxygen sensors that work as
efficient as your factory-equipped Dodge oxygen sensors. Parts Train is among
the auto parts dealer that provides the best solutions to your car parts needs.