engine light fault 18?

[nick118]

hello everyone

my engine light came on today as i drove to work, i took it straight to the garage to get looked at and there diagnostic machine has said its dtc 18 : upstream oxygen sensor heating circuit. open circuit

does anyone know what this is? it only seem to effect the car when you first start it, it coughs and splutters and doesnt want to go anywhere but then seems to be ok after 20 seconds or so?

thanks, nick

 

[sideways danny]

you need a new lambda sensor

 

[blambert]

Buy this:

http://goo.gl/9hB7

And either get under the car and swap it out yourself, or take it to someone to do it for you. It's easy peasy takes less that half an hour. I had the exact same problems as you (CEL light and issues for first few mins), swapped the lambda sensor, completely fixed.

 

[nick118]

ok thanks, is there a guide on here on how to fit them as ive never done one before lol

thanks

 

[nick118]

and does it matter that i have a de cat?

 

[Austin-182]

Lol thats why ur light is on, because u have a decat, ul just hav to live with it

 

[sideways danny]

Lol thats why ur light is on, because u have a decat, ul just hav to live with it

did you not read the bit where he's got a fault code and it's the upstream sensor at fault?

 

[Austin-182]

did you not read the bit where he's got a fault code and it's the upstream sensor at fault?

a) yes but thought id post a stupid coment anyway
b) obviously no, i didnt see that part

 

[sideways danny]

lol

 

[blambert]

ok thanks, is there a guide on here on how to fit them as ive never done one before lol

thanks

You'll need:

- 22mm spanner
- WD40 or other penetrating spray

Get the car up on ramps or stands. I had mine on ramps on a sloped driveway and had plenty of room.

It's easiest to work on from the front but you can get at the from the side.

You can see the cat by looking under, its pretty much in the centre of the car. Get right underneath the car and in front of the cat you'll see the lambda sensor in the left side of the exhaust. You can't miss it there's nothing else near it, it's after the gearbox linkage and before the cat, in the heatshield lined U shaped section as soon as the exhaust comes out of the engine and down to the bottom of the car.

Follow the wire from the sensor, noting it routing. It clips into a clippy thing on the subframe that you need to undo. The connector is in a fiddly spot, I unclipped it using a little screwdriver to lift the catch and pulled it. Make sure it doesn't fall back behind into gearbox territory god knows how you'd get it back out.

Spray the sensor around the thread with loads of WD40 and wait for a bit then undo it with the 22mm spanner. Expect a tough job theyre usually stuck in there pretty tight. You could try running the engine for a bit to get it all hot and try again.

Once it's out repeat the process in reverse. Screw in the new sensor and tighten it up, not sure if you're meant to use copper slip, I didn't as, well, I didn't have any.

Clip the wire back into the subframe clippy thing, be careful to get it so it's clipped in without catching on the wire etc. You'll see what I mean when your doing it.

Follow the same routing and then get the connector plugged in. This was the fiddliest bit for me, you kinda have to improvise. Make sure it's pushed together properly as there's a rubber seal that needs an extra push. You can feel if the catch has gone down to tell if it's in properly.

That's it really, kinda hard to mess up. Should start up first time and have it's silky smooth idle back!