Carina E Oxygen Sensor

[DaCarina''E''man]

Hi All

I am completely new to all this so please bear with me. I would like to know if there is anybody out there that can give me advice on how to sort out a problem I am having with my O2 sensor or wiring for same.

I drive a 1995 Carina E 1.6 GLi with the 4A-FE Lean Burn engine with 136,000 hard miles on the clock.

My problem is at the start of November the orange coloured engine check lamp came on within 2 to 3 miles of a cold start and remained on untill the engine had completely warmed up. This continued for about 2 weeks or so. Then it started to come on at the same time but remained on for extended periods before eventually going out.

I checked the fault code and found it to be a fault in the O2 sensor.

I put this down to a faulty heater element within the sensor but, I could not resist investigating further (which is my downfall) so I set about trying to get the resistance of the sensor as per the Haynes Workshop Manual. I could get not reading for the resistance for the heating element as I didn't know which wires were for what (4 Wire Sensor) and then tired to get a voltage reading, which was very erratic, constantly jumping between 0.02mv and 3.3mv (surely not correct!).

The end result after all that was a messed up sensor, now the check lamp was on contineouly under all operating conditions. :ffs:

Afterwards I found out that you are not supposed to check the resistance of zirconium oxygen sensors (bit late now)

The only good thing was that the acceleration was much better than before my woes started with only a slight increase in fuel consumption

I went to my local Toyota Dealer to price a new sensor which I would have a go at fitting myself but at 200 Euro, I told him to keep it!! I eventually picked up one in a breakers yard for 25 Euro, had no idea whether it was working or not but for that money it was worth a gamble. There was however white deposits on the outside of it from what I just don't know.

Anyway I fitted the sensor this morning, cleared the fault codes in the memory, started the engine and..... bingo! no check light on. Went for a test spin of about 5 miles, acceleration and pulling power in the high gears excellent , all sorted!, or so I thought!

Went on a round trip later in the day and all was fine untill the check light came on AGAIN! :censor: after 10 miles Grrrrrrrrr!!!!. Switched off the engine and restarted again and the check light stayed off, but, came on again after a further 10 miles. Got home read the diagnostic code and same thing O2 fault. F#*k

I then bridged the circuit in the diagnostic plug to activate the test mode and went for a good 15 mile burn, mixture of hard and slow driving,over smooth and very rough terrain, put the engine under load also. Got back home and went to check what was stored in the memory and this time was : " Starter Signal" and "Vehicle Speed Indicator" nothing about the oxygen sensor, hope the god damned thing is sorted.....lol

But whats the story with these new faults that I am getting, and is the O2 sensor prob likely to be sorted?

I would love to hear from anybody with similar experiences and what ye have done to sort them out, or any auto electrican who can advise me what to do next.

The only good thing is that it is a rocket on the road now unlike before, but I hope that it is not at the expense of fuel economy, which I won't know for at least another week. But I am afraid that is probably running at 14:7 :1 instead of the leaner mixtures as it should be at the slower speeds. I have the MOT coming up in a few months so have to get it sorted.

Sorry for having this so long winded but PLEASE HELP!!

REGARDS ALAN

[Wombleman]

A really common (and expensive) fault on the Carina e. 200 euro is quite good - common prices in England are 300 sterling.

Check through the other threads (it causes everyone a headache) for the right sensor. From what I gather the car runs OK (or better) with a faulty sensor but at the expense of either a Cat failure or MOT emissions failure.

PS I've 129,000 on my Carina - check your power steering fluid - another expensive problem

[DaCarina''E''man]

A really common (and expensive) fault on the Carina e. 200 euro is quite good - common prices in England are 300 sterling.

Check through the other threads (it causes everyone a headache) for the right sensor. From what I gather the car runs OK (or better) with a faulty sensor but at the expense of either a Cat failure or MOT emissions failure.

PS I've 129,000 on my Carina - check your power steering fluid - another expensive problem

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Thank you for your response Wombleman. Fortunately I have had no problem fitting the O2 sensor that I got from the breakers yard but, the check lamp still persists on coming on after 10-12 miles driving from a cold start and, sooner from a warm start, which baffles me.

I have had no trouble with power steering or any other component but I think that my windscreen wiper linkage arms are the next item that I will have to replace as the wiper arms are clattering off the top end of the bonnett, so another trip to the breakers yard

[GT4 BOOSTER]

take the efi fuse out for 30 seconds, resetting the ecu may rid the faults and turn the light off.

[dgo_carina]

dear dacarina"E" man,

All sounds v. familiar. I had warning light on and had 2nd hand oxygen sensor fittd on Lean Burn 1.6 engine.

£25 quid & it worked.. mind you it was a long time getting oxygen sesnor & I also sold the car not long after. i decided 140,000 of bad family motoring it was time to glet the lil pal go for £600.

Also power steering pump went at 138k miles (top tip - fit genuine Totota 2 part set - pump and housing-well worth the extra £20 quid).

Moved on to 2.0 gti... had suspension problems, new cluctch and still have a strange creak on turning corners.... possibly sunroff related :)

Obsessive Carina fan,

david

[Beardie]

Another check is your TPS sensor. If this is faulty it will also trigger the EFI lamp but not give a Fault code for it. I've similar issues that i live with, having replaced my o2 sensor with a spanking new one. I've seen many threads on this and am not convinced the o2 sensor is to blame on all occasions. You could connect a 0-1v meter to the wiring and check that it is working by monitoring the readings or have a led bar strip wired up (a few quid from maplins). That way you monitor the sensor all the time. Have fun. The MOT will not pick it up if it does not light up during emissions test.

[DaCarina''E''man]

take the efi fuse out for 30 seconds, resetting the ecu may rid the faults and turn the light off.

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Thanks for responding Maleborn. I have taken out the fuse and or dissconected the Battery on a few occasions and that does clear the faults in memory but, after 10 to 12 miles it registers the same fault again. I just can't understand why after 12 miles, I mean if there was something wrong with it, it would show up shortly after startup

Anyway thanks again

[DaCarina''E''man]

dear dacarina"E" man,

All sounds v. familiar. I had warning light on and had 2nd hand oxygen sensor fittd on Lean Burn 1.6 engine.

£25 quid & it worked.. mind you it was a long time getting oxygen sesnor & I also sold the car not long after. i decided 140,000 of bad family motoring it was time to glet the lil pal go for £600.

Also power steering pump went at 138k miles (top tip - fit genuine Totota 2 part set - pump and housing-well worth the extra £20 quid).

Moved on to 2.0 gti... had suspension problems, new cluctch and still have a strange creak on turning corners.... possibly sunroff related :)

Obsessive Carina fan,

david

←

Hey there,

I also love the Carina E to the point of obsession.....lol. This is the first major prob I have had with mine. I had a wiper motor replaced under warranty at 75,000 miles and one rear bushing. Another minor fault that comes up from time to time is the blowing of head and taillamp bulbs, other than that I love the car to bits. But I do drive it very hard (often hit the limitor) but I service it well, every 5000 miles and I use Castrol GTX Magnatec 10w-40 and genuine Toyota filter, and take it to main dealer every year and a half or so.

I want to drive it untill it stops, as I don't think that there is no car out there as good as the Carina E. I even know a person who lives me that has a 93 2.0 Diesel one, with over 350,000 miles on the clock

Regards

[DaCarina''E''man]

Another check is your TPS sensor. If this is faulty it will also trigger the EFI lamp but not give a Fault code for it. I've similar issues that i live with, having replaced my o2 sensor with a spanking new one. I've seen many threads on this and am not convinced the o2 sensor is to blame on all occasions. You could connect a 0-1v meter to the wiring and check that it is working by monitoring the readings or have a led bar strip wired up (a few quid from maplins). That way you monitor the sensor all the time.  Have fun. The MOT will not pick it up if it does not light up during emissions test.

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Hello Beardie,

Thank you for tyour reply. I assume that the TPS sensor is the Throttle Position Sensor? I find it difficult to connect the multimeter as the tips of the multimeter probes keeps slipping off the spades in the sensor plug, therefore it is difficult to get an accurate reading. I know the readings are supposed to jump very quickily between 0.03 and 0.08 mv or so , another thing is, I assume that the engine has to be running while the multimeter is connected?

Regards