well, check engine light with a 32 code is still blinking at me but now my mileage has gone from 31 to 33!!!! i would think if the 02 sensor was bad the car would run rich, right? shall i not worry about it then or find someone with the electrical test stuff to test it? also, have noticed a little bit of pinging...am running 87 octance....just the regular stuff...

bump

well, check engine light with a 32 code is still blinking at me but now my mileage has gone from 31 to 33!!!! i would think if the 02 sensor was bad the car would run rich, right? shall i not worry about it then or find someone with the electrical test stuff to test it? also, have noticed a little bit of pinging...am running 87 octance....just the regular stuff...

No thoughts on the 32 code, but the pinging could be due to too much advance, check the timing....or cheap gas. I've found I had to stay away from Arco, Tesoro, Costco...all the off brand regular grade gasolines because they would make my car ping like crazy. I've learned to stick to Shell or Chevron (only two local name brands).

i do use chevron regular stuff...

Using less fuel and pinging?... you're running lean, and yes a bad O2 sensor could cause it. Dont wait to long to fix it either, you'll kill the engine.

 

Gary

Using less fuel and pinging?... you're running lean, and yes a bad O2 sensor could cause it. Dont wait to long to fix it either, you'll kill the engine.

 

Gary

 

My engine isn't pinging, but I run premium - I've never replaced an O2 sensor before except in our 88 Suburban - does an engine from an 85 GL wagon have one even? (The car is an 86, but the engine is an 85 EA82)

hmm, how could a o2 sensor(bosch) go bad in less then 3months????????

I vote for the O2 sensor as well. If it is contaminated, and giving the computer a "running rich" signal, the computer will try to lean out the mixture as much as possible, to no avail, because the O2 sensor is still reading too high of a voltage. (.8-.9 volts means rich, .1-.2 volts means lean). The leaner the mixture, the hotter it runs, causing it to detonate in the cylinder.

 

What can cause an o2 sensor to go bad like that can be contaminants from leaking oil onto the outside of it, burning too much oil in the engine, burning coolant can contaminate it, and also can cause the element to actually crack.

you could try measuring the resistance between the exhaust pipe and the negative cable. It could be that you don't have a good connection, which is causing the ECU to have trouble reading the values.