Hi,
My “service engine soon” light was on and the computer said that I have to replace the oxygen sensor. I bought a universal sensor online and got it today. The thing is that the colors I have in my car are different than the ones in the part I just bought. In my car I have 2 blacks one blue and one white. In the new part I have 2 whites one brown and one black. How do I know which wire goes to which?
Thanks
Well that’ll be a little easier if you at least tell us what make, model, and year of car you’re working with.
I think as a general rule, if you don’t know specifically what wires on the O2 sensor do what, it’s a bad idea to try and guess.
I have a Mitsubishi galant 2001 2.4 liters.
You received no paperwork with the universal sensor, documenting the functions of each wire?
Typically, the white wires are + / - for the sensor’s heater element, and their polarity doesn’t matter. It’s safe to assume that these connect to the two black wires on your car’s harness.
The black and brown are trickier. They are for the O2 sensor output voltage and have to be connected correctly. If I were a bettin’ man, I’d say that the brown on the O2 sensor connects to blue on your car, and black on the sensor connects to the white on your car.
Which O-2 code was it? Lean/rich/circuit open/slow response?
It does make a difference.