Explore Our Temporary Fix For Bad O2 Sensor (3 Easy Steps)

Are you facing some problems with your O2 sensor? Or your check engine light is turned on? There are some symptoms, and you might wonder if there is any temporary fix for bad O2 sensor.

The signs could be poor fuel economy, failing emissions tests, black smoke, bad egg smell, etc. Now, you can fix this problem with a few tools such as a jack, an O2 removal tool, and a dummy O2 sensor.

Well, that was just the tip of the iceberg. We will discuss the solution step by step in detail in this article. Tag along to learn more.

Materials You Need To Temporary Fix For Bad O2 Sensor

You don’t need to buy many things or special tools to temporarily fix a bad O2 sensor. You just need a few things from your garage. The list includes;

Jack to lift the car
O2 sensor removal tool
And a dummy O2 sensor to replace the O2 sensor

That’s all you need. Other than the dummy O2 sensor, you won’t need to buy anything else.

The price range of a dummy sensor mainly depends on your car model. Usually, the price starts from $15 up to $200.

As you’re just using a dummy sensor for the temporary fix, it won’t be effective for a long time. It might do the work for the next one or couple of weeks, but not more than that.

Now, let’s dive into the solution.

3 Steps to Temporarily Solve Your O2 Sensor Problem

Before temporarily fixing the O2 sensor, you need a few things to remember. Such as cooling down your vehicle. You don’t want to get hurt, do you? No! So, this is your pre-step.

To cool down your car, you need to do the following;

There is a negative battery cable in your terminal. It would be best if you disconnected that.
Loosen the nut from there.
And then there is a clamp which you need to slide away.
It might take a couple of hours to cool down your car completely.

After these previous steps, we can move on to temporarily fix your O2 sensor.

Now that our vehicle is cooled down, we can solve your sensor problem in just three steps. Let’s get into it.

Step 1: Lift Your Vehicle

You need more space to fix the sensor. So, it is a good practice to lift the vehicle.

First, every car has a front jack point. Use that to jack up your vehicle.
Then you need to insert the jack stands.
In your vehicle, insert the jack stands from the frame towards the front.
Put down your car in those stands.

Step 2: Pull Out The Bad O2 Sensor

In this part, we need to pull out the bad O2 sensor, which is causing us the problem.

But first, we need to find the bad O2 sensor. Usually, you don’t need a wiring diagram to figure out which wire goes where or how to trick an O2 sensor properly.

Generally, on a four-cylinder engine, you will have two O2 sensors.

One pre-k O2 sensor. It will be coming from the engine. It is situated before the calorie converter.
Another sensor will be in the past from the calorie converter.

Both of these are part of the exhaust system. After finding the bad O2 sensor, you need to do the following;

Remove or pull out all the wiring and the plug attached to that bad O2 sensor.
Then use the O2 sensor removal tool to pull out the sensor.
You need to twist the sensor off counterclockwise. This is important because you might damage the wire besides those sensors.

Step 3: Replace The Bad O2 Sensor With The Dummy O2 Sensor

The dummy O2 sensor is only for a couple of days or until you get a permanent solution for that problem. To replace the bad O2 sensor, follow these steps carefully.

Insert the dummy O2 sensor. While inserting it, you need to place it clockwise.
Disconnect the wiring while removing the bad O2 sensor and reconnecting the wire.
After that, lower down the vehicle.
Test if the dummy O2 sensor is working or not by driving it for a while.

Remember, this is just a temporary fix. Using it for a long time might harm your vehicle’s performance. So get the permanent solution as early as possible.

A Helpful Tutorial You May Need!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can you fix a faulty oxygen sensor?

No, you cannot fix a faulty oxygen sensor. Even if you maintain and clean it properly, you eventually need to replace the defective oxygen sensor. You might get a temporary fix if it’s an emergency, but a permanent solution would be better.

Can you clean an O2 sensor to make it work again?

Yes, you can clean an O2 sensor to make it work again. Unplug the sensor from the housing and clean the dirt carefully. Then you must soak the sensor for a few hours in gasoline or apply any cleaning agent.

Can you bypass a bad O2 sensor?

Yes, you can bypass a bad O2 sensor. Replace the bad O2 sensor with a dummy O2 sensor or O2 sensor simulator. It is only a temporary solution, and you need to replace the bad O2 sensor with the original sensor to make it work properly.

Conclusion

We hope this article helped you to figure out how you can temporary fix for bad O2 sensor. Please go through the solutions we discussed, and you are good to go!

Find out the bad O2 sensor and replace that with a dummy O2 sensor, and that’s it.

Good luck!

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Stephen Sahriyar

There is no twist if you drive your favorite on-road or off-road beast without feeling the performance tune-up.And Stephen is here, the founder of this site, helping you all by finding the answers to your questions regarding your vehicle performance. Stephen has done his masters in ASE from Aims College in Colorado. Now is working with a renowned aftermarket company in Colorado as well as sharing his knowledge through Motormav’s content.

Explore Our Temporary Fix For Bad O2 Sensor (3 Easy Steps)

Materials You Need To Temporary Fix For Bad O2 Sensor