Bring your vehicle to Guaranteed Auto Air & Repair right away if it is releasing black exhaust. This means that the engine is burning extra fuel in the combustion chamber. One reason why the chamber would have extra fuel in it is a faulty oxygen or O2 sensor. If the sensor is misreading the oxygen in the exhaust, the main computer chip may add fuel to the chamber for no reason.
CEL Illumination
In addition to the black exhaust, the check engine light may also illuminate on your dashboard. As you will learn if you keep reading, a malfunctioning O2 sensor causes numerous engine and exhaust problems. As such, the chip will turn on the CEL to let you know things are not okay. The light will remain lit on the dashboard until the oxygen sensor is replaced.
Rotten Performance
One of the things that will go wrong is your engine’s performance. If the chip places extra fuel in the chamber, the engine will speed up when you least expect it. If the chip places extra air in the chamber, the engine will struggle to produce power. Both of these unusual conditions in the combustion chamber can be caused by the O2 sensor if it is having problems.
Rotten Gas Mileage
Both of these conditions will also affect your gas mileage. We wish we could say that they will improve the mileage, but they will do the opposite. You will notice that you are not getting the miles-per-gallon that you normally get out of your automobile. The reason why is that the engine uses additional fuel when it is surging or struggling to produce power.
Rotten Egg Odors
Let’s talk more about too much fuel in the chamber. This can also create a problem for the catalytic converter because it will have more carbons to treat and make safe for the environment. Unfortunately, as the converter treats these carbons, they build up inside it. As such, a bad O2 sensor can clog the catalytic converter prematurely and you will smell rotten eggs.
Excess Emissions
Finally, for those who live in states that will not register vehicles without emissions tests, your automobile could fail the test when there is a problem with the oxygen sensor. The fact that the CEL is on alone will produce a failing result.
Call Guaranteed Auto Air & Repair in Rockledge, FL, today so we can set up a service visit for you if you’ve got a problematic O2 sensor in the tailpipe.
