1996 Regal 3.1 w/ P0141 code

[Chip]

I am getting a P0141 code. The Innova reader is saying "02 heater circuit Bank 1 Sensor 2"

 

Is this the after Cat sensor?

 

Who has had experience with this. Do you think the sensor is bad, or went bad because of the cat being bad. Would the vehicle be able to differentiate these conditions.

 

I don't want to just shotgun fix the sensors if the cat could be the root problem.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

BTW - vehicle has 183,000 miles. Vehicle will throw code when not up to operating temp. If I clear it, it will not come back again until next time running after a cold start.

 

 

[jman093]

Yeah, that is the downstream (post converter) sensor. And most likely cause is the sensor itself. The code is for the heating element of the o2 sensor and has nothing to due with operation of the converter.

 

You can verify the bad o2 though if you know how to use a voltmeter. Unplug the o2 sensor, there should by a be a pink wire and a black wire. Hook the meter up to those two wires and there should be battery voltage when the car is started. If there is, the sensor is junk.

[3pt1lumina]

I had the same problem with the white one at the end of last winter. I put the downstream o2 sensor in, and haven't seen that code since.

[BXX]

Yup, the heater circuits do eventually fail internally.

 

I cant remember if the Ws have the heater circuits fused or not, but you may wanna see the owners manual or fuse blocks to see if they are indeed fused (majority of newer vehicles have fused heater circuits)

[Chip]

Thanks guys.

 

Any ideas brands to stay away from? I have heard good things about Denso sensors.