by : Anthony Fontanelle

Modern cars today have been equipped with the genius of the oxygen sensors. Saturn, a car company that is young at its early twenties, has proved its rightful place in the automotive industry by producing high-quality oxygen sensors. They have developed these complex components through the innovative car technology that reflects in their resume as a car company. Thus, their Saturn Oxygen Sensor promises only accurate measurements of air-fuel ratio to further help the driver with his car's needs.

The Saturn Oxygen Sensor is a part of the emissions control system and feeds data to the engine management computer. The goal of the sensor is to help the engine run as efficiently as possible and also to produce as few emissions as possible. A gasoline engine burns gasoline in the presence of oxygen. It turns out that there is a particular ratio of air and gasoline that is "perfect," and that ratio is 14.7:1 (different fuels have different perfect ratios---the ratio depends on the amount of hydrogen and carbon found in a given amount of fuel).

Meanwhile, if there is less air than the said perfect ratio, then there will be fuel left over after combustion. This is called a rich mixture. Rich mixtures are bad because the unburned fuel creates pollution. If there is more air than this perfect ratio, then there is excess oxygen. This is called a lean mixture. A lean mixture tends to produce more nitrogen-oxide pollutants, and, in some cases, it can cause poor performance and even engine damage.

The Saturn Oxygen Sensor is positioned in the exhaust pipe and is accurate in detecting rich and lean mixtures. Its mechanism involves a chemical reaction that generates a voltage. The engine's computer looks at the voltage to determine if the mixture is rich or lean, and adjusts the amount of fuel entering the engine accordingly. However, like any other car part, the oxygen sensors are not immortal. They may wear out, and this may cause the transfer of erred information. This should be avoided, so one must check them regularly. But when replacements are needed, the would be a wise choice.