DIRECT FIT V’S UNIVERSAL

Oxygen sensors are becoming an important serviceable part for retaining peak vehicle performance, fuel economy, and extending catalytic converter life. NTK is constantly expanding their application range and as such the varying types of oxygen sensors has also increased.

There are four basic types of oxygen sensors constituting 1, 2, 3, & 4 wires with the 3 & 4 wires sensors being your heated sensors. Within these four types there can be a great number of differences between the sensor element and heater types. These are outlined below;

HEATERS

Differences	Potential Problems	Result
Power Level	Element may never reach operating temperature or too much power may be supplied and crack or damage the heater and element.	ECU rejects sensor or element is damaged due to over voltage
Light Off Time	Sensor may light off too quickly or take too long to reach operating temperature	ECU may reject sensor and/or emissions increased
Heater Element Shape	Heat can be concentrated at the element tip or distributed evenly.	ECU rejects sensor or slow response times
Duty Cycle	High power heaters require a duty cycle to ensure the heater isn’t energised 100% of the time.	Sensor heater and element damaged

ELEMENT

Differences	Potential Problems	Result
Electrode Plating	Response times and voltage levels can vary	ECU rejects sensor or drivability, emissions, & catalytic converter life is affected
Element Overcoat	Lifetime and response time can be affected	Sensor may fail prematurely, ECU rejects sensor or drivability, emissions, & catalytic converter life is affected

As well as the differences above in heaters and elements there are also differences in how the ECU monitors the sensor. In more recent vehicles some ECU’s can monitor light off times, response times, heater current and voltage amplitude. Using the wrong sensor in these instances may result in the ECU rejecting it.

NTK do not recommend the use of 3 or 4 wire universal sensors due to the potential problems described above. Some companies have imported incorrect NTK applications from other countries that in certain applications will give problems. In these instances please refer to the importer for warranty.

NTK have evaluated Australian applications and as such can only warrant those parts that are recommended for use in the official NTK Australian catalogue. Please be aware that due to incorrect applications some of the problems detailed above can occur.

If you have any problems or would like some technical support please contact your nearest NGK office.