CODES

JUICE ONE

New Member
May 24, 2006
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I pulled the codes on my 88' and it spit out a code 41 and 91 ( system lean ). Now the problem is that I asked around and one guy told me that the code actually means the car is running rich. He said that the code is actually the ECU command prompt to lean out the system because it is running rich. Meaning the code is telling me what the ECM is trying to do ( lean out the system) and not that the system is running lean. The way he explained it to me kinda made sence. WHAT DO U THINK, because I don't know?:shrug:
BTW: My car runs fine.:D
 
Well there are system running rich and lean. If code comes up running lean it is lean. forinstance if i run my 302 in my truck out of gas and swap to the other tank i get those codes. and it makes sence since it was running lean it had no gas. i think your friend is misinformed.
 
doesnt a "lean running" car smell rich because the computer adds extra fuel to try and compensate??? could that be what he's talking about? i thought i heard that somewhere but maybe i'm wrong....:shrug:

if im wrong just ignore me...back to my paper...:(
 
Well there are system running rich and lean. If code comes up running lean it is lean. forinstance if i run my 302 in my truck out of gas and swap to the other tank i get those codes. and it makes sence since it was running lean it had no gas. i think your friend is misinformed.


Just asking, because it half assed made sence. THANKS!!!
 
doesnt a "lean running" car smell rich because the computer adds extra fuel to try and compensate??? could that be what he's talking about? i thought i heard that somewhere but maybe i'm wrong....:shrug:

if im wrong just ignore me...back to my paper...:(



I wouldn't think it would smell rich because then the ECM would be overcompensating (don't know if that is supposed to be one word or two).
 
I know where the confusion is; the terminology can be confusing. It can be said that the car is at the rich-adaptive-limit (lean). It means the system richened things up as much as it could, but it couldn't do enough (it hit the limit of its ability to go richer) and it's still running lean.

But because the word rich is sometimes used, people come away thinking the car is running rich (easy enough to do).

Good luck.
 
Code 41 or 91 - O2 indicates system lean. Look for a vacuum leak or failing O2 sensor.

The computer sees a lean mixture signal coming from the O2 sensors and tries to compensate by adding more fuel. Many times the end result is an engine that runs pig rich and stinks of unburned fuel.

The following is a Quote from Charles O. Probst, Ford fuel Injection & Electronic Engine control:
"When the mixture is lean, the exhaust gas has oxygen, about the same amount as the ambient air. So the sensor will generate less than 400 Millivolts. Remember lean = less voltage.

When the mixture is rich, there's less oxygen in the exhaust than in the ambient air , so voltage is generated between the two sides of the tip. The voltage is greater than 600 millivolts. Remember rich = more voltage.

Here's a tip: the newer the sensor, the more the voltage changes, swinging from as low as 0.1 volt to as much as 0.9 volt. As an oxygen sensor ages, the voltage changes get smaller and slower - the voltage change lags behind the change in exhaust gas oxygen.

Because the oxygen sensor generates its own voltage, never apply voltage and never measure resistance of the sensor circuit. To measure voltage signals, use an analog voltmeter with a high input impedance, at least 10 megohms. Remember, a digital voltmeter will average a changing voltage." End Quote

Measuring the O2 sensor voltage at the computer will give you a good idea of how well they are working. You'll have to pull the passenger side kick panel off to gain access to the computer connector. Remove the plastic wiring cover to get to the back side of the wiring. Use a safety pin or paper clip to probe the connections from the rear. The computer pins are 29 (LH O2 with a dark green/pink wire) and 43 (RH O2 with a dark blue/pink wire). Use the ground next to the computer to ground the voltmeter.

Most of the common multimeters have a resistance scale. Be sure the O2 sensors are disconnected and measure the resistance from the O2 sensor body harness to the pins on the computer.

Note that all resistance tests must be done with power off. Measuring resistance with a circuit powered on will give false readings and possibly damage the meter. Do not attempt to measure the resistance of the O2 sensors, it may damage them.

The O2 sensor ground (orange wire with a ring terminal on it) is in the wiring harness for the fuel injection wiring. I grounded mine to one of the intake manifold bolts