Getting code 172

[reject5.0]

Hey guys. I was driving down the road singing along to the N*SYNC cd in my cd player (not really) and my check engine light came on. It stayed on for about 1 or 2 minutes and then went off. It drove fine though, I didn't notice any difference. I got it home and ran the codes. It gave me 172, which the book tells me "sensor de gas oxigeno de escape calentado-la senal de voltaje indica un banco #1 rico"

....Then I flipped to the english side of the book......and it told me 'heated exhaust gas o2 sensor voltage signal indicates lean on bank #1

I just cleared the code to see if it would come back. I drove my normal routine for a couple more days, and nothing. Then one day it came back on. Again, it stayed on for a minute or 2, and then turned off.

If my motor was running lean, wouldn't both my o2's be telling me somthing, and not just the one side? Im a n00b.

 

[CManT1914]

Hey guys. I was driving down the road singing along to the N*SYNC cd in my cd player

lol

(not really) and my check engine light came on. It stayed on for about 1 or 2 minutes and then went off. It drove fine though, I didn't notice any difference. I got it home and ran the codes. It gave me 172, which the book tells me "sensor de gas oxigeno de escape calentado-la senal de voltaje indica un banco #1 rico"

....Then I flipped to the english side of the book......and it told me 'heated exhaust gas o2 sensor voltage signal indicates lean on bank #1

I just cleared the code to see if it would come back. I drove my normal routine for a couple more days, and nothing. Then one day it came back on. Again, it stayed on for a minute or 2, and then turned off.

If my motor was running lean, wouldn't both my o2's be telling me somthing, and not just the one side? Im a n00b.

How old are the O2's? They could be on their way out.

 

[reject5.0]

I don't really know. Ive had the car for 3 months, so they are at least 3 months old!

Is there any way to "test" or inspect them?

 

[Mustangless]

I got that code a while back. The next time I checked for codes I did not get it. Anyways, the o2 I got it on, was the only one I had replaced. The older o2 did not say anything.

 

[mo_dingo]

Scan the codes again. if the mil came up again, the eec might have spit that same code out again. That means that likely the O2 sensor is bad, or one your fuel injectors are bad on that bank.....You might want to yank the spark plugs on that bank and see if any are running lean (would show up as white. If 1 is white, I suspect that injector or spark plug/wire or the tab at the distributor cap.

Scott

 

[HISSIN50]

To augment Scott's post, one can run a CBT to get an idea of how each injector is doing.

Good luck.

 

[reject5.0]

A cbt is.....??

What size are stock injectors? About how long on average do stock ones last?

 

[CManT1914]

A cbt is.....??

What size are stock injectors? About how long on average do stock ones last?

I believe he is referring to a test you can do with a noid light to test to see if a specific injector is/isn't firing. Stock are 19lbs, and they usually last forever. Might need to run some injector cleaner through them once if they get clogged up.

 

[reject5.0]

Now it seems like every day I get the code, but its just right after I start up my car in the morning. I pull out of my apt and onto the interstate and then it comes on. It stays on for no longer then a minute, and then it goes off for the rest of the day.

 

[mo_dingo]

A cbt is.....??

What size are stock injectors? About how long on average do stock ones last?

cylinder balance test. Which i honestly have no clue what the hell that is.....but I am sure he knows what he is talking about.
Scott

 

[CManT1914]

cylinder balance test. Which i honestly have no clue what the hell that is.....but I am sure he knows what he is talking about.
Scott

Okay I see now. A cylinder balance test is where while the car is running, 1 cylinder at a time is shut off (via the injectors) to see if you have a dead cylinder. Technically, each time a cylinder is shut off, the engine should start to run a lot rougher. If a cylinder is shut off and the engine condition remains the same, then that cylinder was never firing. I have no idea how to do this though.

 

[urban96]

Okay I see now. A cylinder balance test is where while the car is running, 1 cylinder at a time is shut off (via the injectors) to see if you have a dead cylinder. Technically, each time a cylinder is shut off, the engine should start to run a lot rougher. If a cylinder is shut off and the engine condition remains the same, then that cylinder was never firing. I have no idea how to do this though.

i would think you could just pull the plug wires 1 at a time

 

[HISSIN50]

Correct. A CBT is a cylinder balance test. No offense to anyone, but the analogy of pulling a plug wire is like saying that a rock can be used instead of a hammer. Sure we can do either, but we might as well do the better one if given a choice (I will use a test light if I dont have a meter, but I prefer using a meter. Same deal).

When the puter runs the CBT, it is not just checking for an absolute cylinder drop, but how much of one there is (RPM drop). If one has a weak injector, it can help narrow that down - the puter will re-run the test up two additional times, using broader criteria, to determine how bad off a cylinder is.

This is more informative than pulling a plug wire. The CBT test will NOT however tell you that an injector is bad per se - it only points out that a cylinder has an issue. For instance, if you had no spark plug in that cylinder, the CBT would show that cylinder as bad. But it is a very useful tool and is more informative IMHO than pulling plug wires, etc.
If you pass fine on the first try, the injectors and ignition are probably in good shape (it is more useful for ruling things out than really making specific diagnostics once a bad cylinder is found).

Good luck.