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P0420

13K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  lou-in-usa 
#1 ·
Hey guys i am new to the forum but have owned our terrain since December 2016. I have been trying to get this p0420 code to go away on our 2010 2.4 with 160k. So far I have replaced air filter, both o2 sensors with I believe Delphi, new cat from eastern catalytic, I ran crc emissions cleaner prior to replacing the cat. It currently burns about 1 quart per oil change interval the computers says. It has Mobil 1 extended in it. What is confusing about this is with brand new cat and brand new o2 sensors while reading the live data downstream sensor stays mostly between .6-.7 but still fluctuate from -.05 through 1.05 the cat gets up to 1800 under throttle. Also the st fuel trim goes from -30 to 25. It does have a slight exhaust leak in the resonator but from the research I’ve done I don’t think that would cause the o2 sensor to read like that. I appreciate any help at all. Sorry for the long post I’m not sure where to look next everything I’ve read was replacing the cat fixed it. Thanks guys !
 
#2 ·
Is your car a CA emissions vehicle ? Underhood sticker will say so.
If so I don't think Eastern makes a CA certified cat and that will throw inefficiency codes as PCM is programed for CA specs.
They make Cat. cheaters and that may be your recourse.
 
#3 ·
That’s a good question I did not think about that as I’m all the way across country in Maryland. What do you mean a cat cheater? Another thing I was thinking if it turns out to not be ca emissions , would a cat that is getting to 1600-1800 degrees burn off extra fuel and oil if the engine was burning extra of each?
 
#4 ·
The cheater is a spacer that screws into the exhaust pipe and and the O2 sensor screws into the spacer it helps dilute some of the exhaust that the sensor sees is how I believe it works they've been around for a long time. A lot of vehicles delivered on the East Coast are California emissions I know New York and New Jersey are for sure
 
#5 ·
Hm interesting thanks for the suggestion. I decided to give eastern catalytic a call today and the guy said that it was almost positive a exhaust leak in the manifold. And I actually do remember seeing a about half inch hairline crack. I thought nothing of it due to no noise was coming from it. I am going to order the doorman manifold and go ahead and install a new manifold. I hope that fixes it. I do appreciate your response and I will post once the manifold is installed and code free hopefully.
 
#6 · (Edited)

There seems to be a lot of fantasy and misinformation on the internet about this code and other emissions codes, and wrongful attribution of problems and cures; so let's be clear about what this code is and why it appears.

P0420 Permanent Code is the ECU saying the "second" O2 sensor(s) after your first catalytic converter(s) are not sending the signals the computer expects in relation to the signals the first O2 sensor(s) located in the exhaust manifold, are sending.
Here are my responses to some myths I've seen and heard on websites and Youtube:
1. O2 sensors are not a kind of temperature sensor that generates voltage.
2. You cannot "fool" the computer by applying voltage to the O2 sensor lead.
3. Catalytic converters DO NOT store huge quantities of oxygen.

What isn't a myth is this:
O2 sensors generate voltage based on the oxygen DIFFERENCE between the outside air, and the exhaust gas stream. (The greater the difference the higher the voltage)

First, P0420 can only be cleared by the ECU (engine computer) after several drive cycles where no issue is detected; you cannot use a scan tool to clear the error. Second, to understand this particular error code you need to know what the computer wants to see in various conditions. So the 1st O2 sensor generates aDC voltage between 0v and 1v, after it is sufficiently hot, based on the oxygen content of the exhaust, compared to the outside air. In a fuel lean condition, there will be more oxygen in the exhaust stream since not all of it was used in combustion (because you're running lean), and therefore you will have a low voltage value generated by the O2 sensor. When the ECU adds excessive fuel to the air/fuel mix, creating a rich condition, there will be less oxygen left after in the exhaust stream and therefore a higher voltage is generated by the O2 sensor. This lean/rich/lean/rich condition created by the computer, occurs a few times a second in a PROPERLY WORKING SYSTEM, and can be seen by monitoring the voltage of O2 S1; you will see the voltage swing from 0 to possibly as high as 1.2 at idle and while driving.

Now how does this relate to what O2 S2 (the down-stream/after the catalytic converter sensor) is generating?
First let's understand what the catalytic converter is doing:
In almost every driving condition, EXCEPT coasting with the throttle closed (not stepping on the gas pedal), the catalytic converter will use the free oxygen and that, that has bonded to nitrogen (making the dreaded smog-creating NOx molecules) during the high temperatures and pressures particularly during a lean combustion condition, and break off the oxygen from that NOx bond, and use that oxygen to further burn any hydrocarbons left over in the the exhaust stream, and add an oxygen to the poisonous carbon-monoxide molecule, to make CO2 (the gas consumed by plants).

So what does the computer want to see from O2 S2 ?
What the computer is looking for in most driving and idling circumstances is for a high voltage signal from O2 S2, no matter what the first O2 sensor signal is. When O2 S2 has a persistently high voltage, that means most of the free oxygen has been used, and that only happens if:
1. the catalytic converter isn't destroyed by excessive oil burning, coolant leaking into the exhaust stream, burned out by overheating (excessive lean condition for a long time) and is otherwise doing its job.
~AND~
2. there wasn't excessive air (extra lean) in the original combustion mix.

And #2 is usually the culprit in most circumstances, because it is easy to create an "extra-lean" condition.
How? Well here's a list:

1. Dirty air filter (always try replacing this first)
2. Bad o-ring seal on the PCV inlet pipe that connects to the air box.
3. Lose clamps on air-box connections with the filter housing or throttle-body.
4. Cracked PCV pipes (yes, these are plastic pipes, not rubber hoses, and they do crack; especially when some technician unwittingly crushes them as he's leaning over the engine.)
5. Dirty MAF sensor. (Try cleaning this sensor that is found between the filter box and the air-box.)
6. Bad o-rings on the oil level dipstick. (these are usually cracked, compressed, or missing)
7. Bad seal on the oil filler cap.
8. Bad throttle-body o-ring.
9. Bad intake manifold seals.
10. Malfunctioning EVAP system or cracks/leaks somewhere in the system.
11. Other bad gaskets/seals in on the engine.

Unlike old engine designs, new engines are supposed to be a sealed environment, with air entering only in a controlled and metered way. You can test for major leaks with a can of starter fluid, just don't spray it near the exhaust manifold. If you have a leak at any of the air handling, throttle-body, intake manifold, or vacuum pipes, the starter fluid may make the engine idle accelerate temporarily, but it will briefly and almost immediately lower your STFT (short-term fuel trims). Starter fluid has almost no ability to test the dipstick seals, the oil filler cap seal, bad valve cover gasket, or other general engine seals, since it would take to long for the starter fluid ether to get to the combustion chamber.

As far as a destroyed catalytic converter described earlier, this can be inexpensively checked by removing the first O2 sensor in the exhaust manifold, and putting a bore-scope into that hole and viewing the catalytic converter's "screen"; keep in mind that cheap replacement catalytic converters may have their screen intact, but the reactive metals may have been destroyed by a malfunctioning engine, or just because the aftermarket converter was manufactured to a poor standard..(with cats, like everything else, you get what you pay for). First, it should not be black with carbon build-up; if working properly, it gets hot enough to burn off everything that touches it, and should look gray or dark-tan in color, not black. The screen should be unclogged, and not burned away. Either of those problems are an indication of excessive oil consumption.

P0420 code will clear itself if after several drive cycles the computer sees O2 S2 creating a voltage consistently above ~0.5v and only going below that during a throttle closed "coasting". Under load (driving down the highway, climbing a hill, acceleration) the voltage of O2 S2 should be consistently high and not drop below ~0.6. But a vacuum leak can cause this to happen because under load, when vacuum drops, vacuum leaks have less impact on the computer's lean/rich fuel calculation, than when not under load and the high vacuum is now pulling in un-metered air and leaning out the mixture . A sure sign of a vacuum leak is that the LTFT (long-term fuel trims) will be high, like over +10% during most driving situations. If you've replaced the cat in the past with a $300 aftermarket cat, I wouldn't be surprised if you only get about 25k miles on it before it degrades to a point that trips the error code. Do yourself a favor and DON'T clear the codes; they will clear themselves after a few drive cycles if you've fixed the problem. Clearing them only prolongs the diagnosing process.
Good luck.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Austinowa360, if you put a water separator in the PCV intake tube line, and plugged up the air intake hole in the plastic air plenum that goes between the air filter housing and the throttle body, and the water separator is filling up with anything, you're not solving any problems your engine is having.
First: the tube that goes from the intake plenum to the valve cover predominantly lets air move INTO the engine. To the extent you have anything going in the other direction, is an indication that your PCV orifice between the head and the intake manifold is plugged up, and you likely have excessive blow-by because the engine has 220k+ miles. You should be able to use a small right angle pick and open up that passage way if you pull the valve cover. The engine doesn't have a PCV valve, it is simply a 1/8" hole between the head and the intake manifold which is located in the middle rectangular passageway on the "front" of the engine, under the valve over. The passageway to the left is your air intake that routes air to the crankcase, and the one on the right is the air coming from the crankcase that goes to a baffle in the valve over the winds up routing to the center passageway. Anyway, make sure both the left and right passageways are open to the crankcase, make sure air can move through the valve over baffle to the center passageway, and make sure the orifice to the intake manifold is clear; you might check this by pouring a few ounces of gas or other solvent into the center passageway and see if it drains at all, and of course it should drain into the intake manifold. If you remove the throttle body you should be able to see the solvent at the bottom of the manifold.

The other thing is, that by not using the intake plenum to meter the PCV air, you are creating a variable lean condition the computer just can't fully account for at different engine rpms and loads, and I'd be surprised if that didn't turn your CEL on, and eventually burned up your new cat.

I know there is a lot of erroneous advice on the internet by people who think they can re-engineer the engine systems without fully understanding them; my advice is to fix the problem and avoid workarounds created by people with no real understanding of the system.
 
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