I have an accord with a bad o2 sensor and the code being thrown is for the secondary bank, so the rear sensor. is it a typical test to swap locations and see if the code moves thus isolating that its NOT wiring but the sensor it self?

 

You can get underneath your car and check wiring usually just the sensor they aren't that hard to replace.

 

If you’re going to go to that trouble, I might just try cleaning it and putting it back in, might get some more life out of it if your on a budget. I'd say unless your off roading this car and you caught the wiring on something, or its 25+ years old, it likely not the wiring.

 

you know its a 35 dollar part on a car with 202K on it, and id bet the entire cars value (~11 dollars) that its never been replaced. its probably time

 

Probably, for $35 id say go for it. You know how much they want for a Genuine Honda s2000 sensor? $350 each! Needless to say I installed a $80 universal one last go around.

 

i found the denso OEM part for 35.


here is the part that makes me think its a wiring issue. The CEL is supposedly for the heater element not coming up to temp fast enough in relation to the water temp. OR, if theres a short in the circuit it will throw the code. If this is the case, with the code cleared it should take a few minutes of idling unless its a short. In my case after clearing the code it pops up almost immediately after engine start. makes me think its a short rather than a heater issue.

ill look during the next oil change.

 

That’s been my experience as well, so very well could be. Switching the sensors like you mentioned previously sounds like a logical way to test this, assuming they are the same sensors and will not trigger an additional code. But for $35, using a new one as part of the troubleshooting wouldn’t be the end of the world if it turned out to not be the sensor. Sounds like you have a few effective ways to go about resolving the issue. If it does turn out to be a bad connection somewhere, I hope it’s readily obvious. I hate wiring issues.

 

im willing to set the car on fire for a wiring issue.