[rustynut2]

49 miles total, 3 months out of warranty my new 420 throws the 23 code. Been plugged in since deer season, garaged. Ran fine when parked, ha, still runs great.

2 questions

1 Any chance its covered by Honda
2 If I change the sensor how do I clear the code.

Thanks for the help

 

[ktriebol]

I would clear the code once before replacing the sensor, just in case it was a fluke. Check in the service manual for instructions on how to clear the code.

 

[ivrancher4x4]

I have a 2016 rancher and I just used it for 2 weeks during deer season last year. I parked it after the season was over with only 9 hrs on it and I took it out this weekend to set out some game cams and the check engine light came on. I dropped it off at my local Honda dealer and they said o2 sensor is bad must be a Honda thing? I wonder if having it parked for 5 months would mess that part up? I will ask the mechanic when I see him later this week.

 

[retro]

Yeah, take the O2 sensor out and brush it off carefully with a stiff plastic-bristled brush. Put it back in then warm up and ride the bike for 20-30 minutes or so, then reset the code. Should be good to go...

 

[dalekoven]

O2 sensors can fall victim to poor fuel quality. The lower the octane, the hotter the fuel burns. Modern fuel loses 1-1.5 points of octane a month. Sooo... your 87 octane fuel, if absolutely fresh when parked, could be in the 70's after 6 months! Too much heat at sensor and bye-bye

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[retro]

O2 sensors can fall victim to poor fuel quality. The lower the octane, the hotter the fuel burns. Modern fuel loses 1-1.5 points of octane a month. Sooo... your 87 octane fuel, if absolutely fresh when parked, could be in the 70's after 6 months! Too much heat at sensor and bye-bye

Octane Ratings (In the USA, 0-100 points for common pump gas) are a fuels' resistance to ignition in the presence of heat and pressure relative to a baseline combustible such as n-Heptane, which is rated at the Zero Octane point. Octane ratings have no correlation to combustion temperatures produced by a fuel while burning. That is one of the more common fuel myths circulating out there...

While gasoline loses Octane rating points as it ages, its combustion temperatures don't respond by increasing or decreasing linearly to Octane points. It is the chemical makeup of the fuel and its additives that determine its combustion temperature at any given cylinder pressure point. Depending on the fuel base or chemical additive package, combustion temp may be much higher, the same, or much lower... Octane is simply a fuels' resistance to ignition in the presence of heat and pressure. Nothing more. Nothing less.

For instance, an alcohol based fuel (such as methanol, which I consider myself to possess expert knowledge of) is rated at a higher Octane than gasoline, yet its combustion temperatures are much lower while burning, than any gasoline blend on the planet. Toluene is rated at about 114 Octane... guess the range its combustion temp is...?

An oxygen sensor can be destroyed by excessive heat like anything else can for sure, but aging pump gas and/or low Octane rated gas are not a direct causal factor for that.

Hope this helps,

 

[mac102004]

$45 for a new sensor I would just replace it and be done with it. I've never had an issue with the sensor on my 2015 Rubi, 2500+kms on it now, had it over 2 years, spent a good part of it's life shaking and rocking on the back of my truck...

 

[dalekoven]

Well i hear you, and I'm not any expert on fuels, the powersport manufactures John Deere and GM agree with my statement. Aging fuel IS at determing factor in sensor failure. Now whether its caused by octane depletion or by- products of the fuel I am not certain. It's been issued service news from these manufactures. GM told me when my new truck w 42 miles killed a sensor. Nothing better than driving home with your brand new truck and an engine light comes on. I can also tell you this. Sticking valves ,in the spring , on small, low horsepower (8-24)hp has quadrupled in the last 4 yrs. The commonality is old fuel. I'm by no means disrespecting anyone and please do not take it that way. I've been a service manager for over 40 yrs in powersports (30yrs) and AG.(12yrs). I've seem some stuff , most not pretty lol.



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[retro]

Yep, decaying fuel causes all sorts of problems. The ethanol laced stuff is terrible! It turns into yellow goo pretty quickly and coats the O2 sensor with unburned slime & ruins them. Best to avoid buying the E-10 scam in the first place to use in small motors. I only put ethanol laced gas in the grocery getter... everything else I own gets gasoline only. No issues that way... nothing ever needs to be fixed.

 

[rustynut2]

I ordered the jumper wire needed to clear the code, assuming the process is the same for the 16 model as the 14 model. Code cleared but fault comes right back when the key is turned on. O2 sensor should be here Thursday. Gas was new at end of season, February. Will let ya know.

 

[ivrancher4x4]

what do you guys use to read the codes?

 

[rustynut2]

Good question. The display on the dash flashes a sequence of slow and quick check engine light. Then you look that code up. I'm using the manual off this site for the 14 model hoping its the same as my 16. I'm sure Honda has a high dollar computer to do this work. I think the display has more functions depending on what light is flashing

 

[rustynut2]

Fixed, $20 for the jumper wire to clear the code and $50 for the new 02 sensor. Lets hope this last longer than 50 miles.

 

[mac102004]

You could always add a tuner to it, I think most of them come with an O2 sensor bypass. That would be the end of any sensor issues lol

 

[tbzep]

You could always add a tuner to it, I think most of them come with an O2 sensor bypass. That would be the end of any sensor issues lol

The O2 eliminators are just plastic plugs with resisters made into them. I used a plain old Radio Shack 330 ohm resistor on my Honda VFR. It keeps the error code from being thrown while defaulting to a protective fuel rich mode instead of the super lean EPA mandated low emission mode. Instead of paying $25 each, I paid $2 for a pack! I'm new to ATV's but I figure the EFI system will be similar.

 

[ATC4ever]

Yea i put a resistor on my Rubicon O2 as if it was running cold all the time.

 

[mac102004]

Should work, my only concern would be if t runs too rich setup like that, hence the tuner to dail the fuel map in.


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[tbzep]

Should work, my only concern would be if t runs too rich setup like that, hence the tuner to dail the fuel map in.

It won't run too rich if it is set up like a street bike. My motorcycle has open and closed loop modes thanks to the EPA. When you are in a steady throttle state in that cruising RPM range that the EPA tests, the bike settles into a mode using the O2 sensors for maximum lean mixture. When you twist the throttle, it goes out of that mode and uses a mixture already stored in the map. Using the O2 eliminators just keeps it in that mode that the bike is in anytime it isn't in that cruising mode. In other words, it's just like using the tuner, but it's an OEM map.

Tuners aren't there to fix the O2 eliminator. In fact, the tuner will work just fine without it. The O2 sensor has to be unplugged for the computer to operate in the open loop mode and allow the tuner to work without fighting the computer. The O2 eliminator is just there to keep the computer from throwing codes at you.

 

[redtherocket]

Just fix it nice..

 

[mac102004]

It would be worth testing, somebody (I think) tested the AFR's on the newer 500's but I can't for the life of me remember what they found out. For me to say, yay or nay I'd have to have first hand experience with doing it, and I don't so I'm a bit hesitant understandably. I do know for a fact that a properly tuned AFR table with a tuner is a great option, albeit expensive. The machines used to run quite lean from the factory before there was O2 sensors on them, and Honda is one of if not the only mfg using O2 sensors on their ATV's. Even a look at the spark plug on a machine running an overridden O2 would be compelling.