Ford Fiesta Hego Sensor ?

poppyred

i was wondering if anyone could help,I'll admit, i'm dozy female who didn't check her oil in the Fiesta :embarasse, the first i knew was the engine management light came on, i put some oil in and the cars running fine (thank heavens).

However when i took the car to the garage to see why the light was on they said it was my Hego Sensor and i needed a new one at £257 !!:eek: they said its ok to run until i can save up enough money to have it done.

In the meantime someone has told me the Hego Sensor just needs cleaning as its a common fault when no oil ? I thought i might give this a go to avoid paying out, but have no idea where or what the hego sensor looks like, I'm not scared to get dirty and crawling under the car/ or bonnet.

Any ideas of where this would be would be great, its a Ford Fiesta 2003 car.

epninety

HEGO sensor is the same thing as the Lambda sensor. It will be in the exhaust manifold or the downpipe, somewhere near the joint between the two.

Not to be patronising, but if you aren't used to working on cars you might want to get someone to do it for you, they are often very tight, and hard to get at. If you can't get at it with a normal spanner, you'll sometimes need a special socket to get it undone.

They can be cleaned off with a blowtorch once out (which often does help), but most cars can use a 'universal' cost £20-30 (long time since I bought one), so a friendly garage might well be able to sort it for less than half your quoted price. I'd try to get a price from another garage, or a mobile mechanic.

Of course, if it's especially hard to get at, or uses an unusual sensor type, then all bets are off.

Edit : Not sure why low oil should cause the Lambda sensor to fail - I might be tempted to get another opinion on that too - being my cynical self :-)

poppyred

epninety wrote: »

HEGO sensor is the same thing as the Lambda sensor. It will be in the exhaust manifold or the downpipe, somewhere near the joint between the two.

Not to be patronising, but if you aren't used to working on cars you might want to get someone to do it for you, they are often very tight, and hard to get at. If you can't get at it with a normal spanner, you'll sometimes need a special socket to get it undone.

They can be cleaned off with a blowtorch once out (which often does help), but most cars can use a 'universal' cost £20-30 (long time since I bought one), so a friendly garage might well be able to sort it for less than half your quoted price. I'd try to get a price from another garage, or a mobile mechanic.

Of course, if it's especially hard to get at, or uses an unusual sensor type, then all bets are off.

Edit : Not sure why low oil should cause the Lambda sensor to fail - I might be tempted to get another opinion on that too - being my cynical self :-)

Thanks for your help, i have an ATS at the bottom of my road so might call in there on my way home tommorow, might be easier than trying myself.

slyracoon

I would be more concerned about finding out why the car lost oil.

poppyred

slyracoon wrote: »

I would be more concerned about finding out why the car lost oil.

it's my own fault i hadn't checked it in a couple of years !!

johnnyroper

poppyred wrote: »

it's my own fault i hadn't checked it in a couple of years !!

surely it has been serviced in 2 years??

also leave ATS well alone and go to a proper indipendant garage,the quick fit type places are useless would not trust em to fill washer bottle let alone mess with sensors.

poppyred

johnnyroper wrote: »

surely it has been serviced in 2 years??

also leave ATS well alone and go to a proper indipendant garage,the quick fit type places are useless would not trust em to fill washer bottle let alone mess with sensors.

Thanks, i'll have a look around for someone more reliable, i'm afraid i've not had it serviced in 2 years, i'm out of work and can just about scrap together for insurance,mot, tax & petrol,. i think it will be my next save up after a new sensor !!