Posts Tagged ‘mass sensor’

Posted on October 14, 2008 - by Richard

Mass Sensor Testing…An important HHO Conversion Step?

To do a mass sensor testing for your hho engine, you have to know how mass sensor works and recognize it’s different forms. Mass sensor is use to monitor air volume going to your intake combustion process. When it was first introduced, this sensor came with a vane or movable door which is connected to a mechanical linkage. So when a volume of air pass thru the vane or door, a wiring connected to the linkage would determine how much air has passed thru the opening. This passage was measured in voltage which is fed to the engine computer.

This type of mass sensor is called vane type and it only measures the air volume. To do an accurate mass sensor testing, it has to include the air temperature and pressure of the incoming air. When added, it helps improved better engine performance. A second type of mass sensor has both temperature and pressure included and it is called a “hot wire” mass sensor. It is characterized by having a wire elements which comes in contact with the passing intake air.

In this 2nd type of mass sensor, the wire itself is monitored for changes in wire resistance while being exposed to passing air. More air passing means cooler wire resistance and vice versa. This change is measured by the engine computer which inturn could calculate the rate of fuel flow for the fuel injectors. Please note that on the first vane type mass sensor, the movement of the linkage is measured by voltage. And in some hot wire mass sensor, voltage measurements are also applied on certain engine models.

When mass sensor testing is done on these types of mass sensor, all you have to do is measure the voltage on each one of the wires going to the mass sensor while the engine is running. When done during idle, one of the wires being measured will have the value of the voltage change whenever the rpm is disturbed. So when you increase the rpm, the voltage reading should change which is reflected in the digital voltmeter measurements.

Problems comes when you have a “frequency” type mass sensor. On this sensor, the wire element itself has an oscillating frequency readings whenever the rpm is varied. Most of this “frequency” type mass sensor will have 5 or more wirings but instead of measuring the voltage, you need to measure the frequency which can be done by setting your voltmeter in the frequency range. Doing the mass sensor testing is almost the same as the voltage type wire mass sensor. To find the right wire, make sure you have the right mass sensor wiring diagram.

Caution:

Before buying a hho mass sensor adapter for your hho engine, make sure you ask the hho vendor if the mass sensor they are selling will work on voltage or frequency mass sensor settings. Otherwise, the mass sensor adapter will not work on your hho engine.