Bag plug cause an O2 sensor code?

[Kentone]

Hi Everyone. I have a 1998 Ranger XLT 4.0 that has about 124K that my wife drives. Today she told me that it had a miss and the CEL was on. I checked the code and got a misfire on #6 and a P0153 code for a slow response on O2 sensor Bank 2 Sensor 1. I just changed that sensor 4 months ago. I used Bosch 15716. I decided to change the plug first and clear the code to see the difference, since the sensor was almost new. Ran rough for a couple seconds but cleared up and ran smooth. Drove around for a while and was fine. Smooth at idle, at stop lights, and under hard acceleration. I did not unhook the battery to reset anything (unless clearing the code in my reader did that). All I did was replace a plug. I guess my question is, is it possible for a bad spark plug so close to that sensor cause it to throw a code? It has a 1 year warranty so it shouldn't cost to replace it.

Also, I only changed the upstream sensor on bank 2. Should I have changed them both at the same time? Thanks for any input...

 

[DILLARD000]

Do you have 3 or 4 OxygenSensors on this vehicle?
More info on possible causes of TroubleCode P0153 at https://autoservicecosts.com/obd2-codes/p0153

Sensor was recently changed, so I put that change as top suspect; either failed sensor or loose\frayed\burnt wiring.
Could be other things like Intake Vacuum Leak, or Exhaust leak or bad MAFSensor, or... per link above.

 

[Curious Hound]

A misfire causes a change in the chemical makeup of your exhaust due to incomplete combustion. The Oxygen sensor is there to detect that. So, yes, a bad plug could cause O2 sensor codes. The sensor did it's job. It threw a code to say " Hey! There's something wrong with your engine. The exhaust doesn't smell right." Others here will have more detailed explanations for you.

 

[Kentone]

Do you have 3 or 4 OxygenSensors on this vehicle?
More info on possible causes of TroubleCode P0153 at https://autoservicecosts.com/obd2-codes/p0153

Sensor was recently changed, so I put that change as top suspect; either failed sensor or loose\frayed\burnt wiring.
Could be other things like Intake Vacuum Leak, or Exhaust leak or bad MAFSensor, or... per link above.

I have 3 sensors. 2 upstream and 1 downstream

 

[Kentone]

So, the lady and I took it out for a bit to run some errands. Drove in stop/go traffic as well as on the freeway where I could "give it the beans". No CEL and everything was smooth. I think I'll just wait to see if the issue pops up again before I change that same sensor again.

Thanks for the replies everyone....

 

[RonD]

No, not O2 sensor issue, they last 125k miles or 12 years which ever comes first

Misfire on Bank 2(#6) and code on Bank 2 O2 sensor are related

O2 sensors "see" Oxygen in the exhaust, not fuel, thats what the "O" stands for
Too much oxygen shows as Lean as far as codes
Too little oxygen shows as Rich

O2 sensors can only see a narrow range of oxygen, so too much or too little oxygen causes "out of range" and slow changes instead of the normally quick changes, 5-10 times a SECOND changes

When a cylinder fires most of the oxygen is burned up by the gasoline burning when spark ignites it
If there is a misfire then oxygen is not burned and its dumped into exhaust manifold
O2 "sees" too much oxygen, because its so much more oxygen the O2 sensor gets slow in changing voltage, i.e. slow response
It would eventually show Lean code as well, but this takes time because its a Fuel Trim code not technically an O2 sensor code, even though it comes up that way

 

[Curious Hound]

See? I knew somebody could elaborate on "Your exhaust doesn't smell right."

 

[Kentone]

Thanks a ton for the quick and thorough explanation, Ron. It seems to be running fine now. I'll probably run it around tomorrow just to make sure it's OK before giving it back to the wife. Thanks again everyone!

Happy New Year