A trouble code P0135: O2 Bank 1 Sensor 1 Heater Circuit Performance on your Jeep Cherokee (Grand Cherokee, Wrangler) lets you know that there's a problem with the heater element of the upstream O2 sensor.
This code usually points to a bad upstream oxygen sensor. The cool thing is that testing the heater element of the upstream O2 sensor, to make sure the sensor is bad or not, is easy. In this tutorial I'll show you how in a step-by-step way.
Contents of this tutorial:
You can find this tutorial in Spanish here: Calentador del Sensor de Oxígeno Delantero -P0135 (1996-2000 4.0L Jeep) (at: autotecnico-online.com).
If you need to troubleshoot the rear O2 sensor (HO2S 1/1) P0141 trouble code, take a look at the following tutorial: Rear Oxygen Sensor Heater Test -P0141 (1996-1999 4.0L Jeep).
Circuit Descriptions Of The Upstream Oxygen Sensors
The upstream oxygen sensor on your 4.0L Jeep Cherokee (Grand Cherokee, Wrangler) is known by several different names, among them:
- O2 sensor before the catalytic converter.
- Front oxygen (O2) sensor.
- Bank 1 Sensor 1.
- O2S11.
- Pre-catalytic converter oxygen (O2) sensor.
It doesn't matter what the upstream 02 sensor is called, the fact of the matter is that it has 4 wires coming out of it.
2 of these 4 wires belong to the heater element inside the oxygen sensor. The other 2 are the ones that provide the oxygen content info of the exhaust, to the PCM (Powertrain Control Module = Fuel Injection Computer).
To get to the bottom of the P0135 trouble code, we don't have to test all 4 circuits (wires), we only have to worry about the 2 wires that supply the heater element with power and Ground.
| O2 Bank 1 Sensor 1 Circuits | |
|---|---|
| Pin | Description |
| 1 | Heater Element 12 Volts (from Auto Shutdown Relay) |
| 2 | Heater Element Ground |
| 3 | HO2S Low Signal |
| 4 | HO2S High Signal |
Where To Buy The Oxygen Sensor And Save Some $$$
If the heater element tests prove that the upstream O2 sensor on your Jeep Grand Cherokee is bad and you need to buy one, I recommend taking a look at the links below.
If you do some comparison shopping, you'll be surprised how more cheaper it is to buy the upstream O2 sensor online.
Check out the link below and compare:
17%NOTE: If you're not sure if the above O2 sensors fit your particular 4.0L Jeep, don't worry, once you get to the site, they'll make sure the sensor is the right one, if not, they'll find you the right one.
TEST 1: Verifying The Heater Element Is Getting Power
We'll start our testing by making sure that your Jeep's upstream O2 sensor's heater element is getting power.
This power comes in the form of 12 Volts, which we can easily verify with a multimeter in Volts DC mode.
CAUTION: Perform this test on a completely cold engine or you run the risk of getting severely burned by the O2 sensor! Be careful and take all necessary safety precautions!
OK, this is what you'll need to do:
- 1
Locate the upstream oxygen sensor and disconnect it from its harness connector.
- 2
Locate the wire that connects to terminal number 1 of the engine wiring harness oxygen sensor connector.
NOTE: You'll test the wire that's on the engine wiring harness connector side and NOT on the O2 sensor itself. This connector has male terminals. - 3
Place your multimeter in Volts DC mode.
- 4
With the red multimeter test lead probe the wire that connects to terminal number 1 of the O2 harness connector (see illustration above).
- 5
Connect the black multimeter test lead directly to the battery's negative (-) terminal.
- 6
Turn the key ON but don't start the engine.
- 7
Your multimeter should read 10 to 12 Volts DC.
Let's take a look at your test results:
CASE 1: Your multimeter recorded 10 to 12 Volts DC. This is the correct and expected test result and tells you that your 4.0L Jeep's upstream oxygen sensor's heater element is getting power.
The next step is to make check that terminal number 2, of the O2 sensor harness connector, is feeding Ground to the heater element. For this test, go to: TEST 2: Verifying The Heater Element Is Getting Ground.
CASE 2: Your multimeter DID NOT record the indicated voltage. Re-check that you're testing the correct wire and that the key is in the RUN position (but don't crank or start the engine) and re-test.
If you still don't see 10 to 12 Volts DC, then this test result exonerates the upstream oxygen (O2) sensor on your 4.0L Jeep as bad.
Although it's beyond the scope of this article, the next step is to check the continuity between the terminal number 1 wire of the O2 sensor harness connector and the Auto Shutdown Relay.
