02 sensor goes south (95 Civic EX)

Just an FYI

Currently own a 92 Accord LX and 95 Civic EX coupe (both 5-spds and bought
new). Some of you guys/gals, like me, read the manual just to get familiar
with the internals, especially the electronics. After a while you start to
feel like a fireman waiting for the first alarm (meaning check engine
light) to happen. Or maybe the Maytag man. Whatever. Well after twelve
years, I finally got my first one last Friday evening on the Civic.
Hallelujah...

Pulled the test connector and inserted jumper (paper clip), turned on the
ignition and said "Talk to me Mama". "Where does it hurt?"...She said
"41". I said "alright, will take a look tomorrow". That BTW is the 02
sensor heater.

Hell, I didn't need the book for this one, but I did want to know the
heater resistance range which is 10 to 40 ohms. Saturday morning, popped
the hood, disconnected the 02 sensor conveniently located on the exhaust
manifold and whipped out the ohmeter. Checked the two pins for heater
resistance and what do you think I got??? Three guess, first two don't
count...Answer??? Open circuit. Double checked again. Yep, open circuit.
Did a comparison on the Accord. It read 22 ohms. Ok, I'm convinced. This
was a solid failure and even though OEM 02 sensors are pricy, I knew it
was defective and not an intermittent connection. I wasn't going to buy
aftermarket either, no thanks. What's saved in labor, I'll spend toward
the OEM part...

Called five different Honda dealers and said "give me your best price".
Now I swear, it never ceases to amaze me the price difference between
dealers. I got a $257.00 high to a $192.00 low. After finding a somewhat
decent 02 remover tool (that's another story), removed and replaced.
Cleared code, fired it up, no CEL. While letting it warm up, reset radio
code and programmed stations and set clock. Took it for a spin and let the
ECU get re-educated. All is well again...hopefully.

In retrospect, I can tell you during the CEL, the idle RPM way under shot
the normal 670 RPM when I originally took the car out for a test spin
looking for any other symptoms. Drove it for a total of three or four
miles and seemed to notice the smell of gasoline fumes after exiting the
car...Probably running a bit rich which would be expected.

This is the first 60 plus degree weekend here in northern VA and was
looking forward to doing other things, like taking a peaceful joy ride.
I'm not complaining though. Overall, a positive experience. At least I
saved some coin...Maybe this will help a few out there some day. Take
care...

I'm out of here...