P0176 Cadillac Fuel Composition Sensor Circuit Malfunction

P0176 Cadillac Fuel Composition Sensor Circuit Malfunction

Possible causes
– Flexible Fuel (FF) sensor to Vehicle Power (VPWR) circuit harness open or shorted
– FF to VPWR circuit poor electrical connection
– Open in FF sensor signal circuit
– Short to ground in FF sensor signal circuit
– Fuel contamination
Symptoms
– Engine Light ON (or Service Engine Soon Warning Light)
P0176 Cadillac Description

Fuel Composition Sensors are used to determine the amount of ethanol alcohol in the gasoline. Normally, a gasoline engine should not have more than 10% ethanol alcohol in the fuel for proper operation. Some vehicles have a Flexible Fuel (FF) system on them that allow them to run on up to 85% ethanol alcohol in the fuel. The fuel composition sensor sends a frequency modulated signal to the engine controller which is proportional to the alcohol content of the fuel. The injector pulse width and the ignition timing are modified for the increased alcohol content. It takes almost twice the amount of alcohol compared to gasoline to produce the same power.

Cadillac Vehicle:Cadillac CTS Coupe, Cadillac CTS-V Coupe , Cadillac Eldorado , Cadillac Escalade EXT , Cadillac ATS , Cadillac CTS , Cadillac CTS Sedan , Cadillac CTS Sport Sedan , Cadillac CTS-V , Cadillac CTS-V Sedan , Cadillac Catera , Cadillac DTS , Cadillac DeVille , Cadillac STS-V , Cadillac STS , Cadillac Seville , Cadillac XTS , Cadillac XLR , Cadillac XLR Platinum , Cadillac Escalade , Cadillac SRX