lambda sensor..damged but car was fine...possible?

[str_motorsport]

hi, i was looking at my o2 sensor wher removing the manifold,and found that 2 wires were disconnected from the sensor's body......
car was running fine(i think)so is it possible?what does hte sensor do to the car?

 

[jasegould]

Your car "can" seem to run fine with the O2 sensor disconnected, we do MoT's at work and they dont normally show up until the emissions are checked.