System and method for monitoring operation of an exhaust gas treatment system

A system and a method for monitoring operation of an exhaust gas treatment system using an exhaust gas sensor in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is provided. The exhaust gas treatment system has an exhaust pipe configured to receive exhaust gases. The exhaust gas treatment system has an SCR catalyst coupled to the exhaust pipe. The exhaust gas treatment system has a urea delivery system configured to delivery urea upstream of the SCR catalyst. The exhaust gas sensor has an ammonia sensing electrode communicating with exhaust gases downstream of the SCR catalyst. The method includes generating a first output signal utilizing the ammonia sensing electrode, the first output signal being indicative of a first ammonia level. The method further includes generating a second output signal to induce the urea delivery system to deliver a predetermined flow rate of urea upstream of the SCR catalyst. The second output signal is based on the first output signal. The method further includes calculating a first ammonia level range utilizing at least a first engine operating parameter. Finally, the method includes generating a third output signal when the first ammonia level is outside the first ammonia level range. The third output signal indicates at least one of the urea delivery system having degraded operational performance, the SCR catalyst having degraded operational performance, and the exhaust gas sensor having degraded operational performance.