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        General >> Problems >> coolant temp sensors
        
(Message started by: hepburn on May 16^th, 2006, 2:58pm)

Title: coolant temp sensors
Post by hepburn on May 16^th, 2006, 2:58pm

Hi,

Can anyone describe or post photo's of where I can find the 2 sensors providing coolant temperature information? From what i've read one is called an ECT and the other (don't know the name) supplies the dashboard water temperature guage.

My problem is that the dashboard guage is sometimes operating normally and other times takes an instant ride north to the hottest part of the dial, then returns back but not quite to the horizontal midway point where the needle normally sits (or just below). I've also never heard the radiator fans in operation so i'm keen to check the ECT which controls them.

Any help is much appreciated as I'm currently in Windsor, 100 miles from home, and keen to resolve the problem before i have to drive back friday night.

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by Dave on May 16^th, 2006, 3:23pm

I have a picture that I can post on here but Tinypic.com is down at the moment. Will keep trying.

The pic I have is on my 24v but don't know which engine you have.

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by hepburn on May 16^th, 2006, 3:44pm

oops, engine type would help eh? lol

It's a 16v dohc 2 litre. late '94.

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by Dave on May 16^th, 2006, 3:58pm

Ah right. Go to this page:

http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/16vlooms.htm

and the temperature sender is item B10 on the diagram.

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by Kjetil S on May 16^th, 2006, 4:54pm

Just wondering, the "grey one", is it this you mean?

http://gandalfs.mine.nu/~kjetil/scorpio/060516_180516.jpg

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by hepburn on May 16^th, 2006, 5:07pm

Thanks guys, big help :)

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by Kjetil S on May 16^th, 2006, 5:18pm

I was wondering myself, as disconnecting it seems to do absolutely nothing.

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by sector-9 on May 17^th, 2006, 12:28am

The fans are controlled by the engine ECU (except 2.9i 12V and diesels) - which of course uses the ECT sensor. Kjetil; I may be wrong but I think the sensor in your photo is the inlet air temperature sensor in which case there will be little noticeable effect with it unplugged. I would expect the ECT and gauge sensors to be mounted a little lower down on the engine, either on the side of the cylinder head (not the camshaft cover!) or somewhere near the thermostat housing.

Darrem

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by Kjetil S on May 17^th, 2006, 1:27am

Ah, okay. Thanks alot. Should probably keep looking then.

Really want to try and see if I can get the fans running, as I haven't noticed them starting. Ever. :)

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by meg on May 17^th, 2006, 8:42am

hi Kjetil S -sensor in your picture is the cps( camshaft position sensor)only picture i can find of sensor http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/manual/electrical/intbasic/TempSenderDOHC.pdf

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by Kjetil S on May 17^th, 2006, 11:14am

Thanks alot.

Would it be natural for a car to start (and run near perfectly) without the cps connected?

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by meg on May 17^th, 2006, 12:07pm

hi- tried it does start,seems to go ok,but if you read about it engine might not be running at its best. sensors etc explained here. http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/eecv.htm and it throws up an error code P0340 ;).hth

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by mr._floppy on May 17^th, 2006, 12:24pm

Like Meg my cooling fans only come on when the A/C is running.

It could be that the Scorpio cooling system is so efficient that they will only really come on when you're stuck in traffic on the hottest day of the year.

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by Octavian_P on May 17^th, 2006, 12:34pm

I had a big suprise with the cooling fans. I thought as mr. floppy did that the fans do come on only with AC on. A few days ago i was playing with an OBD2 cable and was monitoring the engine temperature, it was slowly climbing, when it reached 95-99 degree centigrade the fans did start but on low speed and they where almoust impossible to hear with the bonnet closed and from inside the car holding down the laptop. I was a bit relieved fiding this. I was afraid of the fans would not start, and with the comming of the summer i was thinking of engine barbecue. Now i still have to fix that "stupid" temp gauge, it works as it has a mind of it's own. Eaven at 99 degrees C it was on the blue zone. Other times it climbs till the middle.....but in a full year of ownership i didn't see it climbing more than half ::)

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by hepburn on May 17^th, 2006, 12:56pm

my problem turned out to be the connector was dirty. The two sensors are located below the thermostat, obscured by the two air inlet pipes. I removed the connector, squirted it with wd40, re-attached it and all is back to normal. I also let the car idle with the bonnet up and eventually saw both fans running at low speed, albeit only for a short time before they turned off again. Leaving the engine idling they again started and stopped, so i'm assuming that's normal behaviour.

Interestingly, on a drive today the temp guage read midway (as it usually does), then rose to full red and back to midway again in the space of a few seconds. A couple more miles down the road and it repeated this before eventually deciding to go to full red for the remaining journey. Nerve wracking to say the least. having cleaned the connectors i've not seen a repeat of this so i'd try that for your fluctuating guage issue...

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by Dave on May 17^th, 2006, 2:19pm

My 24v fans also behave in this way. I can barely hear them, only if I am stood outside the car and there is no other noise about. Temp gauge sits dead centre (after running for a mile or two) all day long, just rises fractionally before the fans come on then drops again.

Title: Re: coolant temp sensors
Post by sector-9 on May 17^th, 2006, 10:06pm

Even my diesel (which has a smaller radiator I think) only brings the fans on for about 30 seconds at low speed and that's after a long time idling on a warm day.

With the air-con running both fans will run at full speed when the gas pressure builds up - this will be most of the time except possibly on a very cold and windy day.

Darren