How does a bad coolant temperature sensor affect engine performance?
You can do it at home using a digital multimeter and a cooking thermometer. A bad engine coolant temperature sensor affects engine performance: It may cause a constant lean air/fuel mixture, causing the engine to stall or idle rough. Or it may cause a constant rich air/fuel mixture, causing an increase in emissions and fuel consumption.
How much does it cost to replace a coolant temperature sensor?
Unscrew the ECT sensor in an anticlockwise direction, similar to how a spark plug is removed. Install the new sensor and reconnect the connector cable. The average replacement cost of the Coolant Temperature Sensor is between $100 and $220. The labour cost is between $40 and $140 while the part itself costs between $50 and $80.
Can a car have more than one coolant sensor?
Some vehicles may have more than one temperature sensors, as sometimes different sensors are used to send the signals to the dashboard and the control unit of your engine system. This is optional and a manufacturer can use only one coolant temperature sensor to send the signals to both of these desired receivers.
How to test the coolant temperature of an engine?
1 Unplug the sensor electrical connector. 2 Get the engine surface temperature using an infrared thermometer or suitable cooking thermometer. Take the engine temperature on a location near the coolant temperature sensor. 3 Take a note of the temperature reading.
You can do it at home using a digital multimeter and a cooking thermometer. A bad engine coolant temperature sensor affects engine performance: It may cause a constant lean air/fuel mixture, causing the engine to stall or idle rough. Or it may cause a constant rich air/fuel mixture, causing an increase in emissions and fuel consumption.
Where can I find the temperature sensor on my car?
You could relay on the temperature gauge on your dashboard. However, on some vehicle models this gauge works through the ECT sensor as well. So, if the sensor doesn’t work properly, your temperature gauge won’t be of much help either. By using the thermometer, it won’t take you long to figure out that the thermostat isn’t working.
What should I do if my ECT sensor doesn’t change?
Remove corrosion from the sensor’s electrical terminal using electrical contact cleaner and repeat your test, if necessary. If the ECT sensor’s resistance didn’t change as the engine temperature rose, replace the sensor. If your sensor only registers infinite resistance, the sensor has a broken internal contact and you need to replace it.