Coolant temp sensor problem

[e36bmer]

I am having a few minor issues I am trying to fix before selling my car:
It always takes a while to start and runs poorly until it is warm and on occasion it will run poorly here and there while warm. Accompanied with terrible gas mileage when I am driving short trips to work and back and Decent fuel mileage when I take long trips.

So, I thought it to be my coolant sensor. Well... First: I can't find the sensor at any parts stores. And second: the wires leading to the sensor consist of a ground and a power wire that seems to only receive a matter of mV when it should have 5V. So something there is the matter.

Is there someway to check the voltage such as is there an output from the ecu that i can confirm is outputting 5v, or can I take 5v from something else in my engine bay to make it work?

Now for the sensor, can I just get any 4g63 coolant sensor to work?

Here is what mine looks like:

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I know kinda weird, but that is what I could come up with.

 

[e36bmer]

haha. I just realized that when I took those pics at autozone, I forgot to plug that back in, and the car ran just like it always does. So, I would say that is definitally a problem.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Hi got mine at advanced auto about 30 dollars.

 

[e36bmer]

One more thing. It is a '92 Plymouth laser RS (turbo AWD) 6bolt block/4 bolt rear
it has a few upgrades on the car such as 16G/ forced perf. mani. along with other misc stuff. So, it may be possible the previous guy messed with some things.

 

[e36bmer]

Hi got mine at advanced auto about 30 dollars.

Yes, but the ones that Advanced auto has don't fit the plug that my car uses. They are quite different, and I looked at ones from all years plymoth laser, diff years eclipse. talon and galant VR-4

 

[e36bmer]

Has anyone had the same problem:

Not getting 5V to the coolant temp sensor

-or-

Not being able to find the correct sensor.

 

[Laysher91]

What shape is the wire for the connector in? Mine are usually pretty hard from the heat and they crack easily due to the angle to the sensor. Maybe you have a break in the wire. Have you tested the sensor? Make sure its the sensor before you buy a new one.

 

[e36bmer]

The wire is in pretty poor shape where it comes into contact with the connector. So, I stripped a little of the wire further down and tested it and nothing. I checked the sensor for resistivity and I get nothing. The housing (white part) on the Sensor is physically broken anyway.

Update: I have been searching on the internet and can't seem to find a coolant temp sensor with that end for anything. Am I looking at the correct sensor? It is at 7 o'clock or so when looking at the radiator cap from the front of the car.

 

[Laysher91]

WHOA!!! I am an idiot...I just looked at the picture. You have the AC fan switch unplugged in the picture; that will have nothing to do with your bad starts/warmups. Thats why you can't find a coolant temp sensor with that plug! The coolant temp sensor for the ECU is the in the bottom part of the thermostat housing. It is the one with the two perpendicular spades. The other sensor has one spade and is for the dash temp gage. Try testing the real coolant temp sensor and the wires then check back.

 

[e36bmer]

WHOA!!! I am an idiot...I just looked at the picture. You have the AC fan switch unplugged in the picture; that will have nothing to do with your bad starts/warmups. Thats why you can't find a coolant temp sensor with that plug! The coolant temp sensor for the ECU is the in the bottom part of the thermostat housing. It is the one with the two perpendicular spades. The other sensor has one spade and is for the dash temp gage. Try testing the real coolant temp sensor and the wires then check back.

Thank you. That should help me. Well, I guess my a/c fan doesn't work then. It has been too cold for me to even turn the a/c on.

 

[steve]

I marked the ECT sensor in your picture.