1G Coolant Temperature Sensor?

[TurboBlue]

As some of you may know from the video section, i blew up my car right before X-mas, since then i have left to school in PA and the car still doesnt run.

My question is...Could the lack of my coolant temp sensor (threads into the thermostat housing) cause my car not to start? The wires broke and i have not yet put a new one, so the wires are cut and not connected to anything. My theory is that the engine will read as like 40 below Zero now, on an open-loop type of configuration, thus dumping so much fuel into the engine to try and compensate that it just floods and wont start..

Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this?

 

[GSXanimal]

With the wires cut it is the same as unplugging it, and mine will start with it unplugged.

 

[AWDPetmitsu]

I have read a post somewhere where the person had the same question as you. He came to the conclusion that, yes, the lack of a coolant temp sensor did make it unable to start his car. I don't remember the specifics of it, or why, or how, though.

 

[ArticNemesis]

Mine, although a 2g, won't start with the coolant temp sensor unplugged..

 

[painmaster]

With the wire cut my car reads -62 degress and the car will run and drive perfect even though the check engine light is on. Through experimentation I have found that if you raise the temp up from -62 to -54 then the radiator light comes on and the car will not start. Simply by lowering the temp back down to -62 the radiator light goes out and the car will start. Try connecting your sensor back up and see if it starts.

 

[Doug99RS]

At start up the ECU/PCM looks at engine temperature as one of the primary sensor inputs for cranking. There is a significant amount difference between a cold engine and a hot engine when talking about fuel needed for cranking. You may have other problems that are causing your no-start condition but you need to fix what you know is wrong with it first and go from there. Fix the coolant temp problem and go from there.
Doug

 

[RoasT BeeF]

You are exactly right.

My car wouldnt start after installing a new head and I couldnt figure it out for the life of me. It was flooding like crazy. After 2 weeks of looking I finally found out the wires to my coolant temp sensor broke... I wired it back up and boom the car started right up.

 

[OnABudget]

im wondering if my coolant temp wires braking has anything to do with me hitting fuel cut. i know it sounds weird. i was running 15 psi just fine on the stock ic, after the fmic install(which is when i broke the wires), i hit cut, so lowered the boost all the way to stock 10psi. i still hit fuel cut. so i dont know if my 550's are bad or it has something to do with the coolant temp. sensor? im going to fix it in a couple of hours and see(pray) if that works. what do you guys think?

 

[Doug99RS]

Are the wires still broken or have you repaired the damage?

 

[OnABudget]

i repaired the wire (more like 5 wires!) but i still hit fuel cut at 10 psi. im going to do a boost leak test and see if maybe thats where the problem is. i dont see how a fmic would flow so much more that i hit cut at 10psi when i wasnt hitting it at 15 psi before.

 

[OnABudget]

did a boost leak test-->fat leak at one of the injectors. ill fix it later this week when i put in my 660's.

 

[Nautica985]

My coolant temp senser wire broke. When the engine was cold I had to crank it 15-20 times for it to start, when i was warm it would start right up.

 

[clipise]

i had the same problem, and i took forever for me to figure it out. amazing what those 2 little wires can do.

 

[gotboost90gsx]

ok i didn't have any coolant in my car well i know i did, but anyways, i was driving my car and all the sudden it shut off, and it wont start again, and i put coolant in it but i didn't check the wires that you guys are talking about, and it sounds like when you start the car, but it just wont start it. so do you guys think that could be the same problem, and when i did try to start it smoke came out of my vents the first time, and thats it.

 

[T5Kthrasher]

I just had this same problem... but i aproached it all wrong.. Bought a new temp sensor, swapped fulepressure regulators, was about to tear the fuel system apart... then.. just now i was staring at it in the dark with a flashlight and noticed that one of the wires from the little harness was about to pop.. and the other was gone completely.. just finished rewireing and its running smooth agian.

 

[IamCool]

Well since you guys know something about coolant sensor i would like to ask you guys something. My car has the coolant light on. The car has full coolant and a thermostat in. I am tryng to figure out why the light is on. So i asked the previouuse owner about the cooloant sensor and he said that he don't know. So right now i am stuck. can someone try to post up a picture of where the coolant sensor is at?



Thanks.

 

[Nautica985]

there is a sensor on the bottom of the coolant overflow bottle, im not sure if there is any other ones

 

[Jackson]

Well since you guys know something about coolant sensor i would like to ask you guys something. My car has the coolant light on. The car has full coolant and a thermostat in. I am tryng to figure out why the light is on. So i asked the previouuse owner about the cooloant sensor and he said that he don't know. So right now i am stuck. can someone try to post up a picture of where the coolant sensor is at?



Thanks.

http://members.shaw.ca/dsm.1000q/Engineprimer/1G/tstat.htm

Just read up on it with www.vfaq.com and this engine primer

 

[IamCool]

So then the sensors are in the thermostat housing? What does the coolant sensor look like?

 

[AWDPetmitsu]

So then the sensors are in the thermostat housing? What does the coolant sensor look like?

I think you mean the coolant level sensor? It's in the coolant overflow reservoir which is on the passenger side. It's the white container next to the radiator.

 

[2GeNTSi]

Bringing this back from the dead...

So once again I'm having a starting problem, I've tried everything (starter relay, ignition switch, changing all cables, checked grounds, battery, starter) everything is pretty much new. Before today, the car had issues starting (solenoid would just click but eventually after a few tries it would start right up). I've replaced the starter quite a few times so I don't think it's that anymore, but today after I hit the gym, I went to start the car and it just clicked like usual but this time never started. I had to have my brother come by to push start it.

The only thing I think can think of at this time is either something electrical or perhaps this coolant temperature sensor. I was just changing a heater hose out the other day, but either way would a bad coolant temp sensor cause the car to crank slowly or would it just not crank at all, I'm not too clear on that.

I need to get this fixed asap, I'm going back to my apartment in two days and I can't fix it while I'm there.

 

[spooln4fun]

a bad coolant temp sensor will allow you to start the car, its just trying to start it after it has sat and cooled down it takes a while to get it started, but once started you could never tell anything had happend. Advanced auto carries these plugs from around 12 dollars i think

 

[2GeNTSi]

Right. Yeah, the only issue I have is starting the car. It doesn't have issues once it starts cranking, it just doesn't want to crank at all, the solenoid just clicks. I can sit there for a while just trying again and again getting nothing but a click from the solenoid, then randomly it'll crank and start right up like it was fine.

The car runs perfect afterwards

 

[2GeNTSi]

I worked around my starter issue by setting up a push button starter in my car. Haven't had a single problem since.