1- How does the coolant temperature sensor "CTS" work?
The coolant temperature sensor is a thermistor ( a resistor which varies the value of its voltage output in accordance with temperature changes. ). The change in the resistance values will directly affect the voltage signal from the water thermosensor. As the sensor temperature decreases, the resistance values will increase. As the sensor temperature increases, the resistance values will decrease.
The coolant temperature sensor lets the engine control computer know what the engine temperature is by gathering information from the engine coolant temperature.
The most common coolant temperature sensor location is near the thermostat housing, sometimes the computer uses the same sensor to operate the temperature gauge in your instrument cluster, depending on the car make and model.
If your vehicle is equipped with what seems to be two coolant temperature sensors , your car has a coolant temperature sensor and a coolant temperature sending unit, the coolant temperature sending unit operates the temperature gauge in your instrument cluster and the coolant temperature sensor sends the signal to the engine control computer to transmit the correct engine temperature, the way to recognize which one is the sending unit and which one is the actual coolant temperature sensor is to unplug the electrical connector and see how many wires are attached to it, the CTS has two terminals, while most temperature sending units only have 1.
2- How do I know if the coolant temperature sensor in my car is bad?
There are several ways to know if the coolant temperature sensor is malfunctioning, if the sensor is bad it will trigger a trouble code and the check engine light in the dashboard will come on, you can retrieve the engine code and see if it is related to the coolant temperature sensor, even if the engine control computer doesn't store a trouble code, there is another way to suspect a bad coolant temperature sensor : If your vehicle starts using more fuel than usual, starts having trouble starting when the engine reaches normal operating temperature or you notice black smoke coming out from the exhaust tail pipe, it is very likely that these symptoms are related to a bad coolant temperature sensor. We have included in this page detailed information enhanced with pictures about how to diagnose and replace a bad coolant temperature sensor. (http://www.howstuffinmycarworks.com/CTS_coolant_temp_sensor.html)
The coolant temperature sensor is a thermistor ( a resistor which varies the value of its voltage output in accordance with temperature changes. ). The change in the resistance values will directly affect the voltage signal from the water thermosensor. As the sensor temperature decreases, the resistance values will increase. As the sensor temperature increases, the resistance values will decrease.
The coolant temperature sensor lets the engine control computer know what the engine temperature is by gathering information from the engine coolant temperature.
The most common coolant temperature sensor location is near the thermostat housing, sometimes the computer uses the same sensor to operate the temperature gauge in your instrument cluster, depending on the car make and model.
If your vehicle is equipped with what seems to be two coolant temperature sensors , your car has a coolant temperature sensor and a coolant temperature sending unit, the coolant temperature sending unit operates the temperature gauge in your instrument cluster and the coolant temperature sensor sends the signal to the engine control computer to transmit the correct engine temperature, the way to recognize which one is the sending unit and which one is the actual coolant temperature sensor is to unplug the electrical connector and see how many wires are attached to it, the CTS has two terminals, while most temperature sending units only have 1.
2- How do I know if the coolant temperature sensor in my car is bad?
There are several ways to know if the coolant temperature sensor is malfunctioning, if the sensor is bad it will trigger a trouble code and the check engine light in the dashboard will come on, you can retrieve the engine code and see if it is related to the coolant temperature sensor, even if the engine control computer doesn't store a trouble code, there is another way to suspect a bad coolant temperature sensor : If your vehicle starts using more fuel than usual, starts having trouble starting when the engine reaches normal operating temperature or you notice black smoke coming out from the exhaust tail pipe, it is very likely that these symptoms are related to a bad coolant temperature sensor. We have included in this page detailed information enhanced with pictures about how to diagnose and replace a bad coolant temperature sensor. (http://www.howstuffinmycarworks.com/CTS_coolant_temp_sensor.html)
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