'99 with overhead information console, the outside air temp. indicator works correctly around 50 degrees and below. Any warmer, it just says 0 degrees C. I replaced the ambient temperature sensor in front of the radiator, but nothing changed. Any Ideas? I would appreciate it.

 

And why do you want to know if Lastcoupe can answer your question?

 

I think what it actually reads is "OC" which stands for Open Circuit......not 0 degrees C. That means there is VERY high resistance (or an open) on the sensor circuit.......Does the vehicle in question also have Automatic HVAC controls? The one where it actually has a temperature (in numerals) selector on the heater controls? If so, you may have replaced the wrong ambient air temp sensor, there are 2 of them if it has both of these options, and they both look exactly the same. Give me a little more info and we'll figure it out. Here's a resistance chart for the sensor try to save it on your PC in case we need it later...ok?





Temperature

Resistance


Metric

English

Minimum

Normal

Maximum


-35°C

-30°F

206629ohms

227610ohms

250588ohms


-18°C

0°F

79825ohms

86463ohms

98878ohms


0°C

32°F

30502ohms

32645ohms

35054ohms


25°C

77°F

9456ohms

10000ohms

10574ohms


59°C

138°F

2458ohms

2579ohms

2707ohms



[hr]

Did that answer your question too?

 

I had posted the question earlier, and no one responded.
I saw he had given excellent to another problem, and he is an ASE & GM certified Pro Auto Technician, so I hoped I could make a special request for an answer. If anyone else knows the answer, I will be happy to hear from them also. I don't want to snub anybody, but like I said, I had already posted it, I think it is on page 2 now, and nobody responded. So I made a special plea to someone hoping for some help.

 

lastcoupe,
You are exactly right, it says 'OC', which I misinterpreted to mean zero.
It does have the Auto HVAC withAuto fan and vent settings and also numerical numbers around the temperature selector.
I removed the ambient air sensor from in front of the radiator and took in to the parts counter so they could get the number and give me the correct part. Are you saying that my vehicle has another sensor located somewhere else? If so, that's probably the open circuit. My old one wasn't open, it gave different OHM readings from ambient air,and after being in the freezer, and after being in hot water. I didn't know what the values were supposed to be, but the fact that they were changing from cold to hot told me it was probably OK, but it was a relatively inexpensive part and the only thing I knew to try. Thanks for taking time to address this. I can definitly tell you know what you are talking about.

 

No problem, You do have two of these sensors, They are both in the grille area...the one for the hvac is very near the right (passenger's) headlight, and the one for your driver's information center (DIC)display is mounted to the hood latch.It's in the center behind the grille...if that's the one you changed then you need to check the wiring connected to it all the way back to the DIC...disconnect the connector and jump accross the terminals with a fused wire (an in-line fuse) then turn on your ignition and see if the display reads SC........that stands for shorted circuit and if it can read that then you know the wiring is ok and you need a new sensor...

 

Thanks, LastCoupe, I had replaced theHVAC sensor. When I checked the DIC sensor, it was open, then the wires checked good as indicated by SC. So now I know which sensor to replace and my problem is solved.
This is a great ministry you are doing, using theexpertise and knowlege that God gave you to help strangers.
Jesus said "whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for me".

 

Your welcome, glad we figured it out! I don't know if ministry is the right term here, but I grew up very poor and have busted my anus all my life to be able to provide a nicer life for my kids. I know that I could not afford to pay the $90.00 an hour that my boss charges for my labor, and there are lots of other people that can't either, good people, so whenever I can help one of those people,I do. And when they appreciate it I'm glad that I can. So thank YOU!