my other two GM cars update quite quickly
Ambient temperature sensor
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 194
Likes: 10
From: Coral Springs Florida
Ambient temperature sensor
I have a quick question about this sensor. Went to go flip on the ac yesterday and there was no cool air. After reading everywhere the first place I see to start is with this sensor.
The dash reading is off a little I thing but it is now at the default 75. I tried the 3 button reset. When I plug it into the laptop and log it on hpt it shows 32F. Do I have a bigger problem because the dash does not show what the sensor sees or is it fighting with the inside temp sensor? For 10$ im going to replace it anyway I just wanted to see if anyone ad any input why it wouldnt match up
The dash reading is off a little I thing but it is now at the default 75. I tried the 3 button reset. When I plug it into the laptop and log it on hpt it shows 32F. Do I have a bigger problem because the dash does not show what the sensor sees or is it fighting with the inside temp sensor? For 10$ im going to replace it anyway I just wanted to see if anyone ad any input why it wouldnt match up
Le Mans Master
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From: Dryden MI
Team Owner
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From: Southern Utah
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Race Director
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From: Toronto, Canada
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
Team Owner
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From: Southern Utah
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Dryden MI
My other GM cars ambient temperature readings are accurate, I don't think the c6 is reliable. Not a big deal, but annoying when something does not work properly. From what I have been able to find out about this, is that the outside air temp sensor will have an effect on the operation of the AC. Owners manual says outside air temp will change in five minutes at 12 mph, two minutes above 32 mph, mine is much slower in updating than this.
Last edited by Cooter Tech; Jul 24, 2016 at 02:34 PM. Reason: Spelling
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,271
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From: Darien, IL
St. Jude Donor '15-'16
The sensor is mounted directly in front of the radiator on the passenger side. After driving the car and then stopping, the sensor would show a very high temp as it is picking up the heat from the hot radiator. It wouldn't do any good for anyone if it showed an outside temp of 180 degrees right after startup, so it waits long enough for the car to get moving and get actual fresh outside air to the sensor before it starts displaying correctly. The temp of that outside fresh air is what really matters.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 21,502
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From: Southern Utah
My other GM cars ambient temperature readings are accurate, I don't think the c6 is reliable. Not a big deal, but annoying when something does not work properly. From what I have been able to find out about this, is that the outside air temp sensor will have an effect on the operation of the AC. Owners manual says outside air temp will change in five minutes at 12 mph, two minutes above 32 mph, mine is much slower in updating than this.
Moderator, Tech Contributor
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 15,563
Likes: 4,034
From: Cape Coral, Florida
Which temp ??…ambient temp sensor ??…-30 is an “open circuit”..as if you disconnected the sensor…if the engine computer “thinks” the ambient temp is -30 the AC will not turn on…what is “the big 3 reset” ??
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,428
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From: Brick NJ
I had the same issue, the a/c and the defroster wouldn't work, also the temp readout showed 30 degrees, i replaced the sensor and that solved the problems, also the temp readout read correctly. Not that difficult to replace, i removed the lower air damn and removed the brake vent to access the sensor.