outside temperature sensor

teednab-el

Hi there,

I was driving home this evening and my outside temperature clock started acting up. It was -1.5 degrees celcius at the time and all of a sudden I noticed that the clock rocketed up to +10 degrees celcius before gradually back going down to +2.0 celcius. I then stopped off for fuel at a filling station and when I was taking off, I noticed that the outside temperature clock started rising rather rapidly again to + 8 degrees celcius before coming down to -1.5 degrees. It seemed to work away fine then after that which i cant understand. Anybody know what could be wrong with it? The car is an Audi A4 (2000). I had the coolant temperature sensor malfunctioning there a few weeks back and got it fixed. Now this looks like another problem. One thing after another with this car lately.

Cheers.

alias no.9

Vorsprung durch Technik


Seriously though, if the sensor is under the bonnet somewhere and the car is stationary, heat from the engine may be affecting it. When the car is moving, the airflow is probably sufficient to make it work properly. You wont notice this except at extreme temperatures.

Guy:Incognito

alias no.9 wrote: »

Vorsprung durch Technik


Seriously though, if the sensor is under the bonnet somewhere and the car is stationary, heat from the engine may be affecting it. When the car is moving, the airflow is probably sufficient to make it work properly. You wont notice this except at extreme temperatures.

They usually have they under the wing mirrors in the shade, so it doesnt get affected by engine temp, direct sunlight etc and is a true air temp.

beachlife

If this is the Ambient temperature sensor(G17) then it is behind the front bumper and as the second poster said it could be heat blowing from the rad which would not normally show up except in these extreme conditions.
If when driving with no cars directly in front of you the temp stays steady or move slowly then I'd be happy enough with that.
You know your car is TEN now!!

teednab-el

beachlife wrote: »

If this is the Ambient temperature sensor(G17) then it is behind the front bumper and as the second poster said it could be heat blowing from the rad which would not normally show up except in these extreme conditions.
If when driving with no cars directly in front of you the temp stays steady or move slowly then I'd be happy enough with that.
You know your car is TEN now!!

Yeah i agree, the car is old, it was just unusual to see it shoot up to +10 degrees celcius in the space of a few secs and then back down to 2 degrees celcius. Have not seen it doing this before and I have been driving nearly every day in this cold spell of weather.

beachlife

I wouldn't be too concerned to be honest.I'm sure it'll be fine once the really cold spell passes.It has a habit of showing up any flaw in the wiring systems of cars.
Could be as simple as a bit of damp on a cable.
A full days driving can sort out alot of electrical problems!!(dries out everything under the bonnet)

teednab-el

beachlife wrote: »

A full days driving can sort out alot of electrical problems!!(dries out everything under the bonnet)

Funny enough I had 28miles of continuous driving done when it occurred so I dont know. I thought it might have something to do with a new radio I installed into the car, I thought at first it might be wires hitting off each other but again probably not.

fryup

teednab-el wrote: »

and all of a sudden I noticed that the clock rocketed up to +10 degrees.

was there any sexy women in the vicinity??