Outside Air Temperature

[britannic]

Has anyone experienced this? Our OAT display in the driver's mirror spontaneously reads 98-99F, but the real temperature is actually 30-40F lower than that.

Our stealer refused to look into it, until we could prove it was really happening, so today we stopped by when it did.

Our A/C heater system is also acting up, when the temperature is cold (39F) and engine hot, it will blow a/c chilled cold air, even though the 2 temp (passenger/driver) controls set at 74F.

My understanding is that the heater and A/c are controlled by the small solar sensor (small plastic dome on the dash by the middle of the windshield) and the OAT gauge/sensor isn't related in any way to environment control.

[britannic]

Last night the temperature was reading correctly and then the ICE warning came up, except it displayed IEE instead... :D .

[Idle_Chatter]

Britannic, sounds like you need a new mirror. The sensor for the outside air temperature is visible through the grill on the driver's side of the radiator. That can be a problem with low air flow as the hot radiator is right behind it and is a real problem if you use the Winter Front grill cover as it traps hot radiator air between the cover and the radiator where the sensor is located. I removed my sensor from the bracket, removed the bracket and relocated my sensor to a pre-existing hole inside the black plastic skirt between the driver's daytime driving light and the bumper. That puts it into an open gap exposed to air flow, away from heated engine components and not blocked by the grill cover. Has been working great! Oh, by the way, the red plastic "domed optical sensor" in the middle of the dash is the light sensor for the automatic headlights - not climate control.

[HD-Nate]

--------------------------------------------------
I removed my sensor from the bracket, removed the bracket and relocated my sensor to a pre-existing hole inside the black plastic skirt between the driver's daytime driving light and the bumper. That puts it into an open gap exposed to air flow, away from heated engine components and not blocked by the grill cover. Has been working great!
--------------------------------------------------


GREAT IDEA, I know I will be running my Grill Bra this winter when it get below freezing!

[Idle_Chatter]

HD-Nate: The place I put mine is a black plastic skirt under the DRL lamp on the driver's side. With the grill popped off, you can see the hole on the inside of the skirt (side towards the center of the grill). The hole was already there, perfect size to snap the sensor into it. The connector and wires are under the DRL, the tip of the probe sticks out into the gap between the DRL, the bumper and the grill center, which is about 1" wide on my truck and puts the probe in clear air flow even when the grill cover is wrapped around the center grill. The temperature readings have been consistent and resonable ever since.

[britannic]

Idle_Chatter: Very informative and helpful, thank you! :cool: That's an excellent workaround; the kind of thing the factory should implement to cut down on warranty work!!