my car starts to act funny such as idle high and noticeable loss of power when accelerating. the only code i get when the car does this is coolant temperature sensor. if i unhook the battery and reset the computer, the same code will return when the car acts up again. could the coolant temperature sensor do these kinds of things to my car? thanks

 

How long is your battery left disconnected? Should be left off for 15-20 minutes, but I leave mine off for 30-45 minutes.

If that code is still there, you may need another sensor. And if the code is still there, you may need another engine harness from your neon model year.

 

well the end of the sensor where the wire would plug in has no plastic. its almost like the end of the sensor was hit and the plastic is all broken off. the battery was left off for almost an hour. the problem only happened after i changed my coolant pipes and this is when i noticed that the end was all broke off the sensor and that the plug from the wiring harness is just pushed on. i may have hit it and ruined what was left of a connection. will a dohc temp sensor of the same year work?

 

Sounds as though you connector could use replacing. Just get a new one. They are $15-$20 new.

 

alright, ill try a new one and say how i make out in a couple days.

 

btw a bad coolant temp sensor (or connector) can cause those issue along with hard starting with a cold engine or hot, and really really bad fuel milage... the coolant temp sensor for the engine (not the gauge in the dash) is an often very overlooked sensor many people jump to o2 sensor and other when their car starts running bad or the fuel milage is suffering which yes the o2 sensor has a major affect on that but the coolant temp sensor does also... if your coolant tempsensor is bad it can tell your pcm that your engine is either hotter or colder then it is..... when its telling the pcm that the engine is colder then it is the pcm continues to throw lots a fuel in the engine to warm it up to were it should be even though its there the pcm don't know cause the temp sensor is bad... when the coolant temp sensor tells the pcm that the engine is hot when its not it can make it almost impossible to start seen as the pcm is thinking the engine is warm so it don't dump as much fuel as a cold start needs... a good guideline for replacement for the coolant temp sensor i think if your replacing other sensor cause of wear like you o2 sensor its a good time to replace your coolant temp sensor....

 

Did you really need to repeat what I said?


The original poster is not jumping to conclusions. The car gave a code for the coolant sensor. You do not have to respond to every post made. Especially when you do not have the correct answer for the problem.

 

its hard to believe one sensor can cause so many problems. the car is working great for once and with no check engine light since i;ve change the coolant temperature sensor. i only get a check engine light every couple days that stays on for like 20 mins and goes away. its code 21 which i know is one of the oxygen sensors, but the car works good other than that. while on the subject of engine sensors, will a crank sensor from a sohc fit a dohc engine? thanks

 

All 2.0L crank sensors are will fit in other 2.0L block. As far as the connectors on the harness, they differ around 96/97 model year. If your soldering skills are up to par, get a good pigtail and get what you can.

 

Besides the entire gauge cluster issue, after driving a few in-city miles, the temp gauge pegs max and sets off alarm. After 10-15 seconds, it stops and returns to normal. Would a new sensor unit correct this or is this part of the poor connections on the instrument cluster circuit board? Or a "bad ground" somewhere in the system? Hope to find a good tech in So. Oregon