RE: temp. sender repair?

[SOP8920@Siena.edu]

Brendan wrote:
>I had a small coolant leak where the coolant temperature sender threads
>in.  During the period that it leaked, the temp. gauge stopped working. I 
>had just replaced the sending unit a few months ago so i assumed that the
>dribbling coolant fouled up the connector. 
[snip]

It sounds like your temperature sending unit is bad once again. When mine
failed about three months ago.. I had very similiar symtoms. At first, I
thought it was the reservoir sensor.. then noticed the leak around the threads
of the sending unit for the temp. I simply got sick of watching the warning
signals and unplugged the temp. sending unit while I waited to get a new one. I
don't recommend this option, but I simply couldn't deal with it anymore. Once
the sending unit was unplugged.. the warning ended. 

Thinking about it now, I wonder if anybody out there knows if there is a dual
function to the temperature sending unit. Does it send info to the ECU to
monitor/adjust fuel-air mixture for optimal "cold engine" performance? With the
sending unit unplugged, does the engine run differently?

Anyway, give it a try. Unplug the sending unit and see if the warning goes
away. If it does, it is most likely the sending unit. I tried it plugged in and
unlplugged... sometimes the warning would go away for a couple of hours of
driving with it plugged back in, only to return. With it unplugged, the warning
disappeared. 

I was worried about the coolant fouling up the connector.. so when I installed
the new one, I plugged in and removed the old one about a dozen times to clean
the blade connectors. No problems since it was installed. 

                               -Osman Parvez
                                89 200q
                                Siena College
                                Albany NY