Bad Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor - Symptoms Explained | Signs of failing engine temp sensor

Engine coolant temp sensor measures the actual temperature of the engine. This data is required by the ECM to adjust the fuel injection parameters and timing parameters for best engine performance. The measurement is also used to activate the radiator fan to avoid engine from overheating. This video tells some symptoms when ECT sensor goes bad.

What happens when car overheats?
What are the signs of bad coolant temperature sensor?
Where is coolant temperature sensor located?
Why do engine overheat?
Bad coolant sensor symptoms.
Signs of bad coolant temperature sensor.
How to check coolant temperature sensor?
How to replace coolant temperature sensor?
How to test coolant temperature sensor?
Will bad coolant temperature sensor cause engine overheating?
Will bad coolant temperature sensor cause engine starting problems?
Diagnose coolant sensor.
Bad coolant temperature sensor signs.

[daviddowns]

i guessed on this part and it fixed my car. the temp gadge was going up to 260. car would like go into limp mode and wouldnt accelerate until it cooled down takes forever. i bought for$27 and had my mechanic put it on and change oil + filter for $50. so about $75 fixed a true pain in the azz. it hasnt overheated since and engine is good and runs good. glad ive been study on my car cause no one could really fix it until i had this done.🏁

[Mike_The_Hog_A_Nator]

I was chasing what I thought to be a hotter than normal temp on my 02' Blazer ZR2 w/ a 195° thermostat.
It ran fine but in 100° weather my temp gauge started reading higher than normal..
I changed the water pump, flushed the system, new coolant, thermostat, radiator cap, I had changed my ECT Sensor last year & installed a Severe Duty Clutch Fan.
Turns out that after using a OBD2 scan tool. My temp is correct at 197° to 199° while my gauge is reading over 210!
So I have a dash gauge that went bad or just got out of whack. Not sure how to calibrate it.
My sensor is reading correctly, bad gauge . Check the simple things 1st! Lesson of the day!

[BryanG]

Wow my car is doing all of these symptoms. I guess I got to replace the engine coolant temperature sensor. Hopefully this fixes the issue.

[dillydangle]

video was awesome told me exactly what I needed to know

[daviddowns]

easy to clip in. i had mine bleed after the cts was put in. now i have good heat and fans turn.

[loydfranks]

Look. This is what happens occasionally. Engine hot light comes on. Temp gauge reads cold. I pull over pull the ecm 10 amp fuse out wait 1 min. Put back in works fine. No fans ever continuously run and engine is never actually hot. Don't know if it is a faulty temp. Sensor or what.

[Prosper]

Tiguan 2012 fan running all the time, I suspected the coolant temperature sensor and after watching the video am definitely sure that it is the sensor.

[meassavuth]

🛑Hello you ! Can you explain more detail about functional of water temperature sensor ?
Because I did not understand clearly,
* What fail mean ?
* What bad mean ?
* What broken mean ?
😎Why I ask you like this ? Because you did not show the level of weakness of the sensor,
Example: between 0 to 100 % and the sensor just became weak or it just be good in 70% it mean this sensor became weak , so what happened ? Can it still be ok.or broken ?
Please help to show me, thanks,

[greatcesarsghost]

My sensor turns the fan on at 190.degrees witch on the dash show its normal not over heating ..replaced top coolant sensor (1) now going to replace bottom hose coolant (2) sensor VW's have .2. sensors having a hard time unclipping wire connectors no one shows u how on the videos

[Mr.Freeze]

I replace the ect, because the fan will not turn on when it gets hot, now I put a new one in the gauge goes to hot stays there even when it's cold ok the old one was ok with the temp reading but this one's goes to hot side of the temp gauge ??when I start it up..

[КирилДраганов-рд]

Hello, my car is a fiat bravo 2 2008 1.6 multijet diesel. Since I have it from the last summer the car does not have a stable idle. In the winter that problem was gone. This summer it is here again. I tried a lot of things but nothing is helping. Now I have error codes P01EA and P0487(for EGR). P01EA looks like very generic code but it looks like the ones for engine coolant problems. So I am thinking is it possible for a faulty coolant temperature sensor to cause an unstable idle when the car is warming and hot? For example, maybe the coolant temperature sensor is sending wrong information to the ECU that the car is still cold and the ECU is pushing the wrong air-fuel mixture as if the car is cold? Thanks in advance!

[MacGregor]

How hard is it to change an ECT sensor on a Cadillac Escalade?