Seicento engine management light/coolant sensor problem.

[Fontiere]

Hello there!

A month ago I bought a Seicento SX on an 02 plate. I commute from Leeds to Manchester for work, so I do a lot of miles, and the car seems to handle it no problem. Last week on my way home the engine management light came on, but the following day it went off again. A friend of mine has an ecu reader, so he read it and the code that registered denoted to a coolant sensor issue. Now I'm not losing water, nor has my temp gauge warning light come on....etc etc...

Now the light came on again last night!

Question is, can anyone tell me if this is an intermittent thing to not worry about, or are my commuting miles killing the car?

Many thanks,

Fontiere.

 

[Eklipze3k]

Coolant temp sensor tells the ECU when to switch the fan on, if it's faulty the fan won't come on when the car gets too hot. Not really an issue if you're whizzing up and down the M62, and not such a big deal at this time of year but will need sorted.

Assuming your car doesn't have a temp gauge, fire it up and just leave it idling. After a few minutes the engine should get up to temp and the fan should kick in, if it doesn't I'd say the sensor needs replaced but be sure to check all relevant fuses and that the fan spins freely by hand (with the engine off, obviously!).

 

[Fontiere]

Brilliant mate!

Ta for the quick reply, and it seems like an easy fix! I'll check all things you
mentioned.

 

[fingers99]

On an 02 car it's the green coded sensor on the extreme thermostat end of the inlet manifold.

On these the ECU uses one sensor, the temperature warning light another.

 

[Fontiere]

Yet again Fingers! Thanks!

You lot are a helpful bunch.