 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / BMW Cars / June 2007E30 325i Outside temp
My 1990 325 has a factory outside temperature display/date/digital clock in place of the analogue clock or OBC. It has always been highly reliable and accurate since I bought the car 17 years ago but recently it is showing approx 10C below the actual temp. Anyone know where the sensor is and if they are prone to any faults of this kind? > My 1990 325 has a factory outside temperature display/date/digital clock in > place of the analogue clock or OBC. It has always been highly reliable and > accurate since I bought the car 17 years ago but recently it is showing > approx 10C below the actual temp. Anyone know where the sensor is and if > they are prone to any faults of this kind? It's in the front brake duct, behind the spoiler. When they fail you normally just get a constant very low reading, such as -37C.  SignatureWho needs a life when you've got Unix? :-) Email: john@unixnerd.demon.co.uk, John G.Burns B.Eng, Bonny Scotland Web : http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk - The Ultimate BMW Homepage! Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html www.Strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible price > > My 1990 325 has a factory outside temperature display/date/digital clock in > > place of the analogue clock or OBC. It has always been highly reliable and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > It's in the front brake duct, behind the spoiler. When they fail you > normally just get a constant very low reading, such as -37C. Burns is right - and it is not uncommon for the sensor to fail. Used ones go for $10-$20 on ebay. -- C.R. Krieger (Been there; done that) >> My 1990 325 has a factory outside temperature display/date/digital clock >> in [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > It's in the front brake duct, behind the spoiler. When they fail you > normally just get a constant very low reading, such as -37C. In that case it has not failed - simply reads low. Thanks for the info about the location - I'll check its condition. David >>> My 1990 325 has a factory outside temperature display/date/digital clock >>> in [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > David It's either a thermistor or a thermocouple (the former is my guess), and these devices can fail in such a fashion that the resistance they attain at a certain temp is incorrect. The circuits they are in are prone to reacting to corroded connections too. As a general rule, the resistance they have is higher at cold temperatures, so corrosion on the contacts can lead to lower readings on the display. A thermocouple and a thermistor behave similarly, although they achieve results in a different manner. I do not think it is important which device is used in your car. I think your problem is either a poor connection due to the location of the connector, or the device itself is failing. As was pointed out earlier, they generally are a go-no-go kind of device, so paly with the connector for a few minutes, and replace the device next week if it still does not read correctly. > It's either a thermistor or a thermocouple (the former is my guess), and > these devices can fail in such a fashion that the resistance they attain [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > with the connector for a few minutes, and replace the device next week if > it still does not read correctly. Thankyou for that Jeff. Todays temperature was around 23 and the reading was 8.5 which points to the above. Investigations pending. >> My 1990 325 has a factory outside temperature display/date/digital clock >> in [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > It's in the front brake duct, behind the spoiler. When they fail you > normally just get a constant very low reading, such as -37C. On the older ones it was a constant high of 84F / 29 or 30C. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.