A driver at jimmy john's (which is becoming a subaru club in its own rite) had issues with no-starts from warm. The car would start with throttle, but stalls at stops.

 

I suggested replacing the engine temp sensor, which i installed. This cured the fail-to-start condition, but now the temp gauge on the dash maxes to H and the fans are on from cold.

 

This is a 3 pin sensor with no other sensor for the gauge. The sensor appeared correct; the plug was a little tight to fit on. 

 

I am wondering if i have a pinout incompatibility, Do i have the wrong part? This is the echlin brand from napa for some $22.50

Possibly the pins are swapped. Any way to flip the plug over and still be able to plug it in? Could also be the new sensor is shorted internally, or shorted across the pins. IIRC High resistance = cold, low resistance = hot. Did you accidentally get coolant in the connector before plugging it in?

I had a similar issue with an aftermarket coolant temp sensor.  I do not remember what brand it was.  I installed it, and the needle pegged in the red.  I swapped it out for a genuine part, & it worked fine.  Not sure why. They looked exactly the same????????????

I did un plug a lot of the intake harness and undo the ground to access the part.

 

This is a grey molded plug, triangular in shape, there are 3 pins, 2 are brass and one is silver.

 

I told the kid not to worry about the operation of it, other than the temp gauge is probably the single most important gauge next to fuel or speed.. I'll suggest he go to the dealer for the part since the same thing has happened to this post^^^^^^^

 

Now hesays the AC is not working(not cold) but i would believe this is coincidental. 

 

This is a used car dealer car with no prior maintenance papers. Who knows. I would assume the AC was charged upon sale and leaked out, but not related to the temp sensor.

The temperature sensors for the dash gauge and the engine are separate sensors. It appears you found the sensor for the engine since it has more than one connection. The sensor for the gauge only has one wire connection as far as I know. By disconnecting the engine sensor it would most likely cause the AC fans to come on. The engine ECU can't monitor the engine temperature with the sensor disconnected.

This is an 03 model. I would have expected this, but on this particular engine there is only the sensor with 3 pins assuming the dash gauge is built into the 3rd pin, and there is no other sensor present on the crossover pipe except for a solenoid on the other side.

 

The dash gauge was functioning normally before replacing the sensor.

 

But the symptoms are like what you describe with the older setups with the brown 2 pin ecu temp sensor and the single lead gauge sensor.

Sounds like a faulty or incorrect sensor. Lots of temp sensors out there and the supplier for that part may have the listing incorrect or the manufacturer has the wrong specifications for the pinout. You may be able to swap pins around and make it work, but that may lead to complications in the future. I'd definitely recommend an OE sensor and send the faulty one back.

Where was the faulty sensor purchased? What brand was it?

Edited August 9, 201312 yr by Fairtax4me

Unless this part cross references with other makes, I can't imagine there being more than one part number from SUBARU for this part. I would imagine it to be the same for any engine in that generation class of engine/harness/ecu. Much like the temp sensor in a 90 ej22e is the same as a 98 impreza ej221

Appearently, i have the right part. Perhaps the connector needs a wiggle. So i would conclude the problem is the pin or the connector itself with fitment/contact issue.

 

http://www.capitolsupply.com/gov/catalog/products-7702443/ts5601-coolant-temp-sensor-napa-ts5601-napa-echts5601-cs7439311.html?optid=42614520

Edited August 13, 201312 yr by MilesFox

Product Feature: & 100% Tested & Inspected In An Environment - See more at

 

Any way you can compare pins with the original sensor? Was the original tested with an ohmmeter?

where did you get the part?

it may be as simple as a bad item or a low quality manufacturer.

Edited August 13, 201312 yr by johnceggleston

Get a factory senser if you need i have 20 of them