JRF Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 My 2012 Ford Fusion SEL has been displaying the wrong exterior temperature for about a day now. I know it generally takes several minutes for it to read the correct temperature outside however after a 1.5 hour drive to my destination yesterday it was fluctuating considerably in it's reading. I checked on my phone and the temperature should have been 50-54 outside from point A to point B but the display kept reading 23-38 and would go up and down quickly on the display. Today I tried it again on a short trip and it was jumping around again and reading at least 10-20 degrees below what the actual air temperature was (measured with an outdoor thermometer). I have the automatic dual climate control and I noticed yesterday in my 1.5 hour drive that it was trying to blast warm air unless I cranked it down to 65. I actually was way too warm so I did the manual override on the fan to try and cool the car down inside. I'm thinking that since the exterior display thought it was between 23-38 degrees that the heat should have been kicking on? Is the exterior temp factored in to the auto climate control settings at all? Any thing I should check before I take it to my dealer? I have the Ford 100,000 mile warranty (54,000 actual miles to date) so I would think it would be covered if there is something indeed wrong with the sensor. I've done some searching on the forums and can't seem to find anyone else having this particular issue. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRF Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Well after getting the issue taken care of at my dealer the first time it is now doing this same thing again. Seeing as how I didn't get any replies the first time I thought I would update the post and see if someone has any ideas here. Here is what the service order states from 5/15/15: Com BODY ELECTRICAL; customer states exterior temp does not read properly Cau VERIFY EXTERNAL TEMP IS INDICATING 25 DEGREES WHEN ACTUAL AIR TEMP IS 70 DEGREES. PERFORM SELF TEST ON HVAC UNIT AND FOUND ALL PASS CODES. AFTER RUNNING SELF TEST EXTERNAL TEMP SENSOR STARTED TO READ CORRECT TEMP. ACCESS AMBIENT AIR TEMP SENSOR AND PERFORM COMPONENT TEST ON SENSOR TO VERIFY SENSOR IS READING CORRECTLY AND SENSOR CHECKED OK. Cor ALL WORKING OK NOW. RELEASE VEHICLE TO CUSTOMER. Today the temperature was going up and down almost like a ticking timer at times. Tonight on my drive it was at least 5-10 degrees off from the outside temperature. How can I avoid taking it back in and paying $89.99 to have them tell me basically nothing is wrong? Any ideas? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eGuru Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Are you saying that it has been working fine for the last 6 months? Only failing now that cool weather has returned? I'm not sure how much trouble it would be to just remove the sensor and replace it. I have seen these sensors selling for about $20 so that would be a less expensive option than going to the dealer. If you have an ohm-meter you might be able to first narrow down the problem to being an intermittent sensor, bad connections, or a defective temperature control module. The easiest place to access the circuit is at the C215 connector behind the driver's side "kick panel". There are two connectors there. C215 is the larger upper one. Separate the male and female and make your measurements on the male half. Measure between Pin 11 (Grey-Blue wire - approximately in the center of the connector) and Pin 18 (violet-orange wire - at end of the opposite row). Select a meter range with the best resolution. Have someone use a short stick to lightly tap the sensor housing and sensor connector to simulate vehicle vibration. Avoid tapping the end of the sensor tube. See if the reading fluctuates. Edited November 9, 2015 by eGuru 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRF Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Hi eGuru, Yes, for some reason it appeared to be working but now it seems to be fluctuating greatly and does not always display the correct temperature. It wouldn't bug me so much but if I'm thinking correctly this sensor also influences my automatic dual climate control, correct? If it is the sensor itself would it just basically be plug and play or is a little more wiring ability require? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Yes it's part of the climate control algorithm. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRF Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Yes it's part of the climate control algorithm. Thanks. It seemed like it because when it was displaying an exterior temp 25-30 degrees colder outside than it actually was it was really getting too warm in the cabin because it was blowing warm air to compensate for what temperature it thought it was outside. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eGuru Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hey JRF, Just get a new sensor on ebay - just search for 'Fusion ambient air temperature sensor' or at your favourite autoparts place (e.g. Dorman 902-021). Its plug-n-play. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRF Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 A while back someone posted a diagram as to where this sensor was located. I can't seem to find. Does anyone have it? Also, do I need to remove anything to access this sensor? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 A while back someone posted a diagram as to where this sensor was located. I can't seem to find. Does anyone have it? Also, do I need to remove anything to access this sensor? C132. Just be aware that replacing the sensor may not necessarily remedy the problem. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRF Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Thanks drolds1. Do I have to remove anything to access this sensor? Also, if it's not the sensor but bad wiring or a temperature control sensor what other steps would be involved? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Thanks drolds1. Do I have to remove anything to access this sensor? Also, if it's not the sensor but bad wiring or a temperature control sensor what other steps would be involved? IDK if anything has to be removed. Sorry. I guess the best way to determine that is to take a look at the area. I don't have the troubleshooting tree for the 2012s. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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