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RX ran like poop and had check eng light on. FIX


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well the new motor I built for the RX sounded really good mechanically but ran kinda crappy and had a check engine light on after(and before) replacement.

 

I checked the code and it was a 21 coolant temp sensor circit.

 

removed connector and inspected. nasty green corrosion in the temp sender and the connector. It actually crept up into the wiring too.

I think just about every older fuel injected sube I have worked on has had this problem to some degree or another. this one just happened to be bad enough to set a code.

 

I carfully cleanded the connections in the temp sender and replaced the harness connector(used a bosh fuel injector repair connector. motormite part # 85850)

used dielectric grease and reassembled.

 

code is gone and engine runs much better now.

 

I only bother to bring this up because I have seen it so many times now and it does affect performance. there are tech articles on this also.

 

the mounting position makes it really easy for moisture to acumilate in the connector.

dielectric grease is a must on this connector. do it before you have a probelm if at all possible.

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I pulled my temp sensor before my car blew up. The connector was so corroded I thought it was a single wire connector, not until I started to clean everything out I saw there were 2 terminals.

 

After I cleaned everything up, it cleared all 5 ECU codes i had. Car didnt run much better, and a week later is when it spit the rod through the block.

 

I gotta get me some of that electric grease stuff.

 

-Brian

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I pulled my temp sensor before my car blew up. The connector was so corroded I thought it was a single wire connector, not until I started to clean everything out I saw there were 2 terminals.

 

After I cleaned everything up, it cleared all 5 ECU codes i had. Car didnt run much better, and a week later is when it spit the rod through the block.

 

I gotta get me some of that electric grease stuff.

 

-Brian

 

usually the connector needs to be replaced. might have saved you a motor if you caught it sooner. I know you were battling that problem for a while. sucks.

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