Insignia Temperature Sensor Issues

I've got a 2009 Vauxhall Insignia diesel with over 200,000 km on the clock and some weird issues I think are linked to the outside temperature sensor. The car's throwing an error code related to it. More annoyingly, the air conditioning won't kick in, and last winter the windscreen washer jets were freezing up solid, even when it wasn't that cold. Also, the heated mirrors seem to have stopped working. I've looked at the sensor itself, and the wiring seems okay at first glance, but I’m wondering if it’s a deeper electrical problem, maybe a broken wire or bad plug. What do you think?

4 comment(s)

Sounds plausible. The outside temperature sensor provides data to several systems. The ECU uses it to adjust fuel mixture, the climate control obviously needs it for the AC, and the body control module uses it for things like heated mirrors and washer jet freeze protection. Have you checked the sensor's resistance with a multimeter? An open or short circuit would definitely cause problems.

I don't actually have a multimeter or know how to use one. But would it be possible to use a sensor diagnostic tool, like the one from Bosch to check the sensor signal value? That way I can confirm that the sensor data are wrong.

Yeah, using a diagnostic tool is a good idea, that should display the sensor's output. If it shows a consistently wrong temperature (way too high or low) or a flatline, then it points towards a faulty sensor or wiring issue. Given all the symptoms, a broken wire or bad plug connection near the sensor is quite likely, as you initially suspected. It might be worth having it checked at a workshop.

I took it to a local garage, and as you suspected, it turned out to be a corroded connector on the sensor wiring. They cleaned it up and replaced the connector for 95€. Everything's working fine now, including the AC and heated mirrors. Thanks again!

Join the discussion now: