hey guys, i know this question has been asked a million times before, but i can't seem to find any answers to my problem. I did an ecu error check and it came back with the faulty coolant sensor code (13 i think!). i've tried cleaning the connectors and terminals but doesn't seem to have made any difference. would this cause idling issues? when i start the car from cold, it idles at just shy of 1500rpm then after a while of driving goes down to just below 1000rpm. if i stop the car for a couple of minutes then start it back up, it can idle anywhere between 1500-2000rpm! it'll sit like that for a good while before it eventually settles back down to somewhere near the 1000rpm.... but sometimes it just stays hovering around 1500rpm. on a couple of occasions, i've nipped to the shops (not even a five minute drive... im a lazy bugger and love my z!), turned off the car, come back and started it and again the car jumps up to about 1500rpm then drops all the way down until it's about to stall, then climbs back to somewhere near the 1000rpm mark. It's only done that twice so far, but im begining to think these problems are related. There seems to be no logical pattern to this and it seems to just idle randomly, sometimes its roughly normal, but more times than most its excessively high. can anyone help please as it's rather embarrasing sat at traffic lights with the car idling at 1500rpm-2000rpm!:(

replace temp sensor and go from there. It will casue funny idle issues and rich running etc.

hey Jimmy, thanks for the reply. any idea how much they are?

ask mjp in the traders forum. or do a search on here. about £25 anyway. but id dou ble check that the wiring/connection is ok first.

Edited January 18, 200916 yr by j1mmytt

tried cleaning the terminals with a bit of emery cloth and squirting some wd40 on them, but don't think its made a s**ts worth of difference. Think i might just bight the bullet and buy one anyway, just to be sure.

if its still the factory one then you might aswell.

Let us all know if a new sensor cures it mate, and make sure the plug fron the loom is clean too, I've had more than my fair share of idling problems, so if it doesn't cure it, may be able to help, although idle problems can be many many different things, as I found out! :-) If your getting the error code tho, as Jimmy said, that's a logical place to start...

i noticed on the yellow connector that the spring clamp is missing, so think maybe somebody has had a problem with this in the past. gonna see if i can get one ordered tomorrow. Hopefully it will just be as simple as replacing the sensor, but knowing my luck with cars it's probably gonna be something else! i'll keep you all posted. thanks for all the help guys.

Just ordered the coolant sensor from mjp. £24.12+v.a.t. and £1 postage. Hopefully this will cure the over enthusiastic idling problem! i'll keep you all posted!

just fitted the sensor before i left work today and (touch wood) it seems to have solved the problem. no more sitting at traffic lights idling at 2000rpm!:dance: one problem down, 99million other minor niggles to go! :rofl:

Glad to hear it mate, I think I've got mine down to about 76 million now, with a lot of blood, sweat and tears... :-)

guys, I have the same problem with the idling mosting hovering between 1500 and 2000rpm. Terribly embarrassing at lights or in town and bloody dangerous in reverse if you weren't thinking.

 

Where abouts is the temp sensor located?

Hi mate,

it did cure the problem..... for a little while. i still get intermittent idling every now and again, but no where near as bad as before. it sometimes just hovers around 1200rpm then slowly drops down to about 800ish. Think my new problem is down to my thermostat playing up now though! Anyhoo, The sensor is number 14 on the pic on the post below. Nice and easy to get to aswell. just make sure you clean the connections on the plug before you put it back on.

http://300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=26120&highlight=clutch+reservoir

Hi mate,

it did cure the problem..... for a little while. i still get intermittent idling every now and again, but no where near as bad as before. it sometimes just hovers around 1200rpm then slowly drops down to about 800ish. Think my new problem is down to my thermostat playing up now though! Anyhoo, The sensor is number 14 on the pic on the post below. Nice and easy to get to aswell. just make sure you clean the connections on the plug before you put it back on.

http://300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=26120&highlight=clutch+reservoir

 

Thanks for that. I think I'll just bit the bullet and buy a new one from Mike. Hopefully it will sort my problem out. I hate it when it idles so high.

I cleaned the connection to the temp sensor, which had some green build up on it and gave it a spray of WD40 rather than buying a new sensor to see if it would make any difference and it did. After driving it for a while the idle revs drops down to approx 800rpm which is fine. Takes a little time to get there, but nonetheless is a huge improvement on where it was.

 

TBH I'm not sure if the connection is 100%. To my untrained eye, when I look into the connection on the harness it appears slightly broken, as if one side of the connection pieces that grip to the sensor is gone. Also the clip that holds the connection in place is missing, which suggests that some garage did a bit of ripping to get at it or did it when doing the timing belt.