EFI code6 ect sensor question

[johnwc723]

this code i have been getting sparatically, i had it a couple days ago and now its pretty much staying on constantly, anoyne else had this problem and not had to replace the sensor, or may it be something more sinister

my real question; the ect sensor is the green one on the thermostat housing right?

[AZmike]

The connector is green, but the top of the sensor it self is black plastic. The new sensor fixed my code 6. Hopefully you have a deep 19 mm socket. Yes, it's on the top of the thermostat housing.

[88LXi/87CRXSi]

I hate to disagree with Mike on this one, since it fixed his ect problem, but I'm pretty sure it's the sensor closer to the head, with a white connecter (17mm, I think). The green one is the sensor for the fan timer. Since I wasn't sure, I went outside and sure enough when I jumpered the green one, the fan came on and ran.

[shepherd79]

88LXi/87CRXSi is right, the green connector is for fan sensor. the temperature sensor is the other one closest to the valve cover.

[johnwc723]

hmm but on my car there is some sensor that is connected on the radiator on the drivers side (ont he bottom)! what does that one do? (i thought that was the fan sensor)

[Vinny]

The One in the radiator controls the radiator fan when the coolant temp in the radiator reaches a certain temp. The one in the thermostat housing goes to the fan timer. It the temperatire in the thermostat housing is above a certain temp when you shut down the timer will run the condensor fan for a certain amount of time to bring the temp down. As far as the timer and the second temp sensor........Its only on the 88-89's

[Mac]

The sensor closer to the valve cover is the TW sensor which sends a signal to the ECU. The one next to that, closer to the bleed valve is the thermo switch which on LXi's will turn the fan on after engine is shut off if the engine is hot.

The switch on the bottom of the radiator is another thermo switch which will turn on the fans, with the engine running once it gets hot.

[Mac]

Vinny's right. Damn Vinny I guess you type faster than me. I didn't realize that you already answered until I posted. Sorry.

[AZmike]

I hate to disagree with Mike on this one, since it fixed his ect problem, but I'm pretty sure it's the sensor closer to the head, with a white connecter (17mm, I think). The green one is the sensor for the fan timer. Since I wasn't sure, I went outside and sure enough when I jumpered the green one, the fan came on and ran.

That may be. The colors are reversed between the Accord and Prelude--I guess I was thinking about the wrong car.

[johnwc723]

alright thanks guys, it looks like its the TW sensor i have to replace then? (and its the one closest to the valve cover on my 89 lxi?)

[smufguy]

simple thing is, the smallest of the two sensors on top of the thermostat housing is the ECT. well, i need to change it. so i might change it tomorrow and fix my code 6 problem. The funny thing is, the ECT sensors were so different that the one i pulled from the junkyard had a gray top, while mine is black. THey are both accord sensors and they are 88-89 cars. Funky stuff.

PS. Rule of thum, Never sand or clean the tip of the sensors. If they are rusty find a different one. Never try to sand a rust deposited or calcium deposited sensor tip. :cool:

[AZmike]

PS. Rule of thum, Never sand or clean the tip of the sensors. If they are rusty find a different one. Never try to sand a rust deposited or calcium deposited sensor tip. :cool:

Why? How does sanding the brass affect the resistor inside?

[smufguy]

Why? How does sanding the brass affect the resistor inside?

i dont know why, but just like the warning for O2 sensors which says dont sand or clean the sensor with chemical or sand it down, the shop manual said dont sand the tip down. I know the radiator fan that i used to have worked fine, and i pulled it out and i sanded it to have it nice, but shit never worked after that. So i dont know, maybe its true, maybe its not, but from experience, it did not work after i sanded the sensor tip down.

[johnwc723]

wierd i sanded my sensors too and now one of them went bad (this was alot later tho) it really shouldnt effect the resistor inside at all tho, i mean o2 sensors are defeintly different i dont think they are resistors .. not sure

thats odd the sensors on my thermostat housing have the EXACT same plugs sizes on them (different colors tho) i cant remember if they are the same size or not but i thought they were!

[smufguy]

The thermoswitch are not resistors, they are just an on or off switch rated at a certain temperature to go on, and ocne the temperature drops below a certain, they open. BUt yeah, their 'resistance' might have to be taken into consideration, but that does not mean they are resistors.

WEll, it seems like the sanding does not affect the sensor, cause last night i reset the ecu, and the code stopped, so i guess the sanding the sensor tip was not the reason the code popped up, now it went away??? thats the weirdest thing. :(

[johnwc723]

heh i would say that you still ahve the problem it probably will just come on again in like a couple days, i would say get a new sensor anyways, mine was also intermettent like that im gonna go get a new one right now...

so the other sensor is a Fan thermoswitch (on the thermostat housing) and how does one reset their ecu (is it just unplugtging the battery for a min?)

[Mac]

A way you can reset the ECU is to pull Clock/ECU fuse for about 15 seconds in the under the hood fuse/relay panel. I think it is #11.