faxiw2

Looks like we've come to the end (I hope) The original garage that was looking into this gave up and recommended me somewhere else who they said were better equipped so I took it to them. Gave them all the information I had. Intake air temp reading either -40/-60/100+ degrees and that after swapping the sensors out, they'd roughly last three days or so. I also swapped the battery out myself before taking it to the new garage as a last ditch attempt to fix it myself and save my bank account. It didn't fix the issue but it did fix the auto stop/start which was temperamental at best prior. Turns out the battery that was in the car originally was for a VW transporter. Anyway, to the meat, this new garage found that the main engine wiring harness that connects to the alternator and starter motor had been rubbing on the wiring loom that contained the 5v reference wire that goes to the sensors. Over time the insulation from both wires rubbed away leaving 12v wiring exposed and several of the wires in the loom also exposed. So occasionally the 12v would contact the 5v and fry the sensors. Which would explain why there was no rhyme or reason to when the sensors would die. It was just a case of when the 12v contacts the 5v. They asked if the car had ever had a new clutch or starter motor as they were confused as to why these cables were in contact with one another but I didn't have the answer as I've only had the car for so long and certainly not had any major work done on it. In any case they swapped the wiring harness, re-ran it to no longer rub on the wiring loom, re-insulated the exposed wires in the loom and put in a couple of new sensors for me and charged me £800 for the pleasure. I guess that's the price you pay for a more professional outfit. What a saga it's been, I think if the car gives me any more trouble I'll drive it into a lake. Thank you all for your ideas and assistance with this, I do appreciate it.

Still ongoing issues so thought I'd put an update in. Took it to a garage to get a professional opinion. They swapped the sensor and then rewired the plug. All was good for a couple of days and then the light came back on and the air temp was reading 140 celsius this time, rather than -40/60 celsius previous. Took it back again and they swapped the sensor out again and took another look at the plug and then once again it was ok for another couple of days before the light came back on. Then the ECU light came on for fuel pressure, turns out the fuel rail came loose and pulled out the injectors apparently so I was peeing fuel all over the road. Managed to get it recovered and taken to the garage and they sorted out the fuel rail and once again replaced the sensor, this time with an original apparently and they were very confident that this time that it was all sorted. Now, once again the light has come back on. I've got to think at this point that the sensors themselves are not the problem but a symptom, something is killing them. I'm going to take it back to the same garage for this final time to see if they can find something other than just swapping out the sensor. My only thought would be that it's electrical and something is blowing the electronics in the sensors. Looking around some people are mentioning it could be a grounding issue or the battery may need to be changed, or disconnected from the car for 24 hours to reset the ECU. I'm kind of at a loss at this point and praying the garage can figure it out. Maybe the code is a red herring.

Sorry had an absolute nightmare so had to create a new account. I've tried replacing the sensor but somehow it seems like the sensors on inlet plenum/box somehow get damaged almost every time they get plugged in and taken out. The little bulb seems to disintegrate slightly and the wire inside gets exposed. Probably isn't helping. Though looks like it might be a wiring issue, when I have my reader plugged in looking at the intake air temperature it sits at -40 degrees. When I manipulate the wiring harness on the inlet plenum/box sensor the temperature changes on the reader. Does this sound like a wiring issue? Is that something that I'm able to resolve or this going to be a garage situation? Kind regards