Hello. I know the intake air temperature is not going to be the outside temperature as the air gets warm under the hood. However, I get such varied readings while driving and looking at live data that I'm thinking part of the erratic idle and drive that comes and goes could be related to a faulty or dirty sensor.
I looked up what would be normal based on what the temperature is outside and the type of engine and what to expect but there doesn't really seem to be a set data point that I could find. I find it odd that I can be driving around and it'll say 39° and other times I'm driving around and it says 77. It's approximately mid 20s outside, fahrenheit, during these readings and my driving style and amount of time on the road etc is standard between when I check and see the varied readings.
It appears it's a fairly easy part to swap out if needed, but I'm wondering if it's possible to clean the sensor. The throttle body was very dirty and there was plenty of sludge in the manifold. Would that mean it's possible for the tip of that sensor to also be dirty and could it be cleaned? I realize it's not a super expensive part but I'm trying to avoid unnecessary expenses until they are really needed since I'm chipping away one thing at a time and don't want to break the bank.
Is there an expected temperature I should see while operating the vehicle? Maybe it's a range of a certain amount of degrees above outside temperature? Can it be cleaned? Additionally, how would a bad sensor affect the overall mechanics as far as each step that happens along the way after the engine identifies that temperature? Hopefully you know what I'm trying to ask. I would like to understand the chain of events if possible.
I do not have codes. I realize until something is bad enough, codes may not be thrown, but my goal is to maintain and prevent before things break or cause problems further.
I looked up what would be normal based on what the temperature is outside and the type of engine and what to expect but there doesn't really seem to be a set data point that I could find. I find it odd that I can be driving around and it'll say 39° and other times I'm driving around and it says 77. It's approximately mid 20s outside, fahrenheit, during these readings and my driving style and amount of time on the road etc is standard between when I check and see the varied readings.
It appears it's a fairly easy part to swap out if needed, but I'm wondering if it's possible to clean the sensor. The throttle body was very dirty and there was plenty of sludge in the manifold. Would that mean it's possible for the tip of that sensor to also be dirty and could it be cleaned? I realize it's not a super expensive part but I'm trying to avoid unnecessary expenses until they are really needed since I'm chipping away one thing at a time and don't want to break the bank.
Is there an expected temperature I should see while operating the vehicle? Maybe it's a range of a certain amount of degrees above outside temperature? Can it be cleaned? Additionally, how would a bad sensor affect the overall mechanics as far as each step that happens along the way after the engine identifies that temperature? Hopefully you know what I'm trying to ask. I would like to understand the chain of events if possible.
I do not have codes. I realize until something is bad enough, codes may not be thrown, but my goal is to maintain and prevent before things break or cause problems further.
