First off, thanks for taking the time to look at my SOS.
I bought my first car (2001 VW Passat GLX 4motion) a couple of months ago. Long story short, a one of the few remaining issues that I'd like to fix myself is still persisting. When I took it in to VW dealership to have them diagnose everything, they mentioned that the CTS (engine coolant temperature sensor) was bad and needed replacing. They also mentioned that they checked the gauge itself and found it to be working, so that's why they're pretty confident it's the sensor. I also did a hefty amount of research, mainly on this forum but also outside and I agreed that the sensor was faulty.
$20 part from vwpartsvortex, it arrives, and I eventually replace it. (Had to extract the metal tip of the old sensor with an ez out drill bit that apparently snapped off and stayed in the cavity, but since I couldn't see what I was really doing I didn't know until I moved that giant pipe thing out of the way)
It worked for a couple of days but then my gauge wasn't moving at all after that. It's just always resting at 0 degrees. Earlier today, I took a look at the wire harness (connector piece) and it looks like the wires are pretty dirty, so I depin the connector, wash the wires with an electrical contact cleaner spray that is supposed to separate rust and grime from the wire, wipe them down a little bit, and I slip them into a new connector carefully referencing a wiring diagram from the Chilton's manual I picked up a couple of weeks ago.
I took it for a bit of a test drive, not a full drive cycle, mind you, but my gauge still isn't moving
Maybe my test drive wasn't long enough, as when I pulled back into my driveway my engine was still barely warm.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to why it's not working? I do have a spare CTS w/ C-clip and O ring if I somehow got a defective sensor online.
All the parts I've ordered/used are genuine VAG parts.
Thanks for reading, if anyone wants me to clarify anything, just ask.
Edit: it may be worthwhile to mention that I had a faulty O2 sensor replaced, but since clearing the codes my car still beeps and says "emissions workshop" -- given that the CTS is under the 'emissions' section of my manual I was wondering if that may be more evidence that I was sent a dud for a coolant temp sensor.
I bought my first car (2001 VW Passat GLX 4motion) a couple of months ago. Long story short, a one of the few remaining issues that I'd like to fix myself is still persisting. When I took it in to VW dealership to have them diagnose everything, they mentioned that the CTS (engine coolant temperature sensor) was bad and needed replacing. They also mentioned that they checked the gauge itself and found it to be working, so that's why they're pretty confident it's the sensor. I also did a hefty amount of research, mainly on this forum but also outside and I agreed that the sensor was faulty.
$20 part from vwpartsvortex, it arrives, and I eventually replace it. (Had to extract the metal tip of the old sensor with an ez out drill bit that apparently snapped off and stayed in the cavity, but since I couldn't see what I was really doing I didn't know until I moved that giant pipe thing out of the way)
It worked for a couple of days but then my gauge wasn't moving at all after that. It's just always resting at 0 degrees. Earlier today, I took a look at the wire harness (connector piece) and it looks like the wires are pretty dirty, so I depin the connector, wash the wires with an electrical contact cleaner spray that is supposed to separate rust and grime from the wire, wipe them down a little bit, and I slip them into a new connector carefully referencing a wiring diagram from the Chilton's manual I picked up a couple of weeks ago.
I took it for a bit of a test drive, not a full drive cycle, mind you, but my gauge still isn't moving
Maybe my test drive wasn't long enough, as when I pulled back into my driveway my engine was still barely warm.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to why it's not working? I do have a spare CTS w/ C-clip and O ring if I somehow got a defective sensor online.
All the parts I've ordered/used are genuine VAG parts.
Thanks for reading, if anyone wants me to clarify anything, just ask.
Edit: it may be worthwhile to mention that I had a faulty O2 sensor replaced, but since clearing the codes my car still beeps and says "emissions workshop" -- given that the CTS is under the 'emissions' section of my manual I was wondering if that may be more evidence that I was sent a dud for a coolant temp sensor.
