The ambient temp reading inaccurate.

Asked by dwt999 Jul 18, 2020 at 01:21 PM about the 2011 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

The ambient temp reading in Subaru outback stays the same. (starts at 77 when back out of garage and stays at 77 for the whole drive.  I replaced the sensor and when I tried it, still read 77 for a drive of 3 miles around neighborhood. It seemed to have 'gone bad' after i had work done on roof where they blew a fuse for interior lights.  Don't know if related.

3 Answers

dwt999 answered 3 years ago

It goes blank. I just ran an experiment. The sensor read 83 in my garage. I then put an ice bag on the sensor at 3:38PM and got the following readings: 3:38 83 3:42 68 3:35 60 3:46 57 3:48 53 3:50 47 Pulled Ice bag off Drove around and ran an errand till 4:15. The temp never changed from 47. The outside temperature is 86.

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dwt999 answered 3 years ago

I ran another experiment. I Cooled down the sensor that was on the car to 49 degrees. I then swapped out the sensors to one that was at room temperature (about 70). When I plugged in the room temperature sensor, the display still said 49 degrees! Where in the car is this number being held? And why is it not updating to the reading that is being sent to it by the sensor?

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dwt999 answered 3 years ago

Sounds like a good possibility. Is there a part number? Is it in the 'too hard' pile? I'm not sure what else on that display would be controlled by same chip but other numbers (MPG, Gallons to empty, etc) all seem OK.

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