A little info regarding air temp sensor please!

Chrisd346

Chrisd346

Well-known user
Apr 2, 2013
168
13
N. Ireland
When i bought my V6 it had a cone filter fitted which i removed when i found a ST200 airbox. I have just been reading that there would have been an air temperature sensor on the original airbox(this might explain the wire/plug i have hanging loose near my airbox). So should i have this sensor fitted? Is it important or can it affect the running of the car? Has anyone fitted one to the st200 box?

Thanks in advance!!
 
On the original ST 200 set up the sensor fits inside the rubber bellows in its own mount point ..... You can simply drill a hole in the side of your air box .... 13mm if I recall then file out a little slot in the hole you have made .... Simply push sensor in and twist to lock in place ..... I have done this on loads of ST200 air boxes for people and never had a problem ... Oh in fact I lied lol you also need to extend the wiring from the sensor by about 4 inches but that's easy enough to do also
 
Nice one, thank you! Is the 4 inch extension to the wiring for fitting the sensor to the st200 bellows? It looks like the plug will reach just fine if i decide to drill a hole in the box or am i missing something. I assume it fits above the filter? Not sure what to do now, i have the st200 airbox fitted but not the throttle body just yet and no st200 bellows anyway.
 
If the cable looks long enough then leave it as it is ...... Just take your time while drilling and filing the hole and you will get a 100% perfect fit (y)
And yes fit the sensor above the filter ..... Don't worry too much about the bellows .... If you get the St200 throttle body you will need the cable and mounting bracket too ..... Or you can get the ST220 throttle body which fits and you will only need the cable bracket not the cable .... You simple file the hole in the bracket slightly larger to take the standard cougar cable .... Very easy mod and makes a hell of a difference to how the car performs
 
Well i have the sensor ordered now so thats on my list of things to do now. Wonder what the lack of any sensor was doing to the car? Suppose if i get a 13mm drill bit, drill the hole and then file it out it should be an ok job! Might have a practice on something old first lol.

Well i have the st200 tb and bracket but no cable just yet. Noticeable difference then? Wasnt sure if i should fit all the st200 stuff at once and get a remap straight away. Suppose the tb on its own won't cause any running issues?

Thanks again
 
Yep the cable connections are totally different between the two throttle body's .... You won't need to re map the car for this mod ..... Just disconnect the battery for about 5 minutes to reset the PCM then go drive the car hard so the PCM learns the new throttle response settings ..... You will notice quite some difference . It's one of the best mods for the V6 and I have helped quite a few people do this ..... Don't worry about mpg after is more spg ...... Smiles per gallon :LOL:
 
Chrisd346 said:
Wonder what the lack of any sensor was doing to the car?
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The general consensus around here is "Not a lot".

With the IAT diconnected/missing, the ECU will use a high default value. So worst case scenario, your motor was running a bit lean.
 
Mako said:
The general consensus around here is "Not a lot".

With the IAT diconnected/missing, the ECU will use a high default value. So worst case scenario, your motor was running a bit lean.
Click to expand...
As you've said it's only a marginal trim anyway, plenty of cars will live years with a failed/very dirty one and nobody will ever realise.

Worth having it there, (Ford wouldn't have spent money on it if it was entirely pointless) but in our generally temperate climate I wouldn't panic greatly.

Regards,
Andy
 
Mako said:
The general consensus around here is "Not a lot".

With the IAT diconnected/missing, the ECU will use a high default value. So worst case scenario, your motor was running a bit lean.
Click to expand...

slightly incorrect Chris, (provided I have read the original post correctly) the IAT sensor was just hanging loose so it would have read the engine bay temperature not a high default value (y)
 
No i actually have no sensor on mine at all, the plug is just hanging there doing nothing to earn its keep!

Anyone else confirm the hole i need to drill is 13mm?
 
Chrisd346 said:
No i actually have no sensor on mine at all, the plug is just hanging there doing nothing to earn its keep!

Anyone else confirm the hole i need to drill is 13mm?
Click to expand...

When your sensor arrives measure it's diameter just above the flange/seat with a vernier caliper and that will give you the exact diameter of the hole you need to drill.
 
I've got the ST200 airbox on mine, fitted by the previous owner, and it seems he went through the same thing. As Lottysvdub says, it's not just a straightforward hole you have to drill. The sensor body has two locking ramps on it which force the gasket to seal; you press the sensor in the hole and then twist.

So as Andy says, you're much better off waiting until you've got it before you take a drill to the box because as well as confirming the diameter, you need to know the correct position for the slots.

Here's a couple of pictures to make it a bit clearer.





For reference, the main part of that hole (minus the square cutouts) is actually 18mm in diameter.
 
Ha Ha your probably right on the size of the hole it's been a few years since I fitted one ..... Chances are you're air box Mako was one of the many that I sold via this forum and across the web a few years back ..... I bought 50 new ones from the national clearance centre and sold the lot within 2 months ..... Just wish I could have got more lol so many people wanted them
 
lottysvdub said:
Ha Ha your probably right on the size of the hole it's been a few years since I fitted one ..... Chances are you're air box Mako was one of the many that I sold via this forum and across the web a few years back ..... I bought 50 new ones from the national clearance centre and sold the lot within 2 months ..... Just wish I could have got more lol so many people wanted them
Click to expand...

Could well be mate - this car used to belong to Jeza, so it's been in the club for a long time.

In all honesty, I really like the idea that it's had help from people here in the past and hasn't existed on its own.
 
Job done guys
20131011_170637_zps468a58b9.jpg


Easy peasy in the end. Just so I'm sure, the rubber gasket that seals it remains on the outside of the box, right?
 
LOL, I will. Just to add even more confusion, I drilled a 12mm hole and it fitted fine after i cut the slots lol.

Thanks guys for all the help, appreciate it especially as it sort of turned into a candidate for the subscribed section.
 
It's entirely possible that I got the measurement wrong - I'm going to go out and have a look again when it's light (and not chucking it down). Since Lottysvdub supplied it - unless it's been replaced since - it seems more likely that the error is on my part.

Anyway I'm glad you've got it sorted! Don't be too surprised to lose a couple MPG though. I certainly did when I sorted my dodgy connection. At least it'll be running right though.
 
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