Honda Car Forum

My "check engine" light recently came on
and my mechanic ran a diagnostic check.

The computer said I needed a new Internal
Air Temperature Sensor. He got one and
installed (Honda part--not after market) it.

My mechanic reset the computer and the "check
engine" light went out.

That same day I drove the car about 100 miles
and the "check engine" light came on again. The
car, at times, idles a little rough and will die
at a stop sign sometimes. Overall, the car runs
excellent with 175,000 miles on the engine.

I took the car back to my mechanic and he once
again ran a diagnostic check which still said it
needed an Internal Air Temperature Sensor.

Has anybody had this problem? Could the new Internal
Air Temperature Sensor be faulty?

Thankyou,

Lou

With the same fault twice, I would suspect the wiring rather than the
IAT sensor (which by BTW is *intake* air temperature sensor, not
*internal* ...) The IAT sensor is a simple thermistor, and you can
measure the resistance of it to check if it is good.
http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/civicmanual/pdf/11-50.pdf has a graph of
resistance vs. temperature for the IAT sensor in the '95 Civic. There is
no reason to believe the '96 would be different, those things are quite
standardized.

If the ECU is giving a fault code, it is typically because it senses
that the IAT sensor is a dead short or an open circuit. Both faults are
just as likely to be wiring problems as problems with the IAT sensor.
Have a look at and around the connector that plugs into the IAT sensor.
Is it corroded? Full of dirt? Contacts getting loose?

Lou wrote:
>
> My "check engine" light recently came on
> and my mechanic ran a diagnostic check.
>
> The computer said I needed a new Internal
> Air Temperature Sensor. He got one and
> installed (Honda part--not after market) it.
>
> My mechanic reset the computer and the "check
> engine" light went out.
>
> That same day I drove the car about 100 miles
> and the "check engine" light came on again. The
> car, at times, idles a little rough and will die
> at a stop sign sometimes. Overall, the car runs
> excellent with 175,000 miles on the engine.
>
> I took the car back to my mechanic and he once
> again ran a diagnostic check which still said it
> needed an Internal Air Temperature Sensor.
>
> Has anybody had this problem? Could the new Internal
> Air Temperature Sensor be faulty?
>
> Thankyou,
>
> Lou

bump