Anyone know where the ambient air temperature sensor is?

AirOpsMgr · 07-18-2011, 10:12 PM

Hello all,
My Service Engine Soon light came on (06' 3.0i), so I pulled the code - it came back as the "Ambient Air Temperature Sensor". I Re-set it, but it came back a few miles later, pulled the code again, same thing.

The oputside air temperature readout is showing -40 on the instrument cluster display.

I was reading one post where it mentioned it may be within the bumper?Anyone know for sure where it is, or, had this sensor fail or get this fault code?

Looks like the part goes for $22-$42 on-line, but wanted to see if it may have just become disconnected before buying a new one

Thnx in advance for any thoughts!!
Best regards

XMetal · 07-19-2011, 12:03 AM

It's located on the driver side forward of the wheel well. You'll have to remove the bumper to get to it. The circled location in the picture is the holder, which the temp sensor pokes through. You should be able to feel it from the bottom.

AirOpsMgr · 07-19-2011, 01:03 AM

EXCELLENT!!! Thnx very much; found it quickly and was able to access it from the fog-light cover inside the wheel-well. Somehow, the cable had disconnected from the sensor, so I re-attached and temp is now reading correctly!

Hopefully the Service Engine Soon light will go out after a few drive cycles.

Thnx again Xmetal!

Brgds,

horntail · 04-28-2012, 12:35 PM

Hi, I had a similar issue with the ambient temp. sensor in my 2004 Z4. It worked fine, but suddenly while driving it started -40.0 C. I noticed that it once in a while went to +50.0 C, stayed there a bit and then went back to -40.0 C. I have had my front repainted recently due to some sand pitting, so I suspected that the body shop might not installed the connector on the temp. sensor correctly - i.e. that it became lose. So I took the sensor out, the connector looked fine, but just to be safe, I disconnected it, cleaned it out with some high pressure air and then reinstalled it. When powering on the ignition, the ambient tempereture still indicated -40.0 C. Damn... Now I read another place on the Internet, that if you for example replace a faulty temp. sensor, the computer in the car needs to be reset in order to start reading from the sensor again - so I though, well maybe if I disconnect the battery for a while... that could do the job. So I disconnected the minus for about an hour, then reconnected. And the temperature is working fine again.

RobMCoupe · 04-29-2012, 10:04 PM

Does anybody have a picture of the sensor with the bumper off? I replaced my lower support a month back. The sensor connected to the wiring is next to the horn. It will not reach the holder. I just left it hanging and seem to work fine.

07-18-2011, 10:12 PM	#1
AirOpsMgr Private First Class 12 Rep 151 Posts Drives: 2006 Z4 3.0i Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: McDonough, GA iTrader: (0)	Anyone know where the ambient air temperature sensor is? Hello all, My Service Engine Soon light came on (06' 3.0i), so I pulled the code - it came back as the "Ambient Air Temperature Sensor". I Re-set it, but it came back a few miles later, pulled the code again, same thing. The oputside air temperature readout is showing -40 on the instrument cluster display. I was reading one post where it mentioned it may be within the bumper?Anyone know for sure where it is, or, had this sensor fail or get this fault code? Looks like the part goes for $22-$42 on-line, but wanted to see if it may have just become disconnected before buying a new one Thnx in advance for any thoughts!! Best regards
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07-19-2011, 12:03 AM	#2
XMetal Colonel 1138 Rep 2,867 Posts Drives: Anything Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: SoCal iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 Z4M Coupe [10.00] 2018 Audi S3 [0.00] 2004 X5 [8.50]	It's located on the driver side forward of the wheel well. You'll have to remove the bumper to get to it. The circled location in the picture is the holder, which the temp sensor pokes through. You should be able to feel it from the bottom. Attached Images
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07-19-2011, 01:03 AM	#3
AirOpsMgr Private First Class 12 Rep 151 Posts Drives: 2006 Z4 3.0i Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: McDonough, GA iTrader: (0)	EXCELLENT!!! Thnx very much; found it quickly and was able to access it from the fog-light cover inside the wheel-well. Somehow, the cable had disconnected from the sensor, so I re-attached and temp is now reading correctly! Hopefully the Service Engine Soon light will go out after a few drive cycles. Thnx again Xmetal! Brgds,
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04-28-2012, 12:35 PM	#4
horntail Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: 2004 Z4 3.0i SPORT, MAN Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Palmdale, CA iTrader: (0)	Z4 Ambient Temperature failure Hi, I had a similar issue with the ambient temp. sensor in my 2004 Z4. It worked fine, but suddenly while driving it started -40.0 C. I noticed that it once in a while went to +50.0 C, stayed there a bit and then went back to -40.0 C. I have had my front repainted recently due to some sand pitting, so I suspected that the body shop might not installed the connector on the temp. sensor correctly - i.e. that it became lose. So I took the sensor out, the connector looked fine, but just to be safe, I disconnected it, cleaned it out with some high pressure air and then reinstalled it. When powering on the ignition, the ambient tempereture still indicated -40.0 C. Damn... Now I read another place on the Internet, that if you for example replace a faulty temp. sensor, the computer in the car needs to be reset in order to start reading from the sensor again - so I though, well maybe if I disconnect the battery for a while... that could do the job. So I disconnected the minus for about an hour, then reconnected. And the temperature is working fine again.
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04-29-2012, 10:04 PM	#5
RobMCoupe Captain 60 Rep 932 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (6)	Does anybody have a picture of the sensor with the bumper off? I replaced my lower support a month back. The sensor connected to the wiring is next to the horn. It will not reach the holder. I just left it hanging and seem to work fine.
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