External temperature sensor location?

[Aaronj]

For curiosity's sake, does anyone know where the external temp sensor is located?
The other night after I washed it, it was still reading really cold even after 10 minutes of driving (65 on a 90 degree day) and it was keeping the AC from fully turning on.

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[bmwhitetx]

The Ambient Air Temperature (AAT) sensor is on the underside of the passenger mirror arm. (Excuse the dirt in pic.). I could see if it were wet then it would experience an evaporative cooling effect but hard to believe it's still wet after 10 minutes of driving!. Maybe the connector inside the mirror got water in it and that water affected the reading. It's probably a thermistor so water could have affected the resistance.

 

[Aaronj]

The underside of the passenger mirror arm. (Excuse the dirt.). I could see if it were wet then it would experience a cooling effect but hard to believe it's still wet after 10 minutes of driving!. Maybe the connector inside the mirror got water in it and that water affected the reading. It's probably a thermistor so water could have affected the resistance.

Probably exaggerated the cooling as the water evaporated. I'll dry it off better next time. Thanks!

 

[Truaz]

Ford has always a delay in reporting accurate outdoor temperatures as they rise. Even my old 2003 expedition had a similar issue.
It’s good to know where this is I wondered it myself.

 

[Zprime29]

I thought the AC was based on the cabin temperature? On auto 3, mine throttles back a fair bit once it gets to desired temperature despite the external temp still being over 100F.

 

[Aaronj]

I thought the AC was based on the cabin temperature? On auto 3, mine throttles back a fair bit once it gets to desired temperature despite the external temp still being over 100F.

It was definitely not cooling the way it was before I stopped. Basically like it thought the outside air was cool enough already.

I did dry it better tonight and the effect was much less pronounced.

 

[K6CCC]

The Ambient Air Temperature (AAT) sensor is on the underside of the passenger mirror arm. (Excuse the dirt in pic.).

Thanks. I had wondered where it was as well.
And it's a truck, it's supposed to be dirty!

 

[Aaronj]

Ford has always a delay in reporting accurate outdoor temperatures as they rise. Even my old 2003 expedition had a similar issue.
It’s good to know where this is I wondered it myself.

Yeah, my Fusion is always slow too, but that sensor is up behind the bumper. It's not as affected by washing, but is more affected by heat soak when parked.

 

[TechnoSwiss]

Dunno, my Lightning seems to be pretty affected by heat soak when I park, it's constantly reading triple digits on 90 degree days just from sitting in the sun. My Toyota was behind the front grill, just forward of the radiator and didn't seem to have as wildly inaccurate temps. after parking as the Lightning. Good to know the location though, now that I know it's on that passenger sideview mirror, I might have to try changing my parking orientation to see if I can get it in the trucks own shade and see if that improves the reading after parking.

 

[Zprime29]

Dunno, my Lightning seems to be pretty affected by heat soak when I park, it's constantly reading triple digits on 90 degree days just from sitting in the sun. My Toyota was behind the front grill, just forward of the radiator and didn't seem to have as wildly inaccurate temps. after parking as the Lightning. Good to know the location though, now that I know it's on that passenger sideview mirror, I might have to try changing my parking orientation to see if I can get it in the trucks own shade and see if that improves the reading after parking.

Doesn't matter much in a parking lot. Regardless of orientation, it's usually 10F higher than ambient when I leave work. I often see it over 120F on especially hot days (105-110F highs). Typically drops after about 10 min of driving to about 3-4F over ambient. Below 80F it's much closer. I don't have much experience below 50F though.

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