Today we’re gonna talk about the IAT sensor: how it works, the flaws it has when it’s faulty and how we can solve these problems.
The IAT sensor is responsible for measuring the temperature of the air entering the engine, it is measured through the cold start or as the engine warms up the intake air.
This sensor is usually located in the rear area of the intake manifold plenum, it can be on the throttle body, inside the intake manifold or even in the rear air filter assembly as you can see in the video.
The IAT sensor is a device that measures the temperature of the air that is generated in the intake manifold, thanks to this, the ECM knows how much air to put into the mix.
When it fails, this error code will appear when scanning the engine. But don’t worry if you don’t have a scanner, here we are going to show you how to detect these faults.
1.- The most common failure is when the computer doesn’t control the ignition timing: This means that when we make a switch there is no good synchronization but there is a delay.
2.- Abrupt acceleration: This fault is associated with the IAT sensor in bad condition, when we start the engine we notice that it accelerates a lot and has many ups and downs.
3.- Fuel consumption: It is normal that if the car accelerates, it will consume more fuel because the engine is always going to be hot.
4.- Lots of black smoke: This is associated with the above, the consumption of fuel generates black smoke that can cover the catalyst and also damage the oxygen sensor.
5.- Cold Start problems: If you have to switch the car several times in the morning, I recommend you check this sensor.
6.- Engine light on: In this case you must check the trouble codes with a scanner and it should show the bad IAT sensor error.
Solutions for a bad IAT sensor:
- Check the terminals and check if there is a short circuit, these sensors are very sensitive and if they are exposed to the open air they could be damaged.
- This sensor is important, so I recommend you evaluate the problem and the conditions in which it occurs, because we can confuse the symptoms with other components. When you scan the car and you get these codes P111, p112, p113 it is because there is a damage in the IAT sensor.
- Replacing it is quite simple, you have to disconnect and reconnect the new sensor, but you must be sure that it is the cause of the problem.
I hope you liked this video and it has helped you, if so, join our community by subscribing. If you have any failure with the IAT sensor, let me know in the comments or visit our blog, where you will find great information.
