Corolla giving me trouble.

[Bushleague]

Today on my way to work today I felt the throttle surging while driving on the highway, I then noticed that my coolant temp gauge had stopped working properly. So at this point I'm thinking that its either the water jacket sensor or a bad connection to the sensor, having never chased this particular problem on a Corolla before I'm open to any suggestions before I go buy a new sensor.

[Tfng]

Is it low on coolant? Maybe puking a little coolant out? You didn’t mention a cel. I don’t see the relation between a malfunctioning temp sensor and the engine surging.

I’m wondering if you’ve got head gasket issues. Maybe an automotive guy will chime in.

Edit- It’s a guess with limited info. I don’t know but it seems odd to me. Could be some other electrical issues maybe.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Tfng

Is it low on coolant? Maybe puking a little coolant out? You didn’t mention a cel. I don’t see the relation between a malfunctioning temp sensor and the engine surging.

I’m wondering if you’ve got head gasket issues. Maybe an automotive guy will chime in.

Had a Chev truck that had throttle surging due to a bad water jacket sensor. That's why I tend to think that the sudden throttle surging and sudden failure of the temp gauge are linked. That said, Chev's and Toyotas are obviously not the same animal.

[Tfng]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

Had a Chev truck that had throttle surging due to a bad water jacket sensor. That's why I tend to think that the sudden throttle surging and sudden failure of the temp gauge are linked. That said, Chev's and Toyotas are obviously not the same animal.

Could be then. Go for it. I haven’t run into that before. I like these what’s wrong with it threads. Let us know what fixes it.

[pikeman06]

Not a Toyota guy but I love trouble shooting and all the guys that try to help out to save a stranger a buck. First question how does she idle? Your surge might be ignition related if it idles nice. Pull out your engine dipstick while it's running. Is there pressure there or is it blowing oil out? Is there a check engine light on? After you drive it and it surges take your gas cap off and see if there's a vacuum. Check those things it narrows it down alot. What year?

[Bushleague]

So I did some troubleshooting last night, car warmed up, temp gauge worked, I could not duplicate the problems I had on the drive to and from work. This morning it wouldn't start. There was no "check engine" light on so I previously had not checked for codes. Hooked up the code reader this evening thinking "no way can a coolant sensor make a vehicle not start!"... but sure enough there were coolant sensor codes, despite the check engine light not being on. Googled it, and apparently a bad sensor can actually cause a Corolla to not start, who knew?

So I guess this weekends task is now to determine whether I have a bad sensor or a wiring fault, and hopefully that fixes things.

[pikeman06]

Of course it's a different beast every day...dang things like that are tough to finger but it doesn't sound too major if there's no coolant in your oil. ( milky color on the bottom of the dipstick.) Definitely a sensor or electrical issue if it's throwing codes. Wish I knew more about toyotas bud. It's a shame to go nuts replacing parts that aren't the problem. It gets expensive and frustrating fast. Unhook your battery for 5 minutes. Maybe it will reset itself for a bit and run perfect for ya. Then you know it's not mechanical at least.

[fishtank]

Partsking if you want the part for a good price

[ATF]

Check the wiring harness.
Buddy at work had an '05 and around 150k had issues with the sensor because Toyota had routed the harness under the engine cover and eventually it sawed through the wiring and threw a code.
Could be a cheap and easy fix if that's the case.

[Tfng]

Did you get it fixed bushleague? I would have never thought the coolant sensor would cause a no start. Good to know though because I own a corolla also.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Tfng

Did you get it fixed bushleague? I would have never thought the coolant sensor would cause a no start. Good to know though because I own a corolla also.

Yeah, I bought a Nissan... JK, but I was driving my Nissan most of the week. Just about to go clear up a whole bunch of mechanical type chores today, hopefully I'll know more in a few hours.

But seriously, for all the reputation enjoyed by Toyota and Honda, every Nissan I've owned has seemed like it was at least a notch further up the quality scale from either of them. The Corolla followed me home about a year ago just cause I wanted a "spare" and I got a really good deal on it.

[Tfng]

Haha. I like having a spare also. It gives a guy some time to do repairs and maintenance without the time crunch of needing it ready for work in the morning.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Tfng

Haha. I like having a spare also. It gives a guy some time to do repairs and maintenance without the time crunch of needing it ready for work in the morning.

Exactly. Of all the toys I've bought, few have really been as beneficial to my quality of life as keeping a reliable spare vehicle around. Way less stress when problems pop up, gives you time to shop around for a better deal when its time to replace. Staying "one car ahead" as I like to put it is a very smart investment IMO.

This summer, while on vacation far from home, I found myself changing wheel bearings in a Canadian tire parking lot. Once upon a time this type of thing was a fair bit more common for me, It was kind of a weird re-visitation. On one hand I was glad that I haven't had to do it in a very long time, on the other hand I was glad for all the practice I got at roadside rebuilds in my beater driving years, and strangest of all... it was kind of fun. Mainly the steady string of weird and wonderful characters that invariably stop to look over your shoulder, offer assistance and/or advice, or simply talk you're ear off. I guess I sort of forgot about that part over the years.

[Tfng]

I’m one of those guys that stops to see how it’s going if I’m not in a rush. I’ve often lent some tools.

I helped a guy change a tire this spring. I had stopped at a service station to check my load and trailer wheel bearings. He was struggling with a crappy jack and didn’t have a decent lug nut wrench. I pulled my jack and tool kit out and gave him a hand. I pulled the rear tire off and found about 25 feet of chain wrapped around the rear spring. It had a broken main leaf! I installed the tire and let him tighten it and went on my way. I regretted getting involved in that one.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Tfng

I’m one of those guys that stops to see how it’s going if I’m not in a rush. I’ve often lent some tools.

I helped a guy change a tire this spring. I had stopped at a service station to check my load and trailer wheel bearings. He was struggling with a crappy jack and didn’t have a decent lug nut wrench. I pulled my jack and tool kit out and gave him a hand. I pulled the rear tire off and found about 25 feet of chain wrapped around the rear spring. It had a broken main leaf! I installed the tire and let him tighten it and went on my way. I regretted getting involved in that one.

Found it, damaged wire going to the coolant sensor. Damaged by the engine cover, as ATF suggested. Its just far enough from the plug that I should be able to do a splice. Thanks for the suggestions.

Lol, I was in no way suggesting that all people who stop to hang out when you have your vehicle torn apart in a parking lot are weird. But I think we can all agree that in general, a notable percentage often seem like they have pretty colorful back stories. Not that I myself do not, I guess to the guy under the truck I'm probably one of those weirdos too on occasion

[Tfng]

I didn’t take it like that although I can be a little weird sometimes.

Easy fix! Great. I’m going to check my harness for rubbing.