in the middle of a 500 mi drive, "service engine" light came on - noticed that temp guage was down at zip. engine ran fine. stopped to pee and engine hard to start - once started ran fine - idled high rpm - 1500 to 2000. car starts easily when cold, hard when hot so figure temp sensor not feeding computer correct info. not close to ford service center - so, questions. does the temp sensor feed both the temp guage and computer - or are there seperate sensors for both??? and where is it located on engine block?? can I get one at my friendly local auto parts house?

thanks -- dande

 

Hi and welcome to the forum

Is the coolant at the proper level?
There are 2 sensors. The one to the right of the thermostat is for the gauge, and I believe there should be one to the left of the thermostat that is the Cylinder Head Temperature (or might be known as the Engine Coolant Temperature) sensor for the PCM.
I really don't know if anyone other than a dealer will have those but it doesn't hurt to call them and ask.

 

thanks Racerguy - coolant level is OK -- think I will try the guage sensor (about $12 at NAPA) and see what happens

dande