outdoor air temperature gauge problem

Has anyone had a problem with their outdoor air temperature gauge
going haywire? My 98 2.8 A4Q with 83k miles just started doing this:
I drove in freezing winter weather along the Great Lakes to Akron,
Ohio, on Christmas Day and then ran the car through a car wash so I
could see out of it, and the gauge shot all the way from the actual
+23F temp to -58F and back and then all the way down again. The next
morning it did the same thing, down and back and down and back again,
several times as I drove home on cold, but wet roads. It was ok the
next day, when the roads were drier (temps still cold, 20s and lower),
but today when I ran the car through another carwash, the same thing
happened, with the temp reading going all the way down to -58F.

Is this a faulty temp sensor? Where is this thing located? Could it
be affected by the car wash and low exterior temperature combination?
What's the cost to fix/repair?

KLS wrote:
> Has anyone had a problem with their outdoor air temperature gauge
> going haywire? My 98 2.8 A4Q with 83k miles just started doing this:
> I drove in freezing winter weather along the Great Lakes to Akron,
> Ohio, on Christmas Day and then ran the car through a car wash so I
> could see out of it, and the gauge shot all the way from the actual
> +23F temp to -58F and back and then all the way down again. The next
> morning it did the same thing, down and back and down and back again,
> several times as I drove home on cold, but wet roads. It was ok the
> next day, when the roads were drier (temps still cold, 20s and lower),
> but today when I ran the car through another carwash, the same thing
> happened, with the temp reading going all the way down to -58F.
>
> Is this a faulty temp sensor?
Could be. Probably a duff connection though.
> Where is this thing located?
It's low down fixed to the inside of the front bumper usually. It's
certainly there on my A3. It's on the passenger side on my right hand
drive car.
> Could it
> be affected by the car wash and low exterior temperature combination?
Water in the plug? Or maybe you dislodged it in the car wash.
> What's the cost to fix/repair?
>

"Chris Bartram" > wrote in message
...
> KLS wrote:
>> Has anyone had a problem with their outdoor air temperature gauge
>> going haywire? My 98 2.8 A4Q with 83k miles just started doing this:
>> I drove in freezing winter weather along the Great Lakes to Akron,
>> Ohio, on Christmas Day and then ran the car through a car wash so I
>> could see out of it, and the gauge shot all the way from the actual
>> +23F temp to -58F and back and then all the way down again. The next
>> morning it did the same thing, down and back and down and back again,
>> several times as I drove home on cold, but wet roads. It was ok the
>> next day, when the roads were drier (temps still cold, 20s and lower),
>> but today when I ran the car through another carwash, the same thing
>> happened, with the temp reading going all the way down to -58F. Is this a
>> faulty temp sensor?
> Could be. Probably a duff connection though.
>> Where is this thing located?
> It's low down fixed to the inside of the front bumper usually. It's certainly
> there on my A3. It's on the passenger side on my right hand drive car.
>> Could it
>> be affected by the car wash and low exterior temperature combination?
> Water in the plug? Or maybe you dislodged it in the car wash.
>> What's the cost to fix/repair?
>>

Been there, On my 2001 A4Q there are three sensors, one under the bumper,
one in the windshield well outside, and one inside , some in in the dashboard,
I think. It was the one in the windshield well, every time it got wet, the temp
went nuts. If you have automatic temp control, it will screw that up as well. I
was under warranty, but it will cost if they have to go after that senor in the
well.

\Bob Lail

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 19:08:55 -0500, "Bob Lail" >
wrote:

>
>"Chris Bartram" > wrote in message
.. .
>> KLS wrote:
>>> Has anyone had a problem with their outdoor air temperature gauge
>>> going haywire? My 98 2.8 A4Q with 83k miles just started doing this:
>>> I drove in freezing winter weather along the Great Lakes to Akron,
>>> Ohio, on Christmas Day and then ran the car through a car wash so I
>>> could see out of it, and the gauge shot all the way from the actual
>>> +23F temp to -58F and back and then all the way down again. The next
>>> morning it did the same thing, down and back and down and back again,
>>> several times as I drove home on cold, but wet roads. It was ok the
>>> next day, when the roads were drier (temps still cold, 20s and lower),
>>> but today when I ran the car through another carwash, the same thing
>>> happened, with the temp reading going all the way down to -58F. Is this a
>>> faulty temp sensor?
>> Could be. Probably a duff connection though.
>>> Where is this thing located?
>> It's low down fixed to the inside of the front bumper usually. It's certainly
>> there on my A3. It's on the passenger side on my right hand drive car.
>>> Could it
>>> be affected by the car wash and low exterior temperature combination?
>> Water in the plug? Or maybe you dislodged it in the car wash.
>>> What's the cost to fix/repair?
>>>
>
> Been there, On my 2001 A4Q there are three sensors, one under the bumper,
>one in the windshield well outside, and one inside , some in in the dashboard,
>I think. It was the one in the windshield well, every time it got wet, the temp
>went nuts. If you have automatic temp control, it will screw that up as well. I
>was under warranty, but it will cost if they have to go after that senor in the
>well.

The duff connection theory wins the prize!! I needed to bring my car
in for the lower control arm recall inspection, so I asked my dealer
to investigate this problem. Happy early birthday to me: $40 just to
fix the rotten wiring! Evidently the tech got the car up, touched the
sensor, and had it drop right into his hand. All is well now, and
thank God I didn't lose that $300 sensor.