Bundy

I hit an animal in the road last night and it did some minor damage to my front spoiler and fog lights. Another outcome of this is that the outside temp. reads 185 degrees. I assume the sensor was located in the spoiler and has been damaged or ripped off.

My question is, would this affect the climate control inside? As soon as this happened I immediately started getting cold, air conditioned air even though it was cold outside and the temp was set to 72. I can only get some warm air by raising the temp to 80 (max). There has been no fluid leaks or engine temp. problems so I don't think there is any radiator damage.

I am wondering if having the outside temp reading so high would affect how the system would try to cool/heat the inside or if there was other damage that might be causing this. The adjuster at the MB body shop didn't think that would affect the inside.

If anyone knows for sure how this works I would appreciate your input.

Thanks.

DWP

Well, now we know what the maximum possible temperature reading of the MFD is. Anyone in Minnesota who can tell us the minimum possible reading?

The outside temperature sensor(s) serve a lot of purposes besides interior climate control, but the fact that your climate control is now off sure looks like it relies upon something that was damaged in the accident. The person with the clipboard in the body shop may know how much climate control parts cost to replace, but s/he doesn't know how they work. Try the service department for that. Until then, did you try running the climate control on manual instead of "auto" to see if it provides more heat that way?

Barry45RPM

It is possible that the sensor has been pushed back and is touching the radiator or tanks/hose, giving you such a high temp reading. I would have to bet that if the system thought it was over 100 degrees outside it would have to blow cold air to reach the temperature setting you have selected, not hot.

Bundy

Well thats my question. Does anyone know (speculation aside) if the outside temp sensor is used to control the HVAC system for the inside or is it based on the inside temp. sensor alone.

SAguirre

Yes, the outside thermometer helps the HVAC system determine if it will need to turn on the recycled air for the first few minutes after starting a car so that there is better cooling. It also determines if the upper vents need to be used to prevent fogging. It does a lot more than this too.

If it only used the inside temperature sensor, it would not be as accurate in keeping the cabin at a comfortable temperature all the time. It is all about the difference between the inside and the outside temperature.

Steve

jim256

In addition to what SAguirre pointed out, there is even a "4-way Sun Sensor" which anticipates the effects of sun on the interior. It's probably more complicated than it needs to be, but it's trying to anticipate all sorts of outside inputs. I think that's why it sometimes seems to have more or less air flow than I would want on auto.