Outside temp readings

[Mor]

Any other 1500 Ram limited owners experiencing bad temp. Readings on their trucks. Mine reads 5 deg. High when outside temps are any where from 5 to 40 degrees. During recent negative 15 to 30 degree weather it was reading a full 10 high. My service advisor said they had another one in doing the same thing and would check for a TSB

 

[riccnick]

I think mine reads optimistically warm as well, probably about 5 degrees as well. Just noticed it the other day when the truck said 39deg and my friends BMW said 34

 

[FirstTimeRamDriver]

When I picked up my truck it was showing like 30 degree more, since then it has adjusted quite a bit, little on the higher side though

 

[VinnyRam]

Mine is usually 10 degree warmer.

 

[Rich]

Does anyone know where the outside temperature sensor is located?

 

[riccnick]

Not sure on this truck, I think most vehicles have it upfront behind either the grill or front shroud to protect it from damage

 

[FirstTimeRamDriver]

Does anyone know where the outside temperature sensor is located?

Under the mirrors

 

[nmajor18]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who notices this! The colder the temps the higher degree of error (to the warmer side) it reads. Which, could be dangerous when road conditions could change from wet/damp to freezing/ice before the truck indicates!

 

[Gondul]

Does anyone know where the outside temperature sensor is located?

Under Driver's side mirror...

 

[rhill]

Maybe the same engineer who designed the mpg meter made the temp sensor. Both usually read higher than they actually are. HA!

 

[Jplumley]

Any other 1500 Ram limited owners experiencing bad temp. Readings on their trucks. Mine reads 5 deg. High when outside temps are any where from 5 to 40 degrees. During recent negative 15 to 30 degree weather it was reading a full 10 high. My service advisor said they had another one in doing the same thing and would check for a TSB

Yes it’s been an ongoing issue for me.

 

[Barqs]

Chalk up another bogus outside temperature sensor. Today it was low 80's outside, but my truck never read lower than 91F. This is the first vehicle I've owned that couldn't read the outside temperature within a few degrees. I know when the sensor got wet it would read low, but I've never seen one read high after it settles down from sitting in a parking lot. Geez, why in the world did they move it from behind the front bumper like it is mounted in EVERY vehicle I've had to date?

 

[Wakesnowb]

Mine also ready 91 degrees today, about 15 degrees off.

 

[Barqs]

Mine also ready 91 degrees today, about 15 degrees off.

I wonder if the exterior color makes a difference? Are dark colors more likely to read high?

 

[Pribilof]

LOL under the driver's side exterior mirror only slightly better than putting it on top of the roof. Mine is always off by at least 5-20 degrees. My other vehicles have the sensor behind the grill away from the radiators. They're all within 1 or 2 degrees.

It'll be 40 out and the AC turns on as the dash reads 75...

 

[FirstTimeRamDriver]

LOL under the driver's side exterior mirror only slightly better than putting it on top of the roof. Mine is always off by at least 5-20 degrees. My other vehicles have the sensor behind the grill away from the radiators. They're all within 1 or 2 degrees.

It'll be 40 out and the AC turns on as the dash reads 75...

This might explain why for some people AC turns on at full speed in winter

 

[Rich]

Could it be that the driver's mirror was in direct sunlight and getting hot?

What happens if you park with the driver's side in the shade?

 

[Barqs]

Could it be that the driver's mirror was in direct sunlight and getting hot?

What happens if you park with the driver's side in the shade?

It's possible. That side was facing the west and was getting the afternoon sun. However, I would have anticipated that it would have regulated in the 45 minutes it took for me to get home. This morning I was questioning whether it was still reading high when it read 66F, but a quick look at the local weather found that it was pretty much accurate. I'll park in the other direction on the next sunny day and see if that helps.

Does anyone know if the auto A/C uses the outside temperature reading to help regulate, or does it rely on the interior sensors to do that? If it has no impact, I won't worry too much about it. But if it does have some feedback to the control, I'd like to have it addressed when I take my truck in for the first service. I'll just add it to my punch list for the 5k oil change.

 

[RamCares]

It's possible. That side was facing the west and was getting the afternoon sun. However, I would have anticipated that it would have regulated in the 45 minutes it took for me to get home. This morning I was questioning whether it was still reading high when it read 66F, but a quick look at the local weather found that it was pretty much accurate. I'll park in the other direction on the next sunny day and see if that helps.

Does anyone know if the auto A/C uses the outside temperature reading to help regulate, or does it rely on the interior sensors to do that? If it has no impact, I won't worry too much about it. But if it does have some feedback to the control, I'd like to have it addressed when I take my truck in for the first service. I'll just add it to my punch list for the 5k oil change.

Hi Barqs,
Let us know if this continues to happen as we would like to have this documented and looked into further. You can reach us via private message.
Lydia
Ram Social Care Specialist

 

[Barqs]

Well today was a moderately sunny day with variable clouds, and the results were quite different. Within 5 minutes of driving the outside measured temperature was within 1 degree of the reported temperature. I'll keep watching it as the weather changes these next few weeks to see if it is related to direct exposure of the mirror.