I broke my Water thermo Sender, the green one behind the waterpump. Is it possible to just stick a bolt in temporarily? Or do I need it to start the car?

 

you do need it i recommend you replace it asap

 

The car will be difficult to start COLD (read "not enough fuel"), but will start normal if the engine is hot/up to temp.

 

Mine broke, as I was searching for a vacuum leak. I have everything back together, it wont start, I think I just ran out of gas. But Hailers you saying its not impossible to start with out it?

 

What happens is the ECU's internal START map won't deliver enough fuel during START. Just as the jpg I attached shows.

You might try to buy a can of STARTER FLUID. Spray into the snorkel prior to the afm for two seconds. Please, no more. And NEVER keep a engine running by continuously spraying starter fluid into the intake.

Make sure the battery is fully charged. A low battery will just complicate things.

After it starts (and gets over 500 rpm) it'l still run crummy and you have to play with the pedal to keep it running.

What happens is once the engine actually gets above the 500 rpms (see jpg I attached) THEN the AFM is used for fuel delivery instead of a internal START map inside the ECU.

The engine will still want to die due to not enough fuel, but once the water temp gets above around 120* it'll start running better, and once the water temp reaches 180*, you can shut it off and restart it as a normal car.

NOTE: The water thermo sensors signal will Fail Safe to 176* if the wiring isn't connected. That is why it will start normal after the engine warms up. Just a real pain to start cold though.

The lesson here is, to move to Lower Florida and keep gas in the tank.

EDIT: OH. The answer to your question is YES, it'll start without that sensor being in the engine. Just difficult to start COLD.

If you left a vacuum line off or duct off..........that's another problem altogether. All ducting needs to be reconnected to start the engine and the plug on the afm should be on (for after 500rpm action).

 

If it'll help, I just went out to one of my cars that has set overnight. The engine was a 54* (RTEK2.0). Before starting I disconnected pin 2I on the ECU which is the same as removing the water thermo sensor.

The engine took about four seconds to start up, and that's with using half regular gas and half E85 in the tank. But this car has no OTHER problems.

 

hailers, is this a part I can get at lets say autozone, Or do I have to go to the dealership

 

I've never had to buy one myself. But I looked online and there it is in the jpg attached. I'd wager you'll have to order it and get it in two days or less.

 

Thanks Hailers. I actually was able to get one from autozone this morning. To my surprise they had it in stock. I really did not want to have to wait a few days, as I have been trying to get this car moving for the last 2 years.