I have had this car for a few months and am now trying to fix all the little things.
These look like some kind of water temp sensors but the gague works fine... the sensors are burnt and whe wires are burnt to a crisp too and they are powdered so it looks like they have been this way long enough to corrode quite a bit. If I got new sensors would they come with the wires going out to the connectors? I wouldnt know which way to wire them back if they just came out to the male type connector half.
Now the $100 question... do I really need them? it seems to be running good.

 

They are for the ACV. If you need to pass emissions testing, you need them.

New sensors would have new wires, yes.

 

actually not sensors, but rather they are solenoids.

 

ACV? I'm in central Texas I dont think I have to worry about emissions just yet...
What would cause the wires to burn poor engine to firewall ground?

 

will it affect my idle/ TSP resistance?? or anything like that?

 

the fact they are burnt suggests that your ECU is probably damaged

 

It seems to run fine to me... I guess I'll have to make that code checker to see what codes I get.

 

Why would these wires just melt??? I was looking it over yesterday and found the vacuum line going to the idle mixture adjuster (which runs right above these wires) had a hole burned in it. It had alot of slack so I cut it out and put it back on. It seems to idle alot steadier now to me.

 

when the solenoid locks up from dirt, and the ECU sends a signal the wires burn up. The burnt wires usually take out a transistor or resistor in the ECU as well. Some idle problems can be traced to this.

 

I guess the question is... If I'm happy with the idle right now do I need to shell out $$$ for the new sensors?? especially if they are going to meltdown again anyway?

 

I've actually seen these things shoot out fire when they go bad, but my ECU was still OK. (lucky, I guess) These things are just for emissions, so if you don't need to pass, and you're idle's OK, why bother.

 

The front one is the Port Air Solenoid and the aft one is the Split Air Solenoid. The Port Air Solenoid is disabled after twenty thousand miles. The Split Air Solenoid opens when your in fifth gear. Those are not sensors, they are solenoids.

There is a FREE online factory service manual online that explains what their purpose is in life.

There should be a constant 12v going to both solenoids anytime the key is to ON. The ECU puts a ground on the solenoids to activate them. Their purpose in life is explained in the FSM. FREE FSM.