Is there a way of figuring out if a Sensor is going bad?

[2.8 Bird]

I thought my 3rd gen's fuel pump was going out because the car was very sluggish and the pump was still original and there were no codes, but it turned out it was just the Temp. cooling sensor. No wonder the fan kept kicking in. Now the car runs fine.

No codes came up from my OBD I scanner. I know that I could use an electrical meter to check each one, but how do I go about doing this with the sensors? Is there another way?

[ssms5411]

Re: Is there a way of figuring out if a Sensor is going bad?

On the sensors you should be able to check the voltage on each one. Should be around .5 or some where close. Thats about all I know how to check them.

[3.4grapeofwrath]

Re: Is there a way of figuring out if a Sensor is going bad?

Depends on which sensor you are checking. The temperature sensors are checked by temperature and resistance readings. You would have to find out what the sensor is rated at. The map sensor, throttle position sensor and some other sensors have a 5 volt dc reference signal and a sensor output voltage that changes with resistance. These sensors usually have 3 wires. I bought a sensor checker at pep boys years ago.

[2.8 Bird]

Re: Is there a way of figuring out if a Sensor is going bad?

Thanks guy. Unfortunately the way I figured it out was through a mechanic's $5,000 scanner. My regular Autozone OBD I scanner just doesn't pick up anything.