2013 Mustang GT Sensor Question

Maintenance/Repairs
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I was wondering if anyone knew; does a 2013 Mustang GT use an ECT sensor or a CHT sensor? (or both?) to monitor the coolant temperature on an OBD scanner?

I am asking because after idling for a while my scanner shows “coolant temperature” going all the way up to as high as 218 degrees before kicking the fan on bringing it down to 206-208 and then repeating. When highway coasting or driving, the “coolant temperature” always stays between 180-195 after fully warming up. It only goes up to 195 if I push it but never seen it go above that if the car is moving, even if I’m beating on it.

I put “coolant temperature” in quotes because I’m not sure what kind of sensor this car uses to monitor the temperature so I’m not sure if the temperature showing on the scanner is the actual temperature of the coolant/water… The idle temp of 218 would be high if this car used an ECT sensor but normal if it used a CHT sensor since CHT is the temperature of the metal and not the coolant. Is this correct?

2

Tester

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There are many vehicles that activate the cooling fans at 220 F. This saves fuel, electric motors are a load on the alternator. In a mild climate the fans shouldn’t need to run often, usually the traffic light will turn green before cooling is needed.

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You didn’t say which engine you have. 3.7L / 5.0L / 5.8L?

It might also be helpful to say what issue you’re having?

I will absolutely defer to those with more direct knowledge than I have. But A) it shouldn’t matter as CHT readings, while not working by the same 5V sensor logic, are still providing data that ends in an ECU calculation equivalent to an ECT. So it actually shouldn’t matter for what you see on the scantool. B) I’m pretty sure that the 3.7 and 5.0 use CHT and the 5.8 uses ECT. (But see “A”) C) what you report does not seem at all unusual to me. Nor is it problematic. (see @Nevada_545 's comment just posted above).

All the more reason to say what kind of problem you’re having, if any.