I have a 2006 Honda Civic LX, my sensor light recently came on. I went to auto parts store and ran an electrical test/scanner. The coolant sensor and intake air sensor came up as errors. I filled up on coolant and cleared sensor light. The light came back on the next day, so went back and had I tested again, same errors. I know they work together, so not sure which one is causing the light to come on. Now my understanding is that I need to get an ?O meter? and check the sensors themselves to see which one may be bad. The only thing is I don?t want to take my car to the dealership, b/c they will completely rip me off. I want to know how hard it would be to check to make sure the wiring is not just lose, or if I have to replace, how hard would it be?
Unless your Civic is still under warranty don’t worry about going to a dealer. Find an asian import shop and let them sort this out. By the sounds of it this could cost you way to much, in time and money trying to figure it out as you go.
Xebadaih is likely correct in that you’re probably better off in the long run having a shop take a look at it but NOT the dealer. You need a good, reputable, local & independent shop (not a corporate chain), and if there is one that specializes in Hondas & the like all the better. If you ask around for a place of good reputation you’re not likely to have anyone try to take you to the cleaners.
However, if you’re really wanting to gain some auto independence and are feeling ambitious - the thing you need is not a “O meter” but an Ohm meter - ohm as in a measure of electrical resistance - aka multimeter, and you’d want a digital one. (Your designation “O meter” is what will tell people that you might be better off with an experienced mechanic). And you need a repair manual for this vehicle. Expect to spend about $20 on each. The 2 brands of manuals that you’re likely to come across are either Haynes or Chilton’s - opinions vary about which is better (I’ve always been happier with Chilton’s). I would try to get a look at a repair manual before you think about buying a multimeter since you might take one look at the whole mess of what you need to do and say fugeddaboudit.
The much bigger question is why you had to “fill up on coolant”.
So why do you think the dealer will completely rip you off? Have they done this before and if so, how?
You should also be aware that being low on coolant could trigger an engine coolant sensor code and they do not “work together”. Each one has a job to do separately of the other.
I would also like to know what you mean by “fill up on coolant”.
you can only fill up on coolant if you are losing some (this is supposed to be a sealed system, so something is excaping, burning, leaking, blowing out, etc. that is what you need to focus on