Just got this car in the last few weeks (1990 TP Magna Elite EFI 2.6 Astron II Automatic). I haven't yet located a workshop manual for it.

I have trouble starting the car from cold or even after it has been turned off for an hour. It may be the Coolant Temp sensor, but I can't locate it physically on the engine.

Can someone help? Sorry if this question has been asked before. I had a look around and couldn't find any reference to this sensor.:happy:

It may be the coolant temp sensor, it may be other things.

Try some simple fault finding techniques before you randomly replace bits.

Coolant temp sensor sits underneath the intake manifold.

welcome to the club mate
love the tp elite,s is it a wagon or sedan
i have a never opened service manaul here you can have for $20 pluss post.

your efi has two temp senders
close to the dissy on the top of the inlet manifold
you need the sender with two contacts

the thermo fan sender is on the bottom of the radiator



information inncorect
the other one is for the temp for the auto under the
inlet manifold


cold starting shouldnt be a problem with the EFI

you may have to look at the air flow meter in the air filter canister

fit a new fuel filter

Thanks MadMax. The sensor that I thought was the coolant temp sensor definitely tested faulty. I found the correct sensor, as you say, underneath the manifold, sneakily hiding away. it was difficult to test being in such a difficult position. It was very dirty inside the connector, and after cleaning it and the plug up, this sensor also tested faulty. I'm not a bit surprised, the car has been garaged for the last 6 years.

Thanks magna buff. I've taken up magnaman89's offer regarding the manual he offered. It'll be a bit easier to locate the parts you mentioned once I have something to reference. I'll take a look at them once I have the manual and report my progress (or lack of it maybe). I'll be ordering a Coolant temp sensor tomorrow.

What is the sensor on the top of the manifold? Is that a fuel temp sensor or something else?

sent you a pm will try your email soon
as im with indian telstra and live out side of a mayor city my internet is crapier then a renault

There's a planned power outage in my area till about 4pm today, so I can't access internet or email until then. I'm having to use the local library facilities at the moment but it still wont let me access my bigpond email. Magnaman89, I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Ok, due to the fact that I'm basically a very old time carby, distributor with actual points man, I'm a bit lost on all the newer, more electronically inclined vehicles, although I have a degree in electronics, and designed and built my first CDI ignition system long before this was a normality in most cars, the bottom line is ---- I stuffed up. I replaced the wrong sensor. Now my temp guage (LCD display) only registers at the bottom of the range when the car is finally up to temp. So the sensor I replaced actually serves the Temp Gauge --- but what else does that sensor serve?? Anyone? I've been told that the sensor on top of the manifold is a 'Cold Start Injector', ?? Correct?? or not?? Wish to 'ell I had that book I'm trying to arrange with MagnaMan89.

Yesterday I put the original sensor back that seems to drive the temp gauge, and replaced the Coolant Temp sensor.

Starting problem solved it seems. The car started first go this morning for the first time since I took ownership of the vehicle. Came straight up to slightly above normal idling speed, and didn't conk out. The car was garaged last night instead of outside in the cold, so I will still reserve a bit of doubt. Still the car was having problems starting even during the day after sitting idle for an hour or 2.

Thanks everyone who had an input to my problem. Many heads make Magna work.

Addendum: Car has started last 2 mornings without any troubles. Problem definitely solved.

your efi has two temp senders
close to the dissy on the top of the inlet manifold
you need the sender with two contacts

the other one is for the temp for the auto under the
inlet manifold

the thermo fan sender is on the bottom of the radiator

cold starting shouldnt be a problem with the EFI

you may have to look at the air flow meter in the air filter canister

fit a new fuel filter
you can run that motor on ethanol

Would this be the same for executive model tp ? ( locations of the sender/s ) as my tp's temp keeps rising every time I drive, and some times the gauge doesn't move at all...I bought a temperature sender unit from super cheap auto but can't find where it goes, and my workshop manual has done a disappearing act ( not happy jan! ) there's some form of sender/sensor near the dizzy on mine, but it's totally different to the one i bought as the sender\sensor near the dizzy has a round end, and the plug goes on horizontal, where as the tsu i bought has a spade end, in which the plug goes on vertically.

I think the locations of the senders are the same for executives and elites. I don't know for sure about elites or the TM and TN models and can only speak with authority in relation to the executive TP as that is what I have. The sender for the temp gauge is on top of the inlet manifold near the distributor. All three of my TPs (1 carby and 2 efi) have the same type of sender and connector, as indicated by the red arrow in the pic below.

http://users.tpg.com.au/acheson1/images/sender.jpg

I confirmed the above just now by firing up the efi wagon (which hadn't been started for a while) and waiting for the temp gauge to get into its operating range. Pulling the connector off made the temp gauge drop to the bottom and replacing it made the gauge work again.

It shouldn't matter what type of connector your new sender has, so long as the sender has the correct resistance and temperature range. Spade connectors are readily available, so it should be a simple matter to cut the old connector off and solder or crimp a spade connector onto the wire in its place.

On carby models, the thermo valve (temperature operated vacuum switch) is on the underside of the inlet manifold directly beneath this temp sender. On efi models, there is a second temperature sender on the underside of the inlet manifold, again directly beneath the one we are discussing. That sender has a two-bladed connector which plugs into the efi harness.

This is where I disagree with the quote by magna buff above. It seems to me that this second temp sender is used by the ECU to monitor engine (coolant) temperature for the purpose of controlling and optimising engine running conditions. That may also affect control of the transmission but it is defintely NOT the transmission temperature sensor.

The transmission temperature sensor screws into the transmission itself and monitors the transmission's oil temperature. It has nothing to do with engine coolant temperature. Referring to the pic below, there are three electrical connectors for the transmission that slide onto a bracket mounted between the brake fluid reservoir and the driver side strut tower. These are the same for both efi and carby. One is a 4 pin connector for the shift solenoids. Another is a 4 pin connector for the two pulse generators (A and B). The only 2-pin connector is from the transmission temp. sensor. The plug side of it goes to the TCU. The TCU translates the sensor's resistance value to temperature and uses that information for various purposes. One purpose is to disallow power mode below 20 degrees C and another is to disable the lock-up clutch below 50 degrees C. This can be proven by unplugging the connector and observing that the lockup clutch and transmission power mode no longer operate.

http://users.tpg.com.au/acheson1/images/trantemp.jpg

Cheers for that cold, was sure it was that one, but feels like there may be another sensor\sender directly underneath that, under the manifold ( has a rubber boot such as at 2 on the bottom of the radiator and also on the extractors ), was not so sure they'd be annoying enough to put it there.

I think the one you mention on the extractors is probably the oxygen sensor. You are right that there are two on the bottom of the radiator. One is for the thermo fans. I can't recall what the second one is for.

sorry MagnaficentTp and coldamus .....have been without any internet for 14 days

coldy . great pictures ....

bottom of radiator should only have the one sensor for the thermo fans
some oil senders have a boot

.................................................. ................
wonder where i was in april 2012 to say that bit about the sender under the inlet manifold
wait till I dig out the tranny and engine repair manual for full confirmation about the sender below the inlet manifold ( just a bit busy )


auto tranny temp explained quickly
whats the auto tranny temp sender do (very simple words )
..a temp sensor is inside the pan near the solenoids
the sender goes through the tranny ECU ..

if the oil is below a certain temp it locks something in the box till oil warms up

.................................................. ................
wonder where i was in april 2012 to say that bit about the sender under the inlet manifold
wait till I dig out the tranny and engine repair manual for full confirmation about the sender below the inlet manifold ( just a bit busy )


Hi magna buff,

Vee said the same as you, so there must be some truth in it. I have a feeling he may have been speaking about a TN though. I've never owned one of those and of course the TN transmission is different. That might explain it.

I would like to know the correct answer about the sensor under the inlet manifold on a TP
I read about this underneath sensor somewhere .. just forgot what book/pages

looking at the engine bay wiring diagames may solve this ..

dont think the carby inlet manifold .. or manual gearboxes ... has this sensor underneath

have a TN factory Manual to refer to . ...
one owner before has fitted a TP box into a TN ..
...TN tranny has the same temp sender near the solenoids . but different tranny ECUs - round plug -much weaker box

Coolant temperature sender unit/sensor on all EFI models on the passenger side under the inlet manifold directly under the sender for the temperature gauge is for the EFI ECU. The wires enter the harness near the distributor. Computers need to know the temp to keep the fuel ratio correct and to modify it for the cold start,load changes, acceleration etc etc. Vee

Yep..my TP Elite Wagon has the coolant temp sensor for the ECU mounted exactly as V described. The sensor on top is for the temp gauge. I had exactly the same issue with hard starting years ago. Changed sensor and easy starts were back again!
It's nice to see a bit of action again on the first gen forum!!

Could I just clarify a couple of things about these sensors? My TP Grand Tourer (which I would think, for the purpose of this discussion, we will consider to be an Executive) has a bit of a problem with the idle speed, mainly when starting from cold. It is a 5 speed manual with ECI. When idling, the engine speed starts at 800 but then drops to around 600 or 500 before going back to 800. There almost seems to be a rhythm to the way the revs rise and fall. This occurs whether the engine is warmed up or cold, but is more pronounced when it is cold. The engine usually stalls when it is cold and the revs drop to around 500 (a little pressure on the accelerator of course prevents this) but it does not normally stall once warmed up. I did change the leads and plugs (they needed changed anyway) but the idling problem is still there. It was suggested to me by someone that the petrol pump was developing a fault but, reading this thread, it sounds like the problem rather lies with one of the sensors. Is this likely to be the case and, if so, is it the sensor under the manifold (which is next to impossible to even see) that is the culprit?

Idle speed control motor?

yep sounds like the idle speed cpntroller

to test the idle speed control motor ... you undo it from the frame ....leave it loose but wires connected

then see if it retracts when you start the motor

if it is faulty ..finding a replacement may be a challange

next a vaccume leak

I think they sell new units on eBay ?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-GENUINE-Mitsubishi-Magna-TN-TP-2-6L-Idle-Speed-Air-Control-Valve-ISC-/121003941869?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c2c659fed

to test the idle speed control motor ... you undo it from the frame ....leave it loose but wires connected

then see if it retracts when you start the motor

No need to do anything really. Just turning the ignition on and it retracts within 15 seconds so either listen for it or watch it.
Just as the manual says for idle speed adjustment procedure. Vee