Outside temperature

[KGrow]

I’ve noticed that the outside temperature reported on my 2024 Ranger Raptor is 7-8 degrees warmer then the true outside temperature.
Has anyone else experienced that? Is there a way to recalibrate the sensor or manually set it a few degrees lower so that it’s more accurate?
I would imagine that there are a few systems in the truck that use that reading to make other adjustments to function properly.

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[CACTUSGREYFX4]

Not sure where it is on the Ranger but my previous truck had it in the side mirror and with the sun shining on it, it was always off.

 

[willy]

similar with mine. reads 5 deg warmer than ambient temp. wondering if the pcm uses that data for engine performance.

on my last truck (chevy) it could be recalibrated with my scanner.

 

[Hootbro]

Noticed the same thing of mine being 5-7 degrees off. I poked around on the interwebs a couple of days ago on this issue but found nothing yet specific to 6G Rangers.

Seems to be a common issue across all Ford vehicles. I had found some things on the F-150 side about resetting the Ambient Air Temperature sensor calibrations via some button pushes on the HVAC control or using a scan tool but that went nowhere for me.

 

[Tagtexas]

I’ve noticed that the outside temperature reported on my 2024 Ranger Raptor is 7-8 degrees warmer then the true outside temperature.
Has anyone else experienced that? Is there a way to recalibrate the sensor or manually set it a few degrees lower so that it’s more accurate?
I would imagine that there are a few systems in the truck that use that reading to make other adjustments to function properly.

I have noticed the same issue in my Ranger Raptor. As much as 7 to 8 degrees off. I wonder if Ford could adjust this with a software update? As someone mentioned, it seems to have this issue while in the sun. It is accurate in my garage on start-up.

 

[LLCCPA]

I have the same issue with my XLT

 

[Sam55]

I’ve noticed that the outside temperature reported on my 2024 Ranger Raptor is 7-8 degrees warmer then the true outside temperature.
Has anyone else experienced that? Is there a way to recalibrate the sensor or manually set it a few degrees lower so that it’s more accurate?
I would imagine that there are a few systems in the truck that use that reading to make other adjustments to function properly.

Same on my 24 XLT.

 

[jrRaptor]

similar with mine. reads 5 deg warmer than ambient temp. wondering if the pcm uses that data for engine performance.

on my last truck (chevy) it could be recalibrated with my scanner.

No, it would use the IAT (intake air temperature) sensor for engine performance.

 

[pablo94sc]

It's likely under the hood near the upper radiator mount. It'll only be "accurate" in shade when the engine is cold or after driving a bit to allow for airflow to cool it down to ambient temp. They've all be like this since they started putting them in cars. Ex: my 94 tbird. This is nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[ikaceman1]

I’ve noticed that the outside temperature reported on my 2024 Ranger Raptor is 7-8 degrees warmer then the true outside temperature.
Has anyone else experienced that? Is there a way to recalibrate the sensor or manually set it a few degrees lower so that it’s more accurate?
I would imagine that there are a few systems in the truck that use that reading to make other adjustments to function properly.

Exactly the same. Toyota Camry (our other vehicle) sitting right next to this vehicle read 91F and this vehicle read 98F... Took 30 min to drop down,then it matched a few signs registering temps within 1F

 

[JustNick]

That'll be the case for pretty much every vehicle with an ambient air temp sensor, not a Ford specific thing. Both of my Audi's do it as well as our previous Nissan, Jeep, Toyota, Chevy, etc. Once you get moving it will read actual air temp instead of air temp plus radiant heat . The heat from the sun is dissipated into the air at a faster rate with air flow vs purely radiant cooling. This is true for all fluids, including air.

 

[Hootbro]

Once you get moving it will read actual air temp instead of air temp plus radiant heat .

I wish that was the case with mine. Even on my daily 45 minute commute each way, it is easily 5+ degrees off regardless. On my Gladiator, it will do what you mentioned of taking awhile to get to actual temp reading but it is pretty much dead on though.

 

[JustNick]

I wish that was the case with mine. Even on my daily 45 minute commute each way, it is easily 5+ degrees off regardless. On my Gladiator, it will do what you mentioned of taking awhile to get to actual temp reading but it is pretty much dead on though.

If you locate the temp sensor, get yourself a meat thermometer (or your choice of temp probe) and a wet rag. Read the temp of the wet (and I mean soaking wet) rag with your meat thermometer, then hold it tight around the temp sensor. It will take a few minutes for the computer to register the change since there's smoothing applied to the sensor by the computer. After a few minutes, see what the truck is reporting the temp as. Double check the temp of the rag with your temp probe and compare what you've got. It may be possible to adjust the offset with Forscan, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

By using the wet rag, you're measuring wet bulb temp and also removing the environment from the equation. These sensors typically work off of a known resistance per degree of temp, but its possible that some shmoo added some resistance or some defect decreased it. Either way, they're not perfect and hopefully ford allowed for some adjustment within the computer. If not and it bothers you enough, you could replace the sensor itself and do the same method as above to double check it

 

[KGrow]

I understand that if the truck sits in the sun for a while there will be some radiant heat that will be reflected in the reading when you first start driving, but mine consistently reads 7-8 degrees higher after being driven for some time.
I too have compared the readings with my Tahoe and Audi which seem to be more accurate, which makes me wonder if the sensor is bad or if there may be a way to adjust it with Forscan.
Does anyone know if that reading effects any other computer controlled systems. I guess the math isn’t too difficult to live with, but l’m hoping the higher reading doesn’t create other issues that might cause damage somewhere.

 

[Critical Habitat]

Mine seems about 1 degree too high after driving for a while.
Because of the blue hood, it can read over 100 degrees when it is just sitting in the sun and not moving. When in the garage and after sitting, it is around the same 1 degree higher than actual garage temperature.

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