rawfeels

i have a 91 w/ 3vze and a code 22 that flashes every day for a few minutes before shutting off and its hard to start when its been sitting for awhile. So i looked around here to see what that was and how to fix it etc. after reading a lot of threads, it seems there is a water temp sensor and a water temp sender and a water temp switch.

the fsm says my code 22 is the water temp sensor. so i went to autozone and told him i needed a water temp sensor. he told me he only gets a water temp switch and i dont have a sensor. it looks like this picture down here.



but after looking some more at these threads the pictures look different. they have the harness plug on it, while mine doesnt. like this....



so is this guy at autozone incorrect? the threads say there are 3 different parts, (sender, switch and sensor). does that grey harness plug just attach to the part i bought or something? and for that matter , do all those plugs just attach (see red circled blue spade connector below) i dont want to go pulling it out if i bought the wrong part.



thanks for the help. also...feel free to berate me with insults haha

sb5walker

Your top photo is the temp gauge sender and has nothing to do with the ecu or code. In the bottom pic, that sender is top left. The ECT (engine coolant temp sensor) is the guy you need to check and possibly replace. It's the one with the gray plastic plug socket (your second photo) and just to the left of the circled sensor in the bottom photo. Many replacement ECTs will have a different color plastic plug. Many are green. Almost all parts catalogs will list this part as a sensor, not sender nor switch.

Be aware that the code could be caused by a bad connection to the sensor, not just a bad sensor. Could be a short or an open connection. So check the sensor with a multimeter and if it checks out okay you'll need to look for a wiring fault.

Check rockauto.com and autohausaz.com if you can't find a good deal locally.