outside temperature out of sync

[roadkill401]

I have a 2013 SEL with the 5" MFT touch screen. The car I gather has sensors that tell you what the temperature outside is. But here is where I get confused.

 

On the small screen just to the right of the speedometer (behind the steering wheel), at the lower left side it gives me the outisde temp. On the big 5" screen in the center console in the top middle, it also gives me the outside temp. One would logically think they both would be pulling the temp from the same sensor and both would give the exact same temperature. Mine however generally do not. One or the other is 1 degree C off in either the +/- from the other.

 

For example, yesterday while driving out in the morning, the small screen had 15c, where the large screen had 14c. After 15 minutes they decided to both day 15c, then when I looked again a few minutes later, the small screen had gone up to 16c where the big one was still at 15c

 

So I concluded that the small screen must update on a more regular polling interval.

 

But later in the day, both screens were at 18c, then the large screen dropped to 17c but the small screen stayed at 18c.

 

It is like they have a different sensor at different locations outside the car and so they get independent temperatures. That would make little sense, or do I have some nice MFT glitch that it just microsofts up the temperature to give you some variance of reality.

 

 

[omar302]

First, it's an 8" touch screen, not 5".

 

As for the different readings, it seems to be due to a different rounding when converting from Fahrenheit to Celsius. If you convert the units to English (in the left screen settings) you'll find that both would have the sstreading in Fahrenheit even when they were different in Celsius. The different readings always occur at the same temperature readings.

 

I have previously highlighted this to the Ford IVT member in this forum, but they directed me to the Middle East Ford customer service which useless. Hope you'll be able to highlight it better as it is a simple software issue.

[autom8r]

Roadkill,

 

It may be a rounding error. What is the temperature at 14.5 C? 14 or 15? one system may round up, the other may round down. I'm sure polling intervals and scan rate may also drive the display and maybe even rolling averaging or dampening to smooth out the noise. The system probably sends an 8 or 10 bit value over the span of the sensor and its up to the device to extrapolate a value.

 

Since all these systems are made by different companies you may never get a solution. Rest assured though, it's function is to drive you crazy.

 

Good luck!

[roadkill401]

The fact that this is normal and not a defective hardware is all I needed to know. If it's the same symptom that everyone else is getting then it's one less thing that I need to worry about.

 

Thanks

[fralic76]

My 2013 Edge sport does the same thing.

[normcloutier]

I find that one just updates faster than the other. When there is a temp change, they may be off by 1 degree celcius but soon sync up.

[omar302]

When they are showing different readings, switch the units to Fahrenheit & you'll see that they would have the same reading. Switch back to Celsius & they would be different. This would always happen at the same specific temperature readings, for example at 87 Fahrenheit, the main screen reads 30 degree Celsius and the right cluster screen will read 31. Convert the units to Fahrenheit, then both screens will read the same 87 degree Fahrenheit. When both screens read 30 Celsius, change units back and both will read 86 degree Fahrenheit. The same scenario also happens at some different temp readings.

[ls973800]

This is why the United States will never adopt the metric system. Heck, even a car built in Canada is confused by Celsius degrees!