K11 Micra: ambient temp sensor

1996 Nissan Micra K11 type. Has always started OK. It has been stood for 7 days as I have been away on holiday. This morning it refused to start. The starter motor turned but the engine wouldn't catch. I tried a few 30 second bursts trying to start it. Any longer than this I feared would definitely drain the battery. I suspected a flat battery and called out Green Flag. A local garage recovery vehicle turned up and got it starting in less than 5 mins.

Turned out it was a flooded engine. Something I have easily fixed before a couple of times just by putting my foot to the floor and cranking. The recovery man cranked it for about 3 x 30 secs in a row, and also did a trick of removing the fuel pump fuse then cranking. It eventually spluttered into life, belching black smoke.

The recovery man blamed the "ambient temperature sensor". Only £10 from the Nissan dealer, he reckoned.

What are my strategies to prevent a recurrence of this? Get a new sensor fitted or if flooding reoccurs, just crank like hell at the risk of flattening the battery?

Thanks Bruce