temp guage not working

[Jamie-b]

hey,
what reason would there be for the temp guage not to work?
And by not work i mean it dosent move on its on.. if i hit the top of the dash the needle flicks up then straight back down..

[terry0400-40]

hey,
what reason would there be for the temp guage not to work?
And by not work i mean it dosent move on its on.. if i hit the top of the dash the needle flicks up then straight back down..

Possably the wire terminal connection end to the temp guage or to the temperature sender may have come loose, and if this is not the case then maby the temperature sender unit itself may need replacing ( it is just below the thermostat housing.

[jujibelly]

3 Reasons. All of which are pretty simple to replace/fix.

1: The soldering of the back of the pcb board has become what they call dry solder. Solution, re-solder thee 3 terminals on the voltage regulator.
Search by using the search button.

2: Your temperature sender ( The one that adjusts the needle on the instrument cluster) is probably faulty. Solution, replace.

3: Engine coolant temperature sensor aka ECT is faulty. Solution, replace.

I would suggest trying the methods mention in that order.

If re-soldering does not cure the problem, earth the temperature sender prior to replacing and thus should send the needle to HOT. Do not hold it there for long as you are supplying full voltage which can fry some stuff.
There is a procedure posted in this forum use the search feature.

Note that if it doesn't move to HOT your sender is faulty.

There are methods to test the ECT but require a multimeter.

**Before you commence any work are you sure you have a thermostat? If not this will cause no reading as the engine is constantly receiving cold water**

[Jamie-b]

ok, i just got a new temperature sender, the brass one that goes near the thermostat housing, iss there supposed to be a wire attached to it?
there is a clip with a wire on it around on the passanger side of the housing, but no wires connected to the sender at all, is this normal?

[Brett_jjj]

Hi,you should have 1 green wire connected to the temp sender.Is the wire you mention green ?

[Jamie-b]

well theres no wire attached to the actual sender, unless im using the wrong name fo things (most likly..

heres a pic

[Brett_jjj]

No,thats it,and thats your problem. There should be a green wire floating around there somewhere,and it goes on the end of the sender unit.The wire should come out of the wiring loom there somewhere in the right of your picture.

[Jamie-b]

could this be the green wire?


also how does it connect to the temp sender?
anybody got a poc?
Thanks

[Brett_jjj]

mate I havnt got a pic,but I will bet that is it,get a piece of wire to join it to the sender ,and let it warm up and see if it works.If it does,just solder a new wire to it,not sure where you can get another proper connector.Maybe cut one off a wrecked one.just wrap the wire around the temp sender connector as a temporary fix.

[Jamie-b]

mate I havnt got a pic,but I will bet that is it,get a piece of wire to join it to the sender ,and let it warm up and see if it works.If it does,just solder a new wire to it,not sure where you can get another proper connector.Maybe cut one off a wrecked one.just wrap the wire around the temp sender connector as a temporary fix.

Thanks mate, where does the wire need to make contact to? Eg end of the sensor, side etc..
ill just tape the wire onto it for now until i can get the proper connector..

[Brett_jjj]

right on the end of the sender,there should be a groove at the end of it,just wrap the wire around that.
you will know its in the right place if your gauge moves,if it goes right up to red or H ,you have the wire grounded out and not in the right place,someone else might be able to put up a pic for you.

[Jamie-b]

well i had a look at the green wire, and it has a plug on the end, but not the plug that goes onto the temp sender, but i thought maybe that plug does onto it?,
But i didnt want to hook it up without knowing and risk damaging somthing..

[Wombles]

There could always be the simple fix of changing the thermostat...
Mine hardly moved at all and then I replaced the thermostat and BANG it works again.

[pjdm1980]

My speedo doesn't work first thing in the morning since i got about five years ago just keep on banging the dash mine hasn't got worse and only need one hit to make it go.

[Brett_jjj]

Mate thats the right wire and thats the right plug,It slides on the sender sideways sort of,I will see if i can get a picture of it,but that is definitely it.

[Jamie-b]

nuh ive tried banging on the dash,
i dont know how changing the thermostat would help?
But as somebody else pointed out, theres supposed to be a green wire connected to the temp sender, i just need to find this green wire...

[Commydoor]

you had the wire in your hand dumbass

[Brett_jjj]

[Brett_jjj]

Have a look at the above pic ,you should be able to work out how it goes on(circled in red)

[andrew270681]

the sender has a head on it. The plug slides sideways over the head.

[Jamie-b]

hmm, maybe i suffered severe brain damage as an infant?
Thanks for the help

[Wombles]

nuh ive tried banging on the dash,
i dont know how changing the thermostat would help?
But as somebody else pointed out, theres supposed to be a green wire connected to the temp sender, i just need to find this green wire...

Well, my thermostat hardly worked at all when I got it.
Changed the thermostat and BAM! It works again.
Try that as well as playing around with the electronics of the car...
It's worth a try!

[Jamie-b]

lol nuh mate i got it working.. i just plugged it in lol.. then felt like a major dumbass..