I'm having some troubles with my coolant temp gauge not working. Right now I'm trying to determine if my thermostat is stuck open or if the sender is bad.

If I ground the sender wire to the engine block the gage on the dash moves full scale so I know the cluster and wiring is fine.

My normal running temps are in the 150-165 range, this does seem a bit low but I still think I should see some movement on the gauge.

Could someone with a consult tell me at what temperature the gage starts to move? Also what are the normal running temperatures you guys are seeing?

Thanks

I just got back from a drive that was stop and go in 90F weather. The gauge went up about 2/5 of the way while I was stopped, then dropped when I got moving. Also I noticed my idle dropped from the usual 1100RPM to 800RPM too.

So it definately looks like my thermostat is bad since both my coolant temp sender and sensor agree that my engine is too cold.

on My car I have a water temp. gauge and a functional factory idiot gauge... the factory gauge moves about after 110-115 deg. F... It hits the 2/5 around 150 deg F and stays there untill 212 deg F.

Hope that helps

Thanks for those numbers.

My idiot gauge definately doesn't move until it is at least over 160. Now I'm thinking the sender is bad.

I'd just change the thermostat, sounds like it is stuck open. It's not that hard or expensive so if you havent ever done it on that car before I would go ahead and do that first. ..and 800 RPM idle is etter than 1100!

Found the problem, B14 and B13 temperature switches are not interchangeable. They look identical, have the same connector and both fit the same but they measure differently.


Here is the backstory for those interested. When I got my NX the engine had just been 'rebuilt' by the owners friend and the motor was tossed the engine in in the bay with only the pass side engine mount installed. It has the B13 highport intake manifold but there were lots of B14 items, the coolant sensor(not the switch) was for a B14, valve cover had the bolts instead of studs/acorns and I was told to use a 99 2.0l sentra oil filter.

It didn't occur to me until I installed the a new temp sender the the sender that came with the motor was likely for a B14.