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Temp guage not working?

740 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  white_91_ser
hey there. just got a beater se-r here in minnesota, and the temp guage is barely working. if i let the car sit and warm up, the guage goes up to 2/5 of the way, but once i start driving it drops to 0. i replaced the thermostat, but it did nothing. i was told elsewhere that it was a "sending unit", but i do not know exactly which one it is, or where it is located in the engine bay. can someone gimme a hand here?
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It's probably the guage wire itself, it's right behind the oil filter underneath the manifold, it most likely has come appart, it's black, there's also a red one, which is for the coolant temp sensor, I had the same problem, my gauge works perfect now.
I got an issue with mine too...

I could leave the car at idle for hours on end and the needle wont move an inch. Then as soon as i drive it, it finally starts moving it it directly stays in the middle. The deal is i never see the needle move elsewhere. Its always in the middle no matter what. This happend right after we did the JDM sr swap. IM thinking of getting something more accurate since i know the stock sensor sux. any recomendations or fixes??
i put in a aftermarket auto meter temp gauge when i did my swap,just so i know what the motor was running at.
well, i have no idea which cable plug that might be the problem. everything that i could see under the intake manifold seemed to be in tact. any way to test the wire? anyone have any pics of this wire? i have a chilton's manual, any page numbers from that manual?
just for refrence, whats the after market temp guage to look for. Is it the oil temp or coolant temp or what.
you want a coolant temp gauge,they come in 2 types,electrical witch requires you to buy another sender that matches the gauge,and mechanical,which is what i have,a little more accurate and all you have to do is find a spot in the coolant system somewhere.
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