Ok, so last nite I get in the car after it being parked for like 3 hrs. Turn the car on and notice that the temp gauge is reading between the 2 left lines. So, even though I was a bit puzzled, I took off. All of the sudden I noticed the temp getting lower instead of higher.

When I left my friends house, thats where i was going, I turned on the lights and put the ignition switch to on. And saw all the gauges, going up, like they should. But the temp gauge just shot up all the way to the over heat area. And then went down to where it should have been(though I dont really remember if it went down before or after I turned the car on). Drove home, everything seemed fine.

This morning the same thing, key is on the "on" position temp gauge shoots up. As Im driving I noticed that if I stopped at a light the temp would go up above normal, it even once went up to 3/4 of the way across the gauge.

So Im a bit puzzled by this. I know my fan clutch its bad, its been like that for a while, but it really hasnt had an effect, other than running slightly hotter than it should.

Now, that gauge thing, I dont think its related to the fan clutch. Could it be some sort of temp sensor and where are these located?? Could it have been all the bouncing my car does that screwed up the gauge??



Sorry for the long post, but im trying to be as accurate as possible with the vents.

My car is a 85 GSLSE with 173.4k miles.



Thanks

 

sounds like the signal is grounding out somewhere or the temp sending unit that goes in the engine is probably shot. The one on my dads Volvo just went to ****. Thing was leaking oil through the middle. Doesnt sound like anything serious. I would suggest to get an aftermarket gauge to be sure of ur temps.

 

Phew, thanks. I was actually thinking of geting a few aftermarket gauges, but didnt want the clutter.

I swear man, just like women, they cant just be happy with what they got, always want more.

 

Yeah, it sounds like the temp sensor is shot. You can get one at the parts store relatively cheap. As far as location, on the driver's side under the oil filter, small 1 wire deal.

I would also suggest getting aftermarket guages. I have Cyberdyne digital temp and volt. That way there is no question about temp.

 

Well, it is a scary thing. I bought a bite to eat and went to a park by my house to eat, also it was a good place to "troubleshoot" the problem. Well, Im sitting there eating my tacos while watching the temp gauge go up, up, up all the way up to the "H". Turned the car off, pop the hood. No weird noises. So, I went home.

Found the sensor, the water pump looks ok, is the thermostat in the pump? Could that be getting stuck for some reason or other.

My fathe took a look at the car, banged on the pump, wiggled the sensor. And it seems to be fine. At least for now.

Those sensors, are they the same between 12a and 13b??



As far as gauges. Im still undecided as to what I want my console to look like.



Thanks

 

The thermostat is on top of the front housing, where the top radiator hose is. As far as it getting stuck, if it is heating up pretty fast,unless it's hot where you live, I would probably rule it out. Usually if the pump is bad, you can hear it making noise. To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a test for the sensor. I know all that I have changed, just consisted of changing it and the guage started working.

 

Hey all, wooffinn here. Yeah your right there Viper, there's a very technical way of checking those sensors, but in my workshop we just put a new one in. If I kept every shot one I've replaced, I'd have a VERY large box of them!

Just a quick check you can do though, is to remove that sensor wire and earth it. By that I mean, put a spare piece of wire into it and attach it to the negative battery terminal. Don't worry you won't fry anything as this is how the sensor works. Turn the ignition on, earth your wire and if all the wiring is ok, your gauge will slowly move all the way around. If not you may have a wiring problem.

Treceb, as for those sensors, they are different between 12's and 13's in my neck of the woods.

 

Thanks everyone. It been running fine the last few days. Dont know exactly what i did though. If the gauge starts acting up again, ill just replace the sensor.