Hey guys,


I noticed when it's cold out (40's & low 50's) cold for Orlando that is, that my gauge will give a false reading. For the first 15 mins of driving the gauge will be pegged at 250 and then all of a sudden just drop to the normal 150-165ish and stay there.

My question is what would cause this? I've checked the wires and they seem to be OK. Is it just a bad gauge? If it goes to what I think is normal then is it OK? Or because it gives a false reading when it's cold could it be bad when warm too?

Thanks

 

I've no real idea what is causing you problem. But if I were to hazard a guess I'd say the Temp. Sensor may be the problem.

Were is it installed on your truck?

Doug

 

I have almost the exact opposite problem as you are having. My temp guage says 0 for the first 15 min. You and I both know that that would be impossible to run if the temp's were true. Once you find out the sensor please tell me how hard it was to replace.

 

HI!... It's a electrical gauge that's the whole problem. Everyone here knows how I feel about electrical temp gauges. Go mechanical. Problem solved.

 

Yeh Neal dosn't like them but mine works perfect all the time.
You need to be sure the sensor 'grounding' is good and not temp sensitive.
Not just using sealing tape on the threads with no extra ground.
Be sure the voltage feed is solid to the meter and the wire connectors are all good.
All the system is is a volt meter in series with a temp varying resistor and calibrated in degrees.
You can test the meter by measuring the sensor resistance and duplicating it with a regular resistor off the meter lead to ground. Do not ground the meter without a large enough series resistance to prevent more than full scale or the meter will be damaged.
You can test the sensor action with a ohm meter while heating in a pan of water to detect if it has a problem responding
There should be no difficulty finding what the problem is.
It's no different than having an ECT or other temp/oil switch fail or be inaccurate for the same reasons.

 

The guage itself or the sensor? The sensor is plugged right into the side of the transmission. The gauge itself is mounted right where you see it.



I guess as long as it runs the correct temperature once it's warm then it's OK. Afterall, very soon it's not going to be cold anymore for a long time.

 

i have an older 94, but my engine temp gauge does the same thing when it is cold. i can start the truck, and with in 5 minutes be pegged, which is impossible being that it was idleing in 10 degree weather. i pulled the rad cap last year to see if it was hot. hoses were cold, and the fluid didnt shoot out. after 10-15 minutes, it drops to normal on its own.
hasnt been something i have been worried about