Temp gauge always cold?

AWD1990Tsi

Registered User
The temp gauge in my car never reads above cold, even though the car warms up and the heater blows hot. The needle never gets out of the blue cold bar. When I start the car in the morning the gauge usually reads considerably below the Blue line, and as it warms up ends up on the blue line. Would this mean the gauge is bad or something else? Thanks in advance.
 
Your sender is probably bad. Mine did the same thing. Not expensive.

regards

Sean
 
That was my other guess. Where's it at on the motor? Just wonder because I'm changing the motor mounts this weekend so if it's something not easily accessible with the motor in the car I should probably replace it while it's out.
 
It is on the thermostat housing between the burp tube and the radiator tube...
 

Attachments

  • T-stat housing (1).jpg
    T-stat housing (1).jpg
    152.5 KB · Views: 87
Last edited:
Okay, thats where I thought it was.

and rapper could it still be the wire if the gauge still moves? Because mine still does move as it warms up, just not nearly on the correct scale.
 
Have you checked the connection? Something free to try and check before replacing the sending unit.
 
and rapper could it still be the wire if the gauge still moves? Because mine still does move as it warms up, just not nearly on the correct scale.

A bad connection or wire can throw it off too. Check the connection first...many of them get corrison built up or are loose. The sender is a cheap part and easy to change too...
 
okay I'll check the connection first then and make sure it's clean and tight. If no luck there then i guess I'll try the sending unit since I don't feel like trying to track wiring if thats not the issue in the first place. lol. Thanks for the assistance guys.
 
I agree all sending units use resistance and of the wire is compromised?? I think it is the sending unit. To actually eliminate that the car isn't getting to OT, drive for 5 minutes, jump on it hard and then stop somewhere and idle and see if your fans come on. Making you SC work and then idle will cause temp to climb quick.Your fan comes on to cool to motor that would be almost to the the m in norm.
 
Let's hasten to add that there IS a TSB on the temp sending unit on all Fords up to about 1994.

So I'd check the wiring, yes, but sending units are cheap enough, I'd just swap the darn thing and be done with it.

Worked wonders for my wife's car. Temp gauge now goes into the "NORM" range instead of just bouncing around in the white mark at the cold end.

RwP
 
To see if it is wiring, take a extra strip of wire and ground the wire out. While its ground out the needle should peg at hot. Then you know that its good wiring and just need to replace the sensor.

Justin
 
It could also be the fact its working right and just so cold out the car isn't heating all the way up. My car won't go over 178F even if I run it hard in this weather, and it has a 180tstat installed. The gauge barely moves up, but when its running in the summer it'll sit on the N which is at 190F.

Fraser
 
To see if it is wiring, take a extra strip of wire and ground the wire out. While its ground out the needle should peg at hot. Then you know that its good wiring and just need to replace the sensor.

Justin

That is a pretty cool way to test the wiring....:cool:
 
It could also be the fact its working right and just so cold out the car isn't heating all the way up. My car won't go over 178F even if I run it hard in this weather, and it has a 180tstat installed. The gauge barely moves up, but when its running in the summer it'll sit on the N which is at 190F.

Fraser

Same thing here....

My 92 never gets up to normal operating temp when it is cold outside and driving at highway speeds....:rolleyes:

I might do like the truckers and place a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator to block some of the air flow.....:p
 
guys if your SC is always at or below 180, never do the cardboard thing! The cooler our cars are the FASTER they go! Denser air = more horsepower. I so enjoy the hard pulls before my car get's to operating temp. Then I loose so much HP and torque. If it were super cold all the time and dry. WOW! Sometimes I wonder why cars don't give the driver the option to use the AC for themselves or the inlet/motor.

You could build I decent size accumulator and keep it filled with AC cooled air and open it when you need to for power/cooling. NOS is destructive. It's like crack. Once a motor sees it, it never performs the same until you give it the juice and then things seal. I think I am on to something. I have thought this for years.
 
guys if your SC is always at or below 180, never do the cardboard thing! The cooler our cars are the FASTER they go! Denser air = more horsepower. I so enjoy the hard pulls before my car get's to operating temp. Then I loose so much HP and torque.
That's because the knock sensor doesn't kick in until temps get to 190 deg. Beating on your car before it fully warms up is a good way to break ring lands and blow headgaskets. Hopefully not though!
 
guys if your SC is always at or below 180, never do the cardboard thing! The cooler our cars are the FASTER they go! Denser air = more horsepower. I so enjoy the hard pulls before my car get's to operating temp. Then I loose so much HP and torque. If it were super cold all the time and dry. WOW! Sometimes I wonder why cars don't give the driver the option to use the AC for themselves or the inlet/motor.

You could build I decent size accumulator and keep it filled with AC cooled air and open it when you need to for power/cooling. NOS is destructive. It's like crack. Once a motor sees it, it never performs the same until you give it the juice and then things seal. I think I am on to something. I have thought this for years.

Having cold air going into warm motor is a good thing, but having cold air going into a cold motor and going wide open, no thanks :rolleyes:.

Fraser
 
My 92 never gets up to normal operating temp when it is cold outside and driving at highway speeds....:rolleyes:
Yall don't need to shiver like that. Go get a Stant Superstat at Pep boys. And DO NOT drill any bleed holes through any part of any thermostat. They work best the way they are designed to work. A bleed hole will defeat the thermostat and just that small amount of constant flow will result in underheating. And make sure your coolant is full.. not mostly full.. full. 1 quart low is all it takes to lose heat.
 
Back
Top