I have an 81 gsl, the temp gauge never goes above the first line (1/8") and the car runs about 5 minutes before the choke opens. I am concerned about the car over ehating but the water in he raidator never get really hot. I am going to measure it tonight to see if the car just isnt gettin warm. oh yeah, new radiator and thermostat(unrelated to temp gauge). Any ideas? also where is the coolant temp sensor??
Dennis

 

For the temp sensor, look on the driver's side of the engine, under the oil filter. You will see a 10mm sensor with 1 wire running to it. These are the usual cause when the temp gauge doesn't work.

 

i had a similar problem with oil pressure, the wire that connects to the guage was oily and dirty, a little carb cleaner and a rag and never had zero oil pressure again, maybe you got a loose conection there

 

thanks, I found it this morning and will be searching for one tomorrow at the autoshop.
dennis

 

Please connect the wire to a ground and put the car into ignition. Check if the gauge goes all the way to the max temp. If not, you may have a grounding problem with the temp gauge and the fuel gauge.

 

the wire connector to the temp sensor always gets coated with oil and fried. Clean up the connector first. I bet it works.