I got in my car today and noticed that as soon as I turn the key on (engine off) my temp gauge goes straight to the top of its range. I tried searching for which sensor sends the signal so I could test it, but I couldn't find anything helpful. The car is an 87 Turbo II.

 

The wire to the sensor could be grounded and if so it could ruin the gauge. The wire color should be Yellow/White and the sensor is located near the oil sender (driver's side of the engine near the oil filler tube).

 

Thank you!

 

If you disconnected the wire and did a "continuity to ground" test it would tell you if the wire was grounded out or not. Multimeter set to continuity, one meter lead to ground and the other lead to the sensor wire, and if the meter rings out then the wire is incorrectly grounded.

 

Fixed. The wire came unplugged and was resting on the block. I squeezed the connector together a little so it holds tighter. Hopefully I don't have to worry about it happening again.

 

get a better sensor and better gauge. Seriously.