Aftermarket water temp gauge needle bouncing
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Aftermarket water temp gauge needle bouncing
I don't know if the gauge is defective or if maby its a bad ground? I installed this last summer and started having this problem about 6 months ago and now its happening more frequently. The gauge does properly display the coolant temp once the car is fully warmed up, but during the warmup process, it seems that the gauge's needle is bouncing around like crazy ranging anywhere from 0 degrees to 300 degrees uncontrollably.
I thought this would be a grounding problem, so I relocated the ground to a better location and still the same problem. My ground wire I had to modify it to get it to work, so the contact area is very small and I thought that might also be the problem so im trying that next, but has anyone ever had a problem to where their aftermarket water temp gauge needle bounces around like crazy?
I thought this would be a grounding problem, so I relocated the ground to a better location and still the same problem. My ground wire I had to modify it to get it to work, so the contact area is very small and I thought that might also be the problem so im trying that next, but has anyone ever had a problem to where their aftermarket water temp gauge needle bounces around like crazy?
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Yeah I had this same problem with my prosport gauges. Eventually all the gauges had the same error. I contacted tech support and they said it was bad senders and they would warranty.
On the other hand a buddy of mine has some high quality electronic gauges that are a Japanese brand, I think it was Apexi or HKS not sure, but even after 10 years they still function for the most part. I think the EGT flickers sometimes, but it's not bad for 10 years.
On the other hand a buddy of mine has some high quality electronic gauges that are a Japanese brand, I think it was Apexi or HKS not sure, but even after 10 years they still function for the most part. I think the EGT flickers sometimes, but it's not bad for 10 years.
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I read on another forum that it may be a bad ground, so I cut off my questionable modified small ground wire and installed a much larger ground. Im afraid if that doesn't work you guys are probably right the sender may be slowly failing. If thats the case ill have to buy another gauge/sender assy.
Everything worked out for about 6 months, gauge worked exactly like it should, until recently. Kinda annoys me, because when the needle is going wild, idk what my engine temps are and it feels like im driving blind folded :-/
Everything worked out for about 6 months, gauge worked exactly like it should, until recently. Kinda annoys me, because when the needle is going wild, idk what my engine temps are and it feels like im driving blind folded :-/
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UPDATE: I have confirmed that the erratic movement of the needle only happens as the car warms up. Once fully warm, everything measures perfectly. Even if I just finished driving it and let it sit for about 30 min and drive again, it would not have any problems measuring temperature, because the sender is still heatsoaked. The only time it has the problem is during the initial warm of the day.
What do yo guys think, is there anything else that can be done, or is this water temp sender on it's way out?
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I redid the ground for my temp sender and installed a larger ground and put it in a cleaner location. That didnt make a difference.
UPDATE: I have confirmed that the erratic movement of the needle only happens as the car warms up. Once fully warm, everything measures perfectly. Even if I just finished driving it and let it sit for about 30 min and drive again, it would not have any problems measuring temperature, because the sender is still heatsoaked. The only time it has the problem is during the initial warm of the day.
What do yo guys think, is there anything else that can be done, or is this water temp sender on it's way out?
UPDATE: I have confirmed that the erratic movement of the needle only happens as the car warms up. Once fully warm, everything measures perfectly. Even if I just finished driving it and let it sit for about 30 min and drive again, it would not have any problems measuring temperature, because the sender is still heatsoaked. The only time it has the problem is during the initial warm of the day.
What do yo guys think, is there anything else that can be done, or is this water temp sender on it's way out?
probably not it, but its free and easy
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The sender is located behind the UIM on the throttle body coolant hose ( the one that connects the throttle body to the engine block.) I dont think its a coolant issue, because I havent done anything with the coolant in the past year besides check the level every now and then, and this problem is something thats been going on for a while but progressively getting worse. The way the gauge needle is bouncing around so fast is most definitely an electrical problem, so unfortunately i agree with godsquakmandrake :-/
Does anybody know of any good quality water temp gauges/senders from reputable manufacturers I can start researching
Does anybody know of any good quality water temp gauges/senders from reputable manufacturers I can start researching
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Ok guys I did something extremely experimental and I will explain. Because my water temp gauge works fine once the engine is fully warmed up, but only has the problem with the erratic needle while cold, I read that it's because theres too much resistance with the engine cold. Apparently as it warms up and gets hot, the resistance goes down. Knowing this, I decided to cut the water temp sender ground wire, and connect 3 grounds to it in parallel. This in theory will open up the flow of current on the ground side of the circuit,reducing resistance, and will dampen the erratic electrical pulses during warmup, which are causing the gauge to go haywire.
Along with twisting/soldering three new grounds, I also cleaned the ground bolts thoroughly, and sanded the surface it was being grounded to, to ensure a good ground for all three. Ever since completing the job, I have cold started the car 3 times all the way to full warm up, and the gauge has worked perfectly everytime. I will need to drive the car a lot more to ensure the problem is actually gone, so I will update in a month.
Along with twisting/soldering three new grounds, I also cleaned the ground bolts thoroughly, and sanded the surface it was being grounded to, to ensure a good ground for all three. Ever since completing the job, I have cold started the car 3 times all the way to full warm up, and the gauge has worked perfectly everytime. I will need to drive the car a lot more to ensure the problem is actually gone, so I will update in a month.
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I grounded them to three 10 mm bolts on the firewall that are holding the brake vacuum hoses together, they screw directly into the frame. I really dont know if this is a permanent solution or not, because I have searched and never heard of anybody doing this before, but being thats it's free it's worth a shot
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Its only been a few days, but I have not seen the problem come back. Honestly i'm probably guessing I'm having this problem because the gauge is cheap. If I had gotten something like a Defi, I wouldn't be having this problem, but never the less looks like adding more grounds in parallel to the exsisting water temp sender ground was the solution to the bouncy needle, so hopefully this helps someone else in the future
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