Ok the first problem is my Temp Gauge. Its allways spiked I mean alllways. I start the car and it jumps right up to the top and stay. I know its not hot cuz the car will sit all night. If I take my finger ad knock the needle down and then shut the car off it will spike either up or down and get stuck. I tried taking the edge of the gauge and bending it thinking it wouldnt get stuck any more, but it still spikes and just sits there or spikes down and sits there. I've taken the gauge out and cleaned the contacts and nothing works.
The second problem just stated a few days ago. I'll start my car and the gas gauge doesnt move. If I know I have a half tank it the needle will sit at the bottom. If I shut the car off and then start it sometimes that will fix it but most of the time I it comes back after a few min of driving.

Any one have any ideas for either problem? Do I need new gauges or something?

BTW, When the exhaust shop put in my headers they broke the one temp sensor on the passenger side of the block (89 RS) I asked a few guys in convo if they think this can be the problem for the gauge and they say no. Any ideas on that?

Pork

temp sensor on the passenger side? the temp sensor for the guage is usually on the drivers side between the #1 & #3 cylinders. look for a brass fitting with a single blade connector and a single green wire going to it. if that isnt hooked up the guage will peg if the wire is grounded out. the gas guage, well thats another story, could be the guage, or it could be the float in the tank or the wiring in between. Ask Vader about the gas guage, he knows more than I do

I was told that the thing that was broken was the 3rd of 3 temp sensors. The one on the drivers side I know is on and working, the one in the intake and then this one on the passenger side. Vader huh? Looks lik its time for a PM

3 temp senders? are you sure they werent talkin about the knock sensor? that plugs into the block on the passenger side...Only temp sensors I know of are the sender for the guage (drivers side) and the coolant temp sensor for the ECM/fan (intake)what kind of connector is on the sensor they broke off?

I'll start with the temp guage. They are supposed to peg during cranking, its the self test time. During that time the guage sender wire is temporarily grounded fully deflecting the guage. When the guage gets old it will begin to bind at the upper end of its travel. It's a very common problem, the simplest way is to simply replace the guage. There are a couple of ways to fix it but if you are going to yank the thing why not replace it. They run about 40 bucks on line. You can check the condition of the green wire to the guage sender on the driver side sometimes it gets cooked but I'll bet you need a guage. gas guage, could either be the guage or the tank sender. Don't forget to check wiring but almost every one I ahve seen it turns out to be the sender in the tank.

The senor they broke it is in the middle of the block on the passenger side, right above the starter. I dont know anymore ahhhhhhh. Its been broken for about a year plus now, so if it was the knock wouldn't i be gettin some code or something? The plug I cant tell much about cuz its broke and most of it is still stuck in the block. But I do know it is a one wire plug/sensor.


So general concensious for the temp gauge basically is bad gauge? Ok easy fix.

Any one know how to test the sending unit on the relay in the tank?

Pork

what they broke is your knock sensor, it mounts on the lower part of the passenger side block, the connecter for it is a little single pin squeeze clip type thingy, I think the wire is blue or brown....car will run without it, but the computer wont be able to adjust timing properly, to compensate for pinging or knocking.

just checked my book, its possible for a knock sensor to cause a code 43 for the Electrinic Spark Timing system, but it might not. and if it did it would be intermittent.

Interesting...I never gotten a code 43. Strange. But yeah its a brown wire.

Any other ideas?

Pork

If you run good gas and the timing is set properly it's very possible to run forever without the KS. It only reacts when there is a knock, it has nothing to do with normal operation. Generally with it unplugged it will NOT trip the SES light as the ECM does not recognize it as a primary emissions component.

The single wire sending unit in the drivers side head between the #1 and 3 cylinders is for the dash gauge. The one in the passengers side head between #6 and 8 is for the fan. Lastly you've got the one in the intake manifold (2 wire) that's for the ecm. Now that we've got that straight let me explain to you why no knock sensor would cause an SES light. First off the ecm code has it's own Diagnostics which tests just about everything from EGR, all the sensor inputs and outputs, even the knock sensor. The ecm (89 it was an 8746) has code that advances the timing until the engine knocks and reports a count. The process is easy to understand. Ecm see's that all the thresholds are met for performing the test (coolant temp, speed, etc) and then advances the timing a preset. If no knock then it'll do it again with more advance. If it detects knock then it's all good. The only way for it to detect knock is with a knock sensor. If no knock sensor then it won't knock and you'll get an SES light. Check to make sure when you turn the car on that the SES light bulb is actually working. If so, then I'm stumped.