my temp. guage or sensor is bad i think. it all started today, somtimes the gauge reads completly normal, sometimes it doesnt work at all, and sometimes it starts at 220* and goes up

i know its not over heating because i have a fan switch that still is functioning correctly.

i already replaced the wire with a brand new one, so i know its good. would it be my temp. sensor or the gauge? how do i check them out?

 

Check to see if the guage pegs out to the hot side when you start the car. That is the self check. If it does the guage should be good, if it doesnt then it is probably bad. But it copould be bad anyway cause the gauges in our cars suck.

Matt

 

yeah i agree..check ur gauge..just because its new doesnt mean it works

 

i just checked, and the guage does peg out when i start the car. the gauge isnt new, just the wire from the guage to the sensor. do temp sensors go bad?

 

the temp gauge works on "ground resistance", check the ground strap from the passenger side head to the firewall and make sure it's tight, if so then change the temp sensor in the drivers side head between #1 and #3 spark plugs, they do go bad and will cause false readings, also if the threads are corroded on the sensor that will cause similar issues, change the sensor, they're cheap and not too hard to get to.