my Temp Gauge didnt work in my Camaro I trying rewiring it. I wired it up the way the diagram says but it doesn't seem to work. shouldn't it go down like all the others when the car is shut off? if anyone has REAL experience with this gauge wire please help.

any input will be appreciated

 

Is the sending unit shot? When the sending unit went bad on my Vette, the gauge didn't do anything at all, or perhaps you have the wrong sending unit?

 

I bought a brand new Sending unit

 

When you shut off the car (ignition), the gauges do "whatever they want to". Meaning that the temp gauge can go up or down or just stay where it was. Our gauges do NOT drop all the way left/down when turned off.

The only testing you can do with gauges is with ignition on.

Disconnect the temp sender wire (should be dark green) and the gauge should read COLD. Now take the wire and ground it on the block. The gauge should read HOT. If so, the gauge and wiring are correct.

Hope this helps.
Lou

 

Ha, now I'm having the same problem, tried 2 sending units, neither worked. Tried the grounding it to the block trick, it did not read hot. I will dig around the wiring tonight and see what I come up with.

 

the Wires on the sending unit are black and yellow because the pigtale is from a different car. when I unplug the connector and cross the wires the Gauge reads hot. Is that what should happen? the Black wire is grounded the Yellow one goes to the Gauge, is that correct?

 

What year is your Camaro? I have an '82, it has a single green wire.

 

I have an 84. HIGHLY modified. I've spliced into the Green wire, and put it to the Sensor. Its still not working. I want to make sure it's wired correctly before I replace the Sensor

 

Did you try the grounding it to the block to see if it reads hot (from the green wire)? I had a second person tell me to do that, unfortunately, mine did not! Also, are you positive you have the sending unit for a gauge and not a light?

 

Im Pretty sure its for the gauge it has 2 wires. Did third gens come with a Idiot light? which wire do I ground? one of them is already Grounded so by Crossing the connector I effectivly ground it and it registers hot so does that mean the Wiring is Correct?

 

Yes, third gens came with lights, I have a V6 that I just swapped the dash cluster out for a Z28/Iroc dash which has gauges instead. If you are reading hot, your wiring is probably fine, but I'm not 100% sure if the way you are doing it is the right to check it. Are you playing with the Temp Sender or Temp Sensor? If it's the Sender, it should have 1 Male lead sticking out of it, if it's a Sensor, it should have a plastic clip to hold wires into it. Also, where on the engine are you thinking it is?

 

it has a Plastic clip its the on the left side of the engine Between the first two header tubes

 

Ok, I think you are playing with your sensor, you should put that back the way it was. That's the pic with the black plastic clip, the other pic is what the sending unit that you need to attach the wire to looks like. Is your engine out of another car by any chance? If so, and the sensor you have been playing with was already there and not attached to anything, you have to replace it with the other one (with one male lead). Let me know if that helps you.

 

WHoa WHoa WHoa, Those are two very different temp switches you have pictured there. The one with black and yellow wires is installed in the thermostat water neck and is for the computer to referance not your gauge. The other one is for the dashboard but you need to make sure its for a gauge not a warning light. To often auto parts sales people sell you the first thing on the list, not what you need. The one for light,and the one for a gauge are identical in appearance. The gauge light pick up wire on an '84 Z28 is dark green. Just make sure you haven't accidentaly pulled the green wire out of the loom that goes to the A/C compressor switch. They are to close together in the harness to be colored that way BUT some GM engineer did it anyway's.

 

Yes, that is what I'm saying, if it's the picture on the left, it's for the computer, put it back the way it was, unless the engine is from a different car and was just left in there. The one on the right is the sending unit for the gauge, which should be where he is saying the sensor is, Driver's Side Head between the first two exhaust ports. This is why I was asking if the engine had been swapped from another car.

 

I think we lost um

 

Lmao, I think he'll figure it. Anyway, I was having a similar problem, except my gauge doesn't read hot when I ground the wire to the block, is my gauge shot or is there a chance the wire is is broken somewhere? Also, I have a green wire hanging out by my wiper motor, looks exactly like the one that goes to the sending unit, any idea if that's suppose to go to anything?? I've looked around but don't see a lead for it to clip to.

 

I would need to get my manual out but its not here with me right now, it's been awhile since I went over the wiring diagram but from what I remember, there are several different things behind the dash on the chart that showed to have GREEN wires, but weren't common chain parts. ex.-all the light circuts in the dash module share the same color wire in the chart but if you look on the back of the cluster they share a printed circut instead.
If the wire up by the wiper motor,- AW heck give me about 20 mins I'll go look under my hood

 

I'll be here. At least until I pass out. Thank you!

 

Well I tried to get back sooner but somehow lost my connection to the internet for the last 10 minutes. Any way. On my 84 there are 4 wires to the wiper motor. 1yellow, 1red, 1grey, and 1 GREEN, they all go into the same plastic connector. Now the loom that runs to the front of the engine compartment has four wires- 1brown, 1green with a thin black stripe that go to the A/C compressor, 1 blue that goes to the A/C idle compensator on the carb, and 1 green to the temp. switch. Check your wiper motor to make sure some one else didn't cut the green wire up there, if the wire has a grey plastic connector that looks like it slides on length wise then its to the temp switch. If its cut then trace it thru the loom cover and make sure its for the switch, the A/C uses a green wire on the passenger side also but you shouldn't see it over by the wiper motor unless someone has pulled it completely out of the other loom harness.

 

The green wire that's by the wiper motor is not cut, it has a white clip on. It looks exactly like the green wire that goes to my temp sender, just closer to the firewall. And my A/C wires are attached as well so I'm not mixing any of them up. My wipers work just fine, maybe it's there for a wiper relay option?? I believe there was another wire on the passenger side that went no where as well, I think white, but I can't recall. I'll play around tomorrow and post, I'm way too exhausted now! Thanks for taking a look under your hood for me!

 

Yea throw up a couple of pict's and I'll get my manual in the morning. I seem to think it was a little vague on the 82 and 83 models but what the heck it wouldn't hurt.

 

Ok, here are some pics, there's the mystery green wire that's near the wiper motor that looks exactly like the sending unit wire, which is in another picture. The third pic is the mystery wire that is on the passenger side, It has a thick green clip and I believe a green wire and a black wire going to it. Any ideas?

 

Well Shaq-Diesel and Corn Flakes!! I figured out why my gauge wasn't working, I took the gauge lens back off and removed the gauge.....there was a piece of electrical tape wrapped around one of the four leads that plug into the cluster itself. I don't know why it was there, maybe it has something to do with whatever year it came out of, but that was it! In retrospect, I'm annoyed I didn't try that before removing and installing a second sending unit, but oh well. It works and I can't complain I suppose. I'd still like to know what the hell those 2 mystery wires are for though.

 

wow I dont know where I've been LOL but I think I know whats up now yeah I have he one with the black clip and I need to switch it with a single male tab opne but I have to make sure its for the gauge

 

That first pict. on the left is a diagnostic lead, on carb cars that the one you use to check the dwell at idle for fine tuning the idle air bleed screw.
That middle pict. is definatly a wiper motor lead, though I can't be sure your model used one. Does your wiper have intermittant, if so does it work? Or the winshield washer motor. I would be inclined to think if it did plug in it would be behind the larger plug on the right.
The pict. on the far right is the gauge switch, that one you want to be solid green no stripe, at least its that way on the chart I have.
Thats cool you tracked down the problem, but tape on the gauge cluster is kinda weird, the factory put that stuff in all kinds of bad places as the only means of protecting from open positive connections in places that other layered insulators are installed, its back up I guess. But may be it didn't start out life where you found it.

 

If your reffering to the pict. up above, the BLACK CLIP on the LEFT is mounted in the thermostat housing and is the referance sensor for the COMPUTOR. The Single Blade Terminal on the right is the GAUGE SWITCH and is located on the drivers side Head.
Yes make sure its for use with a gauge, I am a bit confused by your post, I hope you are attempting to install it in the correct place. On the drivers side not the intake manifold.

 

Hey, I have no intermittent wiper option, and my washer works too, so I'm gonna assume that green wire is for the option I don't have. He said in an earlier post that the switch was in the driver's side head, so I think he's got it. Let us know if you have any other problems with it. As far as the electrical tape on my gauge, it didn't look like a factory tape up job, but who knows? It seemed to fix the problem so I'm happy..........now if I just get in the mood to drop my fuel tank and change the unit in there, my new cluster will be perfect! Thanks for all your help!

 

well I got the right Sedning unit and the gauge now works fine. Thanks for all your guy's help

 

No problem bro, enjoy!!!