anyway to know if gauge is bad or sending unit? gauge pegs when car starts (power applied) and sticks.. If i manually move needle it will then reset and seem to operate correctly. if i need gauge, suggestion on where to source. THX

 

Sounds like a gauge problem. Hard to see how the sending unit could possibly make the pointer stick when the Start function checks it, but then work normally when unstuck manually.

Pegging in Start is the factory's way of showing that the gauge works. If your car had idiot lights, the light would come on during Start.

 

This is more common than you think. They sometimes start to "stick" or get caught at the top of the sweep over time. But the gauge itself works fine. Some people have epoxied a "peg" on the gauge to prevent it from sweeping too high. I had this happen to me out of no where. I just took a small piece of black foam and placed it where you can't see it, but stops the needle from going too far during cranking. It's been fine for years, and its still reads accurately.