hey hows it going guys glad to inform you I have a new problem awaiting to be checked off the list, so that means another lesson learned in the life of a proud VE owner .

So pretty much as of late my temp guage has been going ballistic. Randomly shooting up to hot and bak down and all sorts of wierd stuff and then other times it just works normally. This started happening about a couple of days ago. I know my cars not overheating because everything seems to be in check and its clearly an electrical issue cause it jumps up and down wildly.

I own a 92 ve 5spd, I was wondering if you guys could steer me in the right direction as to what might be the problem. Also question, is it the engine coolant temp sensor that controls that needle on the temp guage? Is this the same sensor that is infamously known to cause idle issues on the third gen?

thanks guys your help is always appreciated!

 

http://img828.imageshack.us/i/20110429164530703.jpg/

 

Start at the sensor and work ur way back.

 

I have the very same problem. It's not overheating, when I unplug the CTS the fans activate. I replaced the temp sender last year so my guess is the temp gauge.

 

Well look, it's either a faulty meter or sensor, or you have a massive air pocket in your cooling circuit.

 

When it first started happening I had a brand new radiator sitting in the house so I threw that in...no change. I have flushed the system twice before with no problems. Anyway I just bought another temp sender that I'll be throwing in later. We will see what happens.

 

yeah try the sensor, mine does that. the temp gauge will shoot all the way up, then lay limp at the bottom, then go to the middle. my tach also works when it wants to lol

 

Replaced the sensor, bled the cooling system. It's the gauge as far as I can see.

 

you guys talk about driving around with a temp guage that has a mind of its own like its all gravy lol, when you say you unplug the coolant temp sensor and the fans activate whats your message exactly? should it be going on or what?

lol does this happen often..? your okay with drivin around like that? and wth ur tach too?! whats up with all these faulty guages this is news to me being common on 3rd gens.


=/ sry to hear, any suggestions or tips on what I could do on going about fixing this problem. Im new to the faulty guage department so detail is always highly appreciated thanks!

 

If the engine gets too hot the fans should activate, so unplugging the CTS is a way of testing engine temp monitoring system.

Read post #5

 

tach works maybe 75% of the time in winter and 30% of the time in summer. doesnt matter to me, same with the temperature gauge. im modding my dash in a bit for a tach/AFR/oil pressure/coolant temp setup anyways

the temperature gauge hasnt worked for years, when i got it the previous owner said it goes limp and you need to tap the cluster for the needle to move

 

I have a feeling it's the gauge for some reason. That needle looks way too 'high' to be operating correctly. Looks broken. We should start with the sensor though. Do you know where it's located?

 

It's the gauge...I'm looking into a "new" gauge.

 

I wonder if elusive is looking into a "new" one as well now that he saw you post this jk elusive I wonder what the hell a new one would run..

We still need to replace the sensor since his idle is wobbly.

 

Lol not worth me saying anything the problem to me sounds electrical. Replace gauge and test for resistance in the harness of the gauge. Resistance aka ohms.

 

had the same problem with my ve...

replaced the sensor... nothing...

looked at the wiring to the sensor and replace the connector....

worked good...

 

its wierd cuz now its starting to work properly more often it seems to happen during long drives and drastice climate changes i noticed but for the moment i dont know how to tackle that guage so for the moment im gonna what you guys do lol

unfortunately i have more important suspension refreshment problems to deal wit currently :/

 

Did some work to the connector after reading this...so far so good.

 

also keep in mind there are TWO temp sensors on these cars. one for the gauge, one for the ECU.

remove the connector, clean everything, stick some dielectric grease on there and reassemble.
check resistance of the sensor while you're there. if it's good, then your problem is either wiring or gauge.

you can get a replacement gauge cluster from a junkyard for fairly cheap (also look on here for guys parting out cars).
if you sweet-talk the guys at the junkyard, I've talked a few of them into letting me "try" some parts to see if it solved my problem. i.e. starter, headlight switch, stuff like that. go in and tell them you think it's the issue. if it fixes, you'll buy. if not, you'd like to be able to return it.
the gauges you can swap in their parking lot. drive up there so you know the engine is hot when you get there, and take your screwdrivers with you. pull the cluster and replace. you should know pretty quick if it solved the problem. that way you can take it back in there 5 min later if it's not the problem and they're usually good about giving your money back. throw 'em a $5 or $10 for their time and consider it a diagnostic expense.