1996 temp gauge not working, and funny smell

[bigdanmcintosh]

Hi, in my wifes 96, I noticed that the temp gauge appears to not be functioning..

also, i have a strong "electrical" smell inside the vehicle.

So, I'm guessing that the gauge is somehow fried internally..

Is there a way to disconnect the gauge from the power source, so that

A: My wife doent get sick from the smell
B: I dont want the thing catching fire or something
C: It doesnt affect any other operations of the vehicle, ie; cooling fans and whatnot


please help, so I can feel better about making her drive this thing.

Thanks

 

[RiverRat]

The electrical smell could be a lot of things. I doubt it is the gauge. You might want to get to the bottom of the smell or you could burn down the Ex.

Has the engine overheated or run low on coolant?

The sender is usually at fault and not the gauge in my experience.

 

[bigdanmcintosh]

I drove it for about 2 hours tonight, on the highway and main roads, and nothing
changes, same smell, all the time, smells just like a burned out stereo or amplifier..

the truck was always well maintained, and coolant has never been low

the gauge actually goes up very slightly, but then drops back down

 

[BradE.]

Are you sure the truck warms up? The gauge not moving could be simply a bad thermostat.

 

[Opera House]

Any other gauge problems?

Some have claimed there is a regulator for the gauges but my schematics have never shown one. There are electronic modules for gas and speedometer.

I think you will just have to let it burn itself out. The thin wire in the gauge will safely burn open when the time comes. Till then, the outgassing will start to decrease. Removing the cluster is not a small task.

 

[espnfreak]

Re: Any other gauge problems?

Originally posted by Opera House
Some have claimed there is a regulator for the gauges but my schematics have never shown one. There are electronic modules for gas and speedometer.

I think you will just have to let it burn itself out. The thin wire in the gauge will safely burn open when the time comes. Till then, the outgassing will start to decrease. Removing the cluster is not a small task.

he has that right, when i removed mine for my 01 sport trac gauges i did it about 4 times, and got some nice scratches on my steering column since its a major pita to get htat athing in abd back...oh wel those gauges are worth it..

 

[bigdanmcintosh]

Originally posted by BradE.
Are you sure the truck warms up? The gauge not moving could be simply a bad thermostat.

do thermostats often stick "open"?

and I get great heat from it, so I'm sure the coolant is getting warm..

 

[Opera House]

Had to replace thermostats in both of mine

And everyone else that I knew had to do them. With it stuck open, you should be able to easily get over 100F. With an ohm meter you could measure the resistance of the sender. After it is up to running temp, the resistance should be less than 5K.