Check Gage Light

[a504boi]

The check gage light is on!!! And the lil gage to the left of it is all the way to the H! How do i fix this and what is wrong with my 98 explorer?

 

[aldive]

Quite often simply replacing the sender for that gauge will solve your problem.

Keep us informed...

Good luck

 

[swak6287]

mine came on when winter hit this year. the check gage came on and the oil gauge stay on 3 oclock posityion for about 5 minutes. u think it ia a bad gauge? is it covered by powertrain warranty? it only happens when it is really cold outside and the engine has not been heated up.

 

[Robert]

Assuming your '99 gauges are in the same layout as my '97, that little gauge to the left of your Check Gage light is your temperature gauge. It is probably running near H is because your engine is running too hot. Get it fixed before you have serious engine problems. It is probably your thermostat. Mine went out a year ago and I have seen 5 or 6 other people here post that their '97-'99s have gone out recently. If you don't fix it and continue to drive it, then it could lead to things such as blowing your head gasket. If you drive it very far with your head gasket blown, you will be looking at a $3000 engine replacement. If you can't replace the thermostat yourself, Ford will do it for about $125. It is a pretty simple DIY repair though.

There are other things that can cause your gauge to read hot, but by far the most common that I have seen on '97-'99 Explorers has been the thermostat. Your Check Gage light comes on whenever any of your other gauges gets to a dangerous area such as oil pressure being too low, fuel level being too low, temperature to high and battery too low.

 

[a504boi]

i think its my thermostat. Mr robert can you describe to me how to change the thermostat? I would like to be able to do it myself and what are the materials required for this task?

 

[Robert]

Your best source will be to go down to your local auto parts place (Pep Boys works) and get either a Haynes Manual or a Chiltons Manual. They both run about $10-$15 and will have step by step instructions on how to replace it. The last one I replaced was over 15 years ago on my '82 Toyota pickup. I had the Ford dealer replace my Explorers under my extended warranty. Looking at it though, it looks pretty easy. On my '97 it is right underneith the throttle body. Your throttle body is the aluminum device that your throttle cable connects to, under the black SOHC engine cover. Under the throttle body you will find a black plastic cover which houses the thermostat. If I were doing mine, I would draint about 1/2 gallon of anti-freeze from the radiator drain valve first. If you dont, when you remove the thermostat housing, it will poor some anti-freeze out all over the area where you are working. I hate the feel of anti-freeze. Next I would remove the intake hose from the MAF sensor to the throttle body. If I couldn't get to the bolts on the thermostat housing, I would remove the throttle body. After that, it should be prety easy to get to. Remove the 3 or 4 bolts from the cover and lift it off. Under it the thermostat just sits in the hole. Pull it out and put the new one in. Be sure the new one goes in exactly like the original one. It is possible to put it in upside down and then it won't work. The new thermostat shoudl come with a new o-ring to put on the thermostat housing. Use a new o-ring. I didn't think that any gasket sealer was necessary on the housing cover since it has an o-ring, but looking at mine yesterday I can see evidence of gasket material that seeped out from the seam when Ford replaced mine. I would also advise getting a torque wrench to torque the housing bolts. A small one (1/4") will probably do since it is only plastic. You don't want to apply more torque than specified since if you crack the plastic part on the bottom it will cost a lot more to have it replaced than it would have cost to pay Ford to replace your thermostat in the first place. The torque specifications are probably in inch pounds so pay attention. The Haynes/Chiltons Manual will tell you what the torque settings should be. Put everything back together and fill the radiator back up with the coolant you removed and you are done. Someone doing it for the first time, taking their time to be sure everything is done properly shoudn't take more than a couple of hours, probably ony one.