No Movement On Temperature Gauge!

[cdwright]

Hello forum!!! I've been having problems with not getting a temperature reading on my 94 4x4 XLT. The dial doesn't move at all. I have gotten some advice that I can ignore this problem if I don't have a check engine light on. What do you guys think?

 

[RayLCC]

I'm having the same problem on my 99. We think its either a bad temp sending unit (I got one at autozone. I think it was around $20-$25 I just havent had time to put it on yet.) Or a faulty gauge. Either way, I'm one of those nit-picky weinies that insist on everything that came on the truck working properly whether its really needed or not, so I'll probably fix it this weekend. I personally think the temp gauge is important since if something happens and your Explorer starts overheating you won't have any way to tell until your radiator does its impression of Old Faithful. If it was mine I'd get it fixed just to be safe.

 

[prozachappy]

IMO...fix it! What happens when your truck overheats and your not aware cause your gauge isn't working. Cracked heads...thats what happens, and it takes about 2 seconds on the 1st gen explo's to crack a head. Then your SOL.
It's probably not the gauge though, I'd replace the T-stat first.
It's probably just stuck open. $3.00 @ local autostore and 15 min time and your done. If your T-stat is stuck open your performance will also suffer...as well as MPG. Change the T-stat first ...if that doesn't fix it, then move on to temp. sending unit. (there are 2 on your 94) and before purchasing them, check the cap to make sure it hasn't worked itself loose...also put some dielectric grease on it to give it a good connection. Hope this helps...

Also try using your search function before posting. This topic has been covered many...many times.

Good luck

 

[Twisted1]

I wouldn't just ignor it If I were you. My fiance' did this with my 94 XLT on her way to work 30+ highway miles, then proceeded to call me yelling that my "POS" truck's heater and temperature gauge didn't work. I knew then what to expect, got the truck home, added coolant, saw the smoke, parked the truck! So a $5 thermostat might be a wise investment before ignoring the problem completely. Just my 2 cents.

 

[jeff96]

agrees with broken t-stat. Easy fix.

 

[cdwright]

Just to update you guys....

I needed a new thermometer as most of you suggested. Also, needed another o2 sensor and heat sending unit. The whole thing ran about $400.00 bucks but it definitely wasn't something that should have been ignored.

The funny thing is....on my way to get this stuff done it overheated. I have bad experience from overheating cars and learned a valuable lesson the hard way...so I just shut it off and had it towed.

 

[huskyfan23]

Glad to see you fixed it. That sucks about the o2 sensor. They're like $150 each for OEM.