Oops, I hope I didn't screw up... Help.

[DocVijay]

OK. I'm istalling my water temp gauge. I took the factory sender and unbolted it. I then screwed in a brass T fixture, and mounted the factory sender in to one side and the Autometer sender into the other. Now my X never gets to the right operating temp. The factory temp gauge stays at the lowest mark (C) or a bit under. Every now and then it'll go up a bit. The Autometer gauge says 140-150 degrees more or less. What's going on? Please help.

I did a few checks. THe upper radator hose is hot to the touch, so I assume coolant is flowing. But if the temp gauge is still at C, wouldn't the thermostat be closed. Is the thermostat stuck open? The radiator cap also got hot, and the heater blew hot air, so the engine is hot. Why are the gauges not registering? The fan is running constantly, I forget whether it turns off or not. THe radiator is cool to the touch. Is there perhaps air in the system, or air trapped in the T fitting, so the coolant isn't touching the senders? Still, the brass fitting gets hot to the touch, so it should register.

Any ideas or suggestions? Did I screw it up? Please help. Thanks.

 

[DocVijay]

What about only one sender?

Could I just scrap the whole T fitting and use only the Autometer sender and wire the Autometer gauge factory gauge to that? There are two factory senders. Chilton's says that the one on the left side of the water pump is the "coolant temperature sending unit," and the one on the right is the "EEC-IV coolant temp sending unit." Does anyone know if the voltage range is comparable between the factory and the Sutometer senders? Also, if i use two gauges with one sender, will they each get the full voltage? Thanks.

 

[jimmiecakes]

Why add needless complication? Pick a temp guage and use it instead of trying to second guess which of two guages is correct?

For a temperature guage to read correctly, the bud on the end of the sender needs to be immersed in the "working fluid" and not stuck up in the air hoping it gets some kind of believable input. A tee fitting sticking out of the manifold or wherever will be subject to the vagaries of underhood temps, air currents and whatever other inconsistencies that may get thrown at it.

My wife can drive a car with factory guages, how come so many others can't?

 

[DocVijay]

But can I connect both gauges to one sender?

I'm asking becasue it's a pain in the a$$ to install and remove this T fitting. I'd hate to remove it all, connect the gauges and find it doesn't work. Anyone else know if two gauges are OK on one sender? Thanks.

My wife won't even fill her own gas. Of course, she's bringing home tha bacon right now (I'm still a student), and inadvertantly feeds my Explorer habit, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

 

[jimmiecakes]

OK, then... to keep things simple - two guages on one sender is doable. Now, whether you could ever trust the reading of either guage in this situation is quite another point. Aside from effectively doubling the current load of the sender, inconsistencies in any one of the two guages will upset the reading offered by the other.

 

[Robert]

To have any kind of acurate reading, you will have to remove the 'T'. I put one in my Toyota for some reason I can't remember. The temperature ran way too cold with the 'T' in. Once removed it went back to the proper temperature.

The temperature sender and guage are pretty sensative. On my '97 the temperature guage doen't hit the bottom of the normal level until 170F. It runs about in the middle at 198F and hits the upper line of the normal level at 240F. If your 'T' is causing a loss of 30F (which is very likely) your sender is only seeing 168F. This would still be way to hot to touch, but not hot enough to register the proper temperature. For the sender and guage to read the temperature that they were calibrated to read, it must be inserted into the block. You can't do that with the 'T'.