Questions About Guages

[diablo5969]

I got a few questions about some of the guages on my '94 Ex.

First, both the fuel guage and tach don't work. The fuel guage is just always showing a random amount of gas that is totally unrelated to the actual amount in the tank, and the tach just registers 0 RPMs for the first 15-20 minutes of driving it. After a while the tach will wake up and actually work. Now, I know to fix the fuel guage I just need to install a new fuel guage sender, or whatever it's called. Can I get one of those from a Ford dealership? And also, to fix the tach, is it something relatively easy such as just replacing a part, or is it harder to fix the tach?

Second batch of questions: Both my ammeter and my oil pressure guage are registering higher than normal. I've heard that it's normal for the ammeter to run high in cold weather, is this true? And also, what exactly does it mean when the oil pressure guage is higher than normal? One of my friends told me that that was good because it meant that oil was going through the engine, but I don't necessarily believe that, because if it is good, why is the arrow climbing towards a big red "H"?

Alright, cool, thanks in advance for the help

 

[MSTNGGUY88]

I'll be honest with you. Check the grounds. A bad ground on the frame or block can cause your gauges to act funny. Just a suggestion for what might be a easy fix. Good Luck.

 

[diablo5969]

Is it easy to check the grounds?

I was out earlier tonight and found that my engine temp guage is acting screwy too. I think I'm going to call a Ford dealership because this started after they worked on it, so if they did something, it will be under warranty.

 

[Alec]

If all of them are screwy, I'm tempted to say it's a loose harness or wire somewhere in the dash.

 

[diablo5969]

Most of them are screwy. Oh well, I'll call Ford tomorrow if I have time.

 

[REALWYLDWON]

Check grounds and charging system, also check for any shorts to ground. When my starter started to go it would ground out and hose up the guages (all of them).

 

[diablo5969]

Well, I tried calling Ford today but they didn't answer they're phones. I hate this dealership that I'm dealing with.

Tomorrow at work I'm going to check the grounds and see if that's it. 5 out of the 6 guages aren't showing what they should be, so I think there might be one major thing, not an individual problem with each guage.

 

[Explorit]

What if its the only GAS/FUEL gauges that are not functioning?, But the rest of the gauges are fine.Sometimes the FUEL gauges will tell the right amount, then later it will fall empty even though its full TANK. What gives?..

 

[diablo5969]

I've heard it said that if the level sender in the tank is rusted, it'll throw off the gas guage. Don't have any experience with it though

 

[Robb]

A question for the experts. Are all the gauges run off a single constant voltage regulator. I know this is true of older vehicles, and when it went bad, gauges would either peg or do weird things.
$.02

 

[brandonm]

Not sure if this is applicable to older models, but just had gauge problem checked out in new 2002 explorer (all gauges were going out at random times - with no other noticeable problems)...Ford finally pinpointed the alternator (after several frustrating trips to the dealership), replaced it, and everything seems to run smoothly now.