Think I killed my Temp Gauge

[sodjer6]

Well busy day today, I replaced all the lights in the dash, the thermostat, hoses, and the belt. Noticed after all this my temp gauge is sitting below the C, basically parallel to the floor. It was sitting right at the edge of the normal temp area, however as soon as I turned the key it dropped to below the C, and has been there since. It never moves, and grounding the sender wire does nothing - so pretty sure I've managed to kill it somehow. Also, just to be sure I replaced both the ECM and the gauge sending units with no change.

In order to replace the gauge will I have to swap instrument clusters? What about aftermarket gauges, should I look at mechanical or electrical?

Thanks!

 

[bobflood]

I assume that you had to unplug all of the connectors in the back of the dash to pull it out far enough to change out the lights. Make sure you got them all plugged firmly back in.

 

[sodjer6]

All 3 connectors were firmly in place. I would think if one came loose I'd have more problems than just the temp gauge being lazy. Everything else is working normally.

It might be possible that I pulled the wire itself out of the connector, but I didn't notice it if I did. I was pretty paranoid about tearing something apart and was as gentle as possible. Guess it can't hurt to get back in there and check. Pulling the dash apart wasn't the most fun I've ever had, but I spose it'll go a bit quicker now that I've done it.

 

[OneLever]

Yeah it will. Those printed circuit boards are pretty fragile too. You might have accidentally cracked one of the wire strips on it. Which could be fixed with a jumper soldered onto the board.