Engine temp gauge

[fireguyfire]

Did the first shakedown of my 73 challenger today after doing a ton of work on it; things are working great with 1 exception; my engine temp gauge is not working.
I did pull out and refresh the gauge cluster and the connection on the rear of the temp gauge is good.
Can anyone help me out with troubleshooting the engine temp gauge system?


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[Cuda Cody]

If you are sure the gauge is good, you might check to see what temp sender you are using.  I've seen used different temp senders and I notice not all of them work the same with the stock set up.  Some use different amps and will not function right.

[JS29]

@fireguyfire  disconnect the wire at the sending unit, ground the wire and turn the key to the on position. if the needle pegs out, it is your sending unit.    

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

Do you have a volt-ohm meter?

If you only have a test light, unplug the temperature wire going to the sensor on the intake manifold, and test the wire with test light to see if you have voltage coming out to the sensor. If you do, then it might be bad sensor or the sealant used on the threads keeping the sensor from going to ground in the intake.

If you have ohm-meter, should be able to read like 2 to 10 ohms (I think??) from the post on sensor to engine ground, depending on temperature...

[anlauto]

Yup...test the gauge first by grounding the wire...if it works, then it's a faulty sender

[fireguyfire]

So I disconnected the wire at the sending unit and with the key on I grounded the wire; no change on the gauge.
I then used a test light on the end of the wire with the key on, and I have no power according to the test bulb.
So I'm guessing this means my gauge is pooched; is there anything else it could be before I go about sourcing a new gauge?


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[fireguyfire]

Checked the wiring harness where it was shielded, and it turns out the wire was broken!
A quick splice with some less brittle wire and the gauge is working perfectly.


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[Bullitt-]

  Yay Team
Usually something simple 

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

Glad to hear you got it!

[Chryco Psycho]

Cool that you traced out & found the break in the wire