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ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Technical Discussion - Beginner / Repair => Topic started by: jxben16 on October 06, 2009, 08:21:10 AM

Title: temp gauge not working
Post by: jxben16 on October 06, 2009, 08:21:10 AM: i have a 95 sidekick jx 16v and i just picked it up about a week ago and did a fuel pump in her. gas gauge still doesnt work but i can live with that. however the temp gauge doesnt work. any ideas on how to fix it?
thanks.
Title: Re: temp gauge not working
Post by: Drone637 on October 06, 2009, 12:41:42 PM: If both gauges are out it might be a grounding issue in your dash. One way to test the temp gauge is to check to see if the temp sensor is working properly first. Check the resistance on the sensor and make sure it changes as the vehicle warms up.

If it doesn't then your sensor is bad and will need to be replaced.
Title: Re: temp gauge not working
Post by: jxben16 on October 06, 2009, 01:24:13 PM: iv always been a ford guy so i dont know much about these sidekicks but im really diggin them so im tryin to find out as much as i can. whats odd is the temp gauge just started working ??? but yea the fuel gauge doesnt work but maybe its a float issue? i just replaced the fuel pump two days ago.
Title: Re: temp gauge not working
Post by: Drone637 on October 07, 2009, 01:55:03 PM: Did it work before replacing the fuel pump?
Title: Re: temp gauge not working
Post by: ack on October 07, 2009, 04:02:29 PM: The temp gage is mounted just below the thermostat housing on the front of the intake manifold.

Often, the spade connector get corroded and may develop an intermittant connection.

Occasionally, the temp sensor goes bad but mostly the connector tab breaks off the end of it making it useless.

The temp sensor gets it's ground through the intake casting so any actual wiring problems will be between the sensor connection and the gage on the dash - not very likely.

I hope this helps!
Title: Re: temp gauge not working
Post by: jxben16 on October 08, 2009, 12:56:04 PM: haha its so f'n weird, the temp gauge works but the fuel gauge does not. im pretty sure all i did was wiggle the temp gauge wire around then in worked. oh well i guess i cant complain too much...
Title: Re: temp gauge not working
Post by: akfedor7 on October 10, 2009, 06:54:12 PM: weird... again, my 95 tracker has this problem too! Gas gauge works, but temp only works when idling... start going down the road and it drops all the way. Stop at a redlight for a sec, and it comes up to normal.
Title: Re: temp gauge not working
Post by: Jookycola on October 13, 2009, 05:30:49 PM: hahahahaha
OK this IS weird!
I also have a 1995 tracker and the same thing happens. When standing still the temp gauge works, accelerate and the thing drops all the way down. Come to a stop it creeps back up and works normal.

How do i find the grounding issue on this then? Where do i start looking first?
Title: Re: temp gauge not working
Post by: fordem on October 14, 2009, 05:42:08 AM: Find where the dash grounds to the body and clean it - what's happening now is it's grounding via the speedometer cable.