Temp gauge not moving from cold...
 

I think I have an issue with my temperature sensor. My temp gauge doesnt rise as my car warms up, its like its stuck on COLD. Im wondering if I have a faulty temp sensor or a faulty thermostat. Any ideas? Has anyone encountered this before? I know my car isnt overheating, its running fine, but I feel uneasy driving without knowing. I dont think its the electrical cluster as my fuel gauge, tach, and spedometer work just fine. Before I go buying random parts I wanted to check with my local experts.
Thanks for any ideas or help

Does the gauge rise at all? Has it just started doing this recently, if so, have you recently changed the antifreeze?

thermostat more than likely. Cheap fix too

I would tend to disagree it's the t-stat. Temp would rise at least a little.

If you have datalogging capability, the best way to narrow the problem is to datalog the coolant temp. If it shows it changing to normal temps (around 190-200* or so), then your gauge is likely hosed. If the temp stays at 0, then it's likely the temp sensor or wiring or connector.

If the ECU thinks your car is still 'cold', it could affect how it runs.

There have also been issues with the stepper motors used to move the gauge needles failing. Another possibility.

You've let the car warm up with the cap off the radiator and made sure that the thermostat is opening up and it's flowing?

My old honda had a similar problem and it ended up being the thermostat. The needle did rise slightly off of cold though.

Incorrect. A faulty stuck closed thermostat would cause overheating soon enough.
And a faulty stuck open thermostat would just make it take longer to warm up to
operating temps. I have run no thermostat in the summer before
and the temp guauge still performed flawlessly. :icon_doh:
I just cant think of how a faulty thermostat could cause the
dashboard temperature guage to read cold all the time...
Can you extrapolate on this??

Thats what I would suspect. Bad stepper motor in the cluster.
What year model is this problematic stang?

Hook up the ol MSD DashHawk and see if the can buss is reporting the
coolant temps to the cluster. That would find the problem.
Have you tried the troubleshooting charts for a faulty temp guauge
in the WorkShop Manual?
http://iihs.net/fsm/?dir=343&viewfil...nt Cluster.pdf

:icon_couchhide:

Its not a faulty thermostat. There are two temp sensors. One will show up in PIDS the other will not. One sensor is what the ecu uses to detect coolent temp. The other is for the gauge only. The ECU does not see this sensor. If the thermostat was broken ud see something. If anything

Thanks everyone for the advise. It doesnt seem to be the thermostat, and Im not really sure how i can check the ECU to evaluate which sensor it could be. Its really irritating though. I do have a diablo sport tuner, but I dont have the slightest clue how to use it to check anything... needless to say Im no car genius :(
To elaborate on the issue though, at first it would not register, Id turn the car off and then back on and it would rise to normal. the next day, same thing. Now it just doesnt rise at all. If it is one of the sensors, where would they be, and how would I go about checking them? Thanks everyone for your help on this