Hello all,

I was looking for some feedback on where to start on an issue. I noticed my temperature gauge in the lower left was not working. I was told that changing the temperature sending unit would fix this. Upon changing it out, it still was not working. I was also told to change the engine coolant temperature sensor to get that gauge to work.

Now I haven't checked any codes or anything but I am refraining from running my car too much since it appears the gauges and warning lights do not light up at all, only the check engine light after awhile and one blinker. The check engine light concerns me that the engine may be running hot.

So with all that said, here are my questions.

Will the engine coolant sensor help the gauge work or should I just change it anyway?
Should I open up the dash to look at my gauges to see if/why the bulbs are out? Also is there a way to check if only the gauge needle has an issue?
Could it be a bigger issue other than the gauge cluster(wiring/electrical)?
What would be the best way to check the codes? Any recommendations on a code reader?
Will the codes tell me if the car is overheating?

Not sure where to start but any advice would help before I start opening things up.

Thanks in advance!

 

the ect will not help the gauge issue. i would run codes to see if it needed to be replaced
i would take it out. don't know on the gauge needle. i am sure there is a way to test it, but it may take something like a power probe to do it.
yeah, i guess it could be some bad wiring. maybe corrosion if the car has water damage?
you really don't need a code reader, the paperclip works. no recommendation on a code reader.
i would point a thermal temp gun at the thermostat housing if i thought i was overheating

i would take the cluster out and look at it. i replaced a bunch of bulbs when i fixed my factory tach.

 

If this is on a Foxbody,remove the temp gauge wire from the temp sender,turn the key on/engine off,touch the wire terminal under the rubber boot directly to a bare spot on the block.The gauge needle should peg to the top.If it does,the gauge and wire are good,but the sender is bad.If this test fails,connect the red lead of a multimeter to the sender wire and connect the black lead to the sender wire at the back of the gauge cluster,with the wire disconnected from the cluster.The meter should read 2.0 ohms or less.If not,the wire is open.If the wire is ok,the gauge is bad or theres a cluster issue.If you suspect the bulbs being blown, it wouldn't hurt to pull the cluster and check.Youll have to do that anyway,in order to test the sender wire.The temp gauge sender is located at the driver side front of the intake.The ect sensor only affects the ECU.Its located in the metal heater hose pipe assembly that runs over the lower intake (passenger side) Check fuses #4,13 & 18 for the cluster lights & warning lamps.Check the fusible link near the starter solenoid for fuse #4 also.The diagrams at the bottom will help with the cluster lamps. Regardless of which warning lamp it is,each one of them should illuminate briefly as soon as you turn the key on.If a particular lamp fails to come on during this time,its bulb is blown or theres a possible wiring issue or other fault present.A fault within the ignition switch can also fail to cause the proveout lamps to come on.The ignition switch diagram id's whether or not the lamps you're lacking are part of the ignition switch circuit or not.You don't need a scanner in order to read codes on the 86-95 models.Get a paperclip or jumper wire and follow the instructions in the following link.Post any codes you get.


https://sbftech.com/index.php/topic,2471.0.html

 

Thanks so much for this. I'll take some time this weekend to try and go through this and post what I find or any questions. Thanks!