Is it my water gauge or the sender?

Have you done so much to the car today that it just doesn't fit into one section, or are you too damn lazy to split it all up? Either way, this is the section for you.

Moderators: kamzcab86, CalAltaDubber

Post Reply
User avatar
Briano1234
Whats that smell?
Posts: 4105
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:45 am
What year is your cabby?: 1992
Do you own a Cabriolet?: No
Location: Duluth, Ga
Contact:

Is it my water gauge or the sender?

Post by Briano1234 »

Well do to the Tex, and Ron making me think I have come up with a lovely way
to determine if your water temp gauge is flaky or if it is your sender.

Tools needed:
9Vdc battery.
9v Battery connector.
Cheap Multi-Meter. (Expensive ones are fine too.)

Now these measurements are on a 93 Cabriolet so yours may vary by year.

1. If your water gauge isn't working, but your gas gauge is then proceed to step 3.
2. If your Water and Fuel gauge isn't working then you have a bad 10V regulator on the back of your cluster.

Image

You can buy the regulator from Autohausaz.com for about 15 bucks plus shipping.
or
Go to Mouser and buy it for 37 cents to a dollar, your choice. Talk about markup.
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Fai ... zQe44omxbY

3. Remove the connector from your sensor (the black one on the front of the head). Take your multimeter and measure your sensor. One lead on one side and the other on the opposite.
Cold it will read infinite on the X20 scale, but on the 200 it will read about 1500ohms
Hot (yes I heated it up with a lighter) it reads 300 ohms.

Now with the 9vdc Battery. (NO KEY IN SWITCH)
4. With the connector removed from step 3. Place the Positive side of the battery (red) on the Brown with Red tracer wire, and the Negative (BLACK) on the Brown wire. If your Water gauge moves to the middle, then you have connectivity between the sender and the gauge.

5. Keep the Battery connected for about 4 to 5 minutes as if the Gauge has a cold soldered joint it may take that long to heat up to go flaky.

6. If the gauge stays in the middle then your probably ok from the sender connector to the gauge and he gauge is good. If the gauge moves then you have a bad sender., If it stays at the halfway point, then the Gauge needs an assist... That is your gauges brass studs are corroded and needing a cleaning, you need to "plump" out the connector pins on the main connector of the cluster, or a flaky ground to the Cluster.


So now you can test it to verify that it is either a flaky sender, or a flaky gauge.

To repair an intermittent gauge see:
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2042
Briano

Yes as matter of fact, I have the Luck o'the Irish...everything I touch turns to fertilizer of the bovine variety.
You can lead a user to a link, but you can't make him Click.... :screwy:
Post Reply