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Temp gauge going right to hot but no overheating symptoms

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ruggeri5054

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Feb 1, 2013
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Hello, my 1996 2.0 5speed contour's temperature gauge goes right to the A-L area when driving. However, it has been like this for a long time.. It has even gone to the H/red area and still no problems, here are some symptoms

It is NOT burning ANY coolant
Oil looks great
It does not even feel that hot when even It says so ( I can place my hand on the valve cover and keep it there)
Fans kick on but then turn off most of the time,
and the heat (heater unit) is HOT as it should be...

I understand there is a Temp sensor for the ECU and a temp sender for the dash... Is it common for that SENDER to go faulty and give bad readings? I know exactly where the sender is and I can replace it but I wanted to see if it was worth my time.
 
Thats what it sounds like to me. My dads 2.0 did a similar thing recently, and as the sender was being replaced the connector broke with very little effort so be careful.
 
Sounds like either a faulty sensor, or somewhere, the connection to the sensor is shorting (or grounding out?) If you can get to the sensor easily (its been forever since I changed a sensor on a zetec) check the connection for corrosion, or water ingress, or the wire running to it for flaking/chafed insulation. If it all looks good, try a new sensor.
 
thank you.. the sensor looks somewhat of a PITA to do... only because it is under the thermo housing.. either way shouldnt be a problem.. if the connection is shorting out I can always run new wire and bypass the old wiring.. I hope this fixes it
 
You could also have air in your cooling system that's what my Infiniti did when I had air
 
well I installed a new sender..at first it was fine.. drove and it stayed in the middle.. then later on today it started climbing back up to the a -l range.. I checked the radiator.. has great flow.. still has hot heat in the cabin, still runs fine, and it is not leaking coolant, if the cap needed replaced.. could low pressure cause this? There is not much pressure to the system.. I also bled the system and no luck..any ideas??????
 
today I pulled the pump, its fine, retimed the car and moved on to the (3rd one I installed) thermostat, tested it and it worked.. I dropped the radiator filled it and drained it.. the capacity I read is7 quarts...


update, I replaced the radiator, still overheats...


So... I have replaced everything.. I noticed the fans still dont turn on, unless I unplug the sensor. I replaced the sensor with another new one.. and same problem.. could it be the relays?
 
Well, I did the Moderndino fix, wired the fan to run constant, it runs right at half now... who knows, maybe the temp gauge is not accurate, I will install an aux. temp gauge soon so if it is fine ill leave it
 
Any other ideas? now that it is warmer (even with the fan running non stop) It is climbing back toward the A range.

Waterpump is new, Rad is new, Cap is new, Stat is new, Hoses are not collapsing, Fans running at high non stop, No leaks, Not burning anything, Has GREAT heat, Temperature in the expansion tank is over 200 degrees... and that is outside of the block, I don't want to know what it is inside. I removed the AC condensor to free up flow, Hoses are hot/warm. .....

When It is at idle it runs very cool, but when I start to drive or just rev it up, it gets hotter and hotter.


Any additional ideas would be appreciated.
 
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