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Temp gauge doing weird things....
#1160899 01/20/05 12:54 AM
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BluCamSS Offline OP
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Lately my temp guage has been running much higher then usual. The cars gauge was always on the "high" side to me, but lately its been going as far as teh red, then back, then to the red, then back....never has over-heated....and I never had a idiot light come on (is there one??????).......I am thinking maybe a bad t-stat, but would that vary the gauge? Maybe a bad fan switch? Any help would be great....I'm new to 4 bangers, used to V8's.

2000 Camaro SS/to much to list/343.1 RWHP & 343.7 RWTQ. 1995 Contour GL/"driver"/white w/blue cloth/auto/full power/tint/vent visors/pinstripped/custom stereo/more to come....
Re: Temp gauge doing weird things....
#1160900 01/20/05 01:42 AM
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it seams that alot of the tempature guages start to get less percise with age. my cars normal tempature is just short of the red it is a bad sencer but that is all the sencor does tell u the temp, there is a seprate one to turn on and off the fans. and as a last note sorry for the speeling mastakes

RIP Frank Foreman. March 15 2005. died in a tragic car crash at the age of 18.<Drive Safe> 1995 Contour gl Zetec auto. 178000km
Re: Temp gauge doing weird things....
#1160901 01/21/05 06:22 PM
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BluCamSS Offline OP
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Anyone have any ideas??????????

2000 Camaro SS/to much to list/343.1 RWHP & 343.7 RWTQ. 1995 Contour GL/"driver"/white w/blue cloth/auto/full power/tint/vent visors/pinstripped/custom stereo/more to come....
Re: Temp gauge doing weird things....
#1160902 01/21/05 11:32 PM
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big_mack Offline
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Is your electric fan on the radiator coming on? The Tour has had it's share of electrical issues like: 1) There is a recall where they add a "fin-like" device where the wire goes into the fan; 2) There is a recall for the wiring harness under the hood due to cracked insulation / bare wires; 3) There is a resistor in that fan circuit that is exposed to mother nature and therefore prone to failure (especially if the car has been driven where salt is used on the roads).

PS: "Been there & done that" on all three of the above described conditions.

Re: Temp gauge doing weird things....
#1160903 01/22/05 02:01 AM
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BluCamSS Offline OP
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Originally posted by big_mack:
Is your electric fan on the radiator coming on? The Tour has had it's share of electrical issues like: 1) There is a recall where they add a "fin-like" device where the wire goes into the fan; 2) There is a recall for the wiring harness under the hood due to cracked insulation / bare wires; 3) There is a resistor in that fan circuit that is exposed to mother nature and therefore prone to failure (especially if the car has been driven where salt is used on the roads).

PS: "Been there & done that" on all three of the above described conditions.



How do I go about finding out more info on these recalls?
I'd like to have them taken care of, thanks.

2000 Camaro SS/to much to list/343.1 RWHP & 343.7 RWTQ. 1995 Contour GL/"driver"/white w/blue cloth/auto/full power/tint/vent visors/pinstripped/custom stereo/more to come....
Re: Temp gauge doing weird things....
#1160904 01/22/05 06:55 PM
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Try here: "http://www.alldata.com/TSB/19/95194179.html" or a Google search like "1995 Ford Contour Recalls".

Fairly sure issue #1 applies to all 2.0 liter cars, look for what looks like a heat-sink with fins right where the wires connect to the fan, if you see it then the work has been done already.

Issue #2 only applies if the wires fail inspection, meaning there is visable cracks in the under hood wiring harness.

Issue #3 is wear and tear, if your's is burnt you buy a new one at the dealer for about $20-25.

Also, you can call your local Ford dealer and they will have records of any recall work already done on your serial number.

Last edited by big_mack; 01/22/05 07:11 PM.
Re: Temp gauge doing weird things....
#1160905 01/24/05 02:11 AM
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If the car is not over heating it may be the temp gauge sending unit.

Rich S.

1998 SVT 1995 Contour 2.5 MTX 215K miles Son's car(dead and buried) 1997 Contour 2.0 ATX 1998 Contour 2.5 ATX 2004 Tauras Wagon 3.0 Duratec
Re: Temp gauge doing weird things....
#1160906 01/24/05 04:20 PM
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BluCamSS Offline OP
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Originally posted by richs:
If the car is not over heating it may be the temp gauge sending unit.

Rich S.


Yeah it hasn't overheated, and the gauge goes up and down. That leads me to believe that its gotta be the gauge or something. Cause if it was running that hot it wouldn't go down on its own like that....any other ideas?

2000 Camaro SS/to much to list/343.1 RWHP & 343.7 RWTQ. 1995 Contour GL/"driver"/white w/blue cloth/auto/full power/tint/vent visors/pinstripped/custom stereo/more to come....
Re: Temp gauge doing weird things....
#1160907 01/25/05 11:40 PM
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OK, you don't believe it is actually overheating. If you want to troubleshoot further you are probably going to need: 1) Some test equipment like a volt-ohm meter; 2)someone needs to tell you what a good temp sensor puts out (like resistance for example) at a specific temperature; 3) An old fashioned mechanical thermometer would also probably help; 4) A variable resistor or variable voltage source (aka a power supply) depending on the info collected under part 2 above.

Re: Temp gauge doing weird things....
#1160908 01/26/05 02:37 AM
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Ray_dup1 Offline
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If you are assuming that it isn't overheating SIMPLY because it is going back down (and an overheating car would stay hot) then you could be wrong.


If the fans were to NOT be coming on, for instance, your car would raise to the upper range, then the HIGH fan would come on, cooling the system lower... fans would kick off, and you would repeat the process..


My point is only that the car is not PROVEN not to be overheating simply because the guage is going down, again.



Ray

'99 CSVT - Silver #222/276 In a constant state of blow-off euphoria.
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