Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 95 Contour 2.0L dohc showing hot, near red.

My 95 Ford Contour temp gauge is showing as running hot, real close to red. I took it into an ASE cert shop to have the coolant flushed, filled and thermostat replaced. They said the engine, radiator and coolant temp are with in specs and said the gauge is bad. So they replaced the gauge and its still showing as hot. Then they said it may be the sensor it self. When I turn on the heater the temp drops between the R and M on the Normal. The coolant tank dose fill a bit but not much when the gauge is almost to the red.

I had the radiator replaced but suspect it may be the wrong one. Would the wrong radiator cause this? The reason I ask it I got a radiator for a 95/95 not a 95 after.

Contour
2.0 dohc

Wrong Radiator size (all hoses fit), Belt slipping, Temp sensor?

Thank you.

My car does the same thing, shops said it wasnt near that hot.
It can be -10 outside, I can drive 1/2 mile and be sitting at a stop light and the thing will say M, yet the heater is freezing. Unless the temp. goes in red I would ignore it, thats what I do.

I would also like to add

The Heather blows hot air, real hot and that�s when the temp drops to a reasonable level. The fan will kick on and off and in a bit temp here will range from 110 to 115.

And thanks for the fast reply.

Where is the sensor that the gauge uses and is it easy to replace?

The Pre98 Zetec (I4) contours hvae this problem... the gauge is REALLY sensitive to heat changes... you will see that when its running on the "L" on normal, and that you start driving... it will almost instantly go down... So when it says its running hot... really its within normal spec... BUT if it actually hits the red, THEN You have a problem. Start the car up and let it idle till it hits that high point you mentioned... Have the hood poped so you can hear the engine, if you hear the radiator fan turn on when the gauge passes "L" on normal... Then you are fine... if you REALLY worry about it, just turn the defroster or A/C on, that will kick on the radiator fan and lower the engine temperature quickly.

IIRC, that sensor for the Engine Coolant temperature (ECT) is Right next to where the Thermostat it... Next to the Ignition Coil pack.. there is a wire leading to it.

How about the waterpump?

I doubt it�s the water pump, inlet and outlet are hot. But a closer look at the tsu to the gauge shows the wires are spliced with a wire nut and the connector is kind of lose. Looks like I got a weekend project to trace the wires from the tsu to see where they go and see if I can rewire it. Now to find out if anyone in town has a connector to the tsu or if I can replace the wires. But I will still be a tad Leary about the temp until I see it go down with out running the heater.