Annoying Temperature Gauge (2005 V-6)

[steve_aa_co_md]

Whenever the weather gets cold outside, my temperature gauge starts acting up and fails to reset to the correct starting point. Every day it starts from a slightly higher place. Today it started cold at the six o'clock position and maxed out at about 9 o'clock. I haven't seen it go all the way around yet. With several more months of cold weather it'll probably happen (and I'm guessing that it'll probably eventually break). It's kind of annoying but I'm not willing to give the local dealership my hard earned money for something that won't really "improve" the car. The overheat idiot light still works if the car really overheats (which it's never done).

Does anyone else have this problem?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[bradleyem]

It's probably a bad stepper motor...see a similar issue with a fuel gauge in this thread:

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/802411-fuel-gauge-problems.html

I have problems with my speedo sticking when its cold out.

 

[steve_aa_co_md]

It's probably a bad stepper motor...see a similar issue with a fuel gauge in this thread:

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/802411-fuel-gauge-problems.html

I have problems with my speedo sticking when its cold out.

That does sound very similar. Thanks for sending that link.

I don't think I've had a car with so many little annoying problems happen so early... The subwoofer rattles my passenger door, the seat release levers constantly break; I can't fill my gas tank unless it's empty, the conv. top sometimes bunches up, weather stripping has failed, the exhaust system is troublesome, the Shaker 500 system won't play MP3 CDs and the paint peeled off the radio buttons. I could go on but I still I like my car and will probably keep it for a while despite all of it's "issues". Ford needs to improve on the quality a bit. Still, Ford is probably the only American car company that I would consider buying from these days. Chrysler has been on my "ban" list for years and I don't know about anything from the new Government Motors.

 

[bradleyem]

That does sound very similar. Thanks for sending that link.

I don't think I've had a car with so many little annoying problems happen so early... The subwoofer rattles my passenger door, the seat release levers constantly break; I can't fill my gas tank unless it's empty, the conv. top sometimes bunches up, weather stripping has failed, the exhaust system is troublesome, the Shaker 500 system won't play MP3 CDs and the paint peeled off the radio buttons. I could go on but I still I like my car and will probably keep it for a while despite all of it's "issues". Ford needs to improve on the quality a bit. Still, Ford is probably the only American car company that I would consider buying from these days. Chrysler has been on my "ban" list for years and I don't know about anything from the new Government Motors.

Yeah, these cars definately have their share of "issues". Some of them are minor annoyances, others are flat out that Ford could continue to have the problem, and refuse to take care of it (like the water issue). Luckily, I do all of my own work on my car, and I bought it with the idea of modding and improving it anyway. But, like you said, I think that Ford is doing better then the other two......

As far as retro styling goes, Dodge nailed it with the Challenger. I used to have a '71, and I love the look of the new ones. Unfortunately, Dodge has the worst quality of the big 3. And, although they make decent power, that is offset by the massive weight of the cars, and performance is lackluster.

Chevy on the other hand does well on the performance side, with the SS camaro putting down good numbers. I wish that Ford would take the hint and start offering some better powerplant choices (I'd like to see more 5.8L and the revival of the BOSS). But I really don't care for the looks of the camaro either inside or out, and the price is still way too high for an SS.

The Mustang is a great value for the price, and a great platform to build on. Aftermarket parts are plentiful and cheap. And thats the fun of it for me......building it up MY way.

 

[BlackRod]

My temp gauge just started doing almost the same thing...it freaks out on the hot side. Yesterday I was driving it and it was running almost pegged hot. I pulled over and opened the hood and I could still touch the motor...it just wasn't that hot. I got back in, started it up and it went to the 3 o'clock position...I knew my car just wasn't that hot. I got it home and replaced the thermostat just in case, but I think it's more along the line of a sensor or the gauge itself... Anyone had similar problems with the temp gauge specifically?

 

[Jeffs05]

Timely post. I jumped into my car yesterday morning, got half way down the street and noticed the temp gauge was redlined.

Quickly turned back and grabbed the "alt" vehicle and headed off to work.

Got home after the car sat all day in the cold, turned it on and the temp gauge immediately shot straight up. I let it warm and it went to the red. I shut it off as the car was not overheating, radiator fluid was comfortable to touch.

Turned on the car this morning, it started on the redline and when it warmed up, went level to the Right of redline.

Ya, I'm thinking the gauge is pretty much messed up.

I'll clean the battery posts, check connections and give it the usual once over. This is the first, and only problem I have had with this 2005 Mustang now sitting at 74,000 miles.

 

[sager303]

Hey guys,

Same problem here too. Started the car 3 days ago and on the way to work the temperature gauge was almost at the red line. I checked the engine and it was clearly cold. Today, my fuel gauge was at the 3:00 position, I turned the car off, then back on and now my fuel gauge is at the 6:00 position.

Took it to the ford dealership today and no "codes" came up. They wanted to replace the sending unit, leveler, exc.

I asked about replacing the gauge cluster and they said " yeah if you want to try that too". Clearly they were just guessing so before I start randomly buying parts I wanted to ask the trusty forums first.

Has anyone solved this problem yet?

 

[almwil01]

Hot Temperature Gauge

I have the same problem and scared to drive my 2005 Mustang Coupe, It started a month ago. When I start it in the morning and then drive it at the end of the block the temperature guage is over the red "H" line...Guys please tell me it's the gauge, the car is not hot nor is steam coming out from it when driving it...what's going on....fluids are checked, I don't want to take it to a dealership or mechanic -- money is very tight. Maybe I should put a piece of paper to cover over the temperature gauge so that i'm not nervous about driving it.... it must be the GAUGE ....it runs beautiful, got 85,000 on it...I miss driving my mustang....What to do , boo hoo hoo
Your advise would be helpful...thanks Guys !!!

 

[bradleyem]

I have the same problem and scared to drive my 2005 Mustang Coupe, It started a month ago. When I start it in the morning and then drive it at the end of the block the temperature guage is over the red "H" line...Guys please tell me it's the gauge, the car is not hot nor is steam coming out from it when driving it...what's going on....fluids are checked, I don't want to take it to a dealership or mechanic -- money is very tight. Maybe I should put a piece of paper to cover over the temperature gauge so that i'm not nervous about driving it.... it must be the GAUGE ....it runs beautiful, got 85,000 on it...I miss driving my mustang....What to do , boo hoo hoo
Your advise would be helpful...thanks Guys !!!

I have an SCT Livewire tuner and use it to monitor real time sensor readings in my car. I believe that other tuners have the ability to monitor sensor reading as well, so if you have a tuner see if it will display realtime data. Another option would be to get a scanguage or other type of gauge system that works from the ODBII port. Of course there's always the other option of installing a seperate temperature guage, but thats a big PITA just to see if the guage is malfunctioning.......

 

[Jim52]

I am having the same problem. First I took the instrument cluster out (easy to do - the plastic cover just pops off, then 4 screws and it is out) and just moved the needle back to the left. That only lasted 2 days and it was back over to the Hot. After trying that a couple of times, I noticed the needle would ratchet so far each way. So I tried to get the needle off so I could re-position it on the stepper motor. you have to move it all the way in one direction and then twist and pull and it will come off. I put it back on with all the slack in the other direction, but this still did not perminently fix it either. Now it reads low most of the time. I have read where the stepping motors go bad. I am thinking about changing them out. You can buy them on e-bay for about $7 each, but you have to be able to solder to do this. Another option is to send it to someone to fix. I have found a couple of places that say they can do this, not sure if I can trust them???

 

[Jim52]

Temp gauge problems

Here is a update - I bought the stepping motors off e-bay and put two of them in, one on the the temp gauge and one on the tach. I put them in this morning and drove it several time with out any problems. The hardest part was the soldering. I used a small iron and mades sure the tip was well tinned. It took a little work to get the needles back in the right place. When I frist put it back in I left the plastic cover off and did some adjusting after driving and stopping a time or two. Any questions please ask - e-mail [email protected]