95 V6. Temp gauge problems

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MustangnSally

New Member

Mar 24, 2018

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Mar 24, 2018

#1

• Mar 24, 2018

• #1

I have a 95 3.8 V6 Mustang. When I bought the car, the temp gauge is almost always below cold. The only time I’ve seen it rise is after driving it for awhile and even then it’s not even in the normal zone. I replaced the temp sender and still nothing. I bought an infrared thermometer and aimed it at the hose connected to the thermostat housing, said 144 after about 10ish minutes of driving. Bought a little wiring tester thing that lights up if the connection is fine and I tested the connector that connects to the sender, and it lit up. So right now I’m pretty stumped. Any insight on what this might be?

 

jozsefsz

15 Year Member

Aug 11, 2013

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Cleveland OH Area

Mar 25, 2018

#2

• Mar 25, 2018

• #2

I haven't had a 3.8 in a long time, but with the 5.0 there are two temperature sending units - one operates the gauge, the other is for the computer. You may need to change the other one that you haven't changed. If there is another one... I'd look into that. The one that operates the gauge typically has one wire that pushes onto the top. The one with a 2-wire connector is the one for the computer.

If the car is actually running cold, look out for a blown head gasket, the unfortunate thing about the 3.8 is that it's incredibly common.

 

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MustangnSally

New Member

Mar 24, 2018

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Mar 25, 2018

#3

• Mar 25, 2018

• #3

Yes there’s two, and the one I replaced was the one that sends to the gauge. It has a red wire with white stripe. The other one is the ECT sensor I believe, which has two wires. Should I try attempting to replace that too? And I don’t think it runs cold, but I’ll have to drive it longer and check.

 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Mod Dude

Aug 25, 2016

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polk county florida

Mar 25, 2018

#4

• Mar 25, 2018

• #4

Put a cheap aftermarket gauge in it and zip tie it to the one of the wipers and drive it around, that will tell you what temp it's at, if you got only 144° after running for a while there is a problem, hopefully it just need a new thermostat.

 

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MustangnSally

New Member

Mar 24, 2018

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Mar 25, 2018

#5

• Mar 25, 2018

• #5

So basically it's sounding like a stuck thermostat? I'll try replacing that then, and see what it does. It's only about $10-20. Thank you guys for the help!

 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Mod Dude

Aug 25, 2016

27,827

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polk county florida

Mar 25, 2018

#6

• Mar 25, 2018

• #6

I'm just saying if it in fact is running cold, you don't know for sure until you put a known good gauge on it, but changing the t stat can't hurt either.