temperature on 5.0

[bsmotorsports]

My bro just bought a pretty much mint 1989 black 5.0 lx 5spd the other day.
We got it home knowing it does have a couple problems. The gas and temperature gauges do not work. Thats about it.

I changed the temperature sensor for him, and the needle still will not move, any thoughts on what it could be??

The car is warming up and the overflow is filling up, but still, nothing.

Also, just for some extra info, when I pull the sensor plug of the top of the temp sensor, it pops up the check engine light on the dash until I plug it back in, so I know all the wires to and from are good.

Any help would be appreciated, this car is great.

 

[RYC CUKR]

Sounds like the plug that you are pulling is the plug for the ECT(engine coolant temp) sensor. If it is the one on the passenger side front of the engine and is in the black piping where it comes out of the intake that is the ECT. It has nothing to do with the temp guage but goes back to the computer to let it know engine temp. That is why you get a CEL when you pull it. If you look in about the same spot on the drivers side of the intake there is another sensor with a wire on it. It is just one wire that slides onto a threaded stud coming out of the sensor. That is the wire and sensor for the guage in the cluster.

With the gas guage it could be a few things. bad sending unit or possibly the float came off the sending unit arm. That is what happened to my 91.

 

[HISSIN50]

RC is right on about the ECT vs gauge sending unit. The ECT has multiple wires; the sender for the gauge but one.

Good luck.

 

[bsmotorsports]

Sounds like the plug that you are pulling is the plug for the ECT(engine coolant temp) sensor. If it is the one on the passenger side front of the engine and is in the black piping where it comes out of the intake that is the ECT. It has nothing to do with the temp guage but goes back to the computer to let it know engine temp. That is why you get a CEL when you pull it. If you look in about the same spot on the drivers side of the intake there is another sensor with a wire on it. It is just one wire that slides onto a threaded stud coming out of the sensor. That is the wire and sensor for the guage in the cluster.

With the gas guage it could be a few things. bad sending unit or possibly the float came off the sending unit arm. That is what happened to my 91.

Yep, you were totally right. Changed the wrong one. DOH!
Oh well, live and learn. Ill change the other one tomorrow for him and it should fix it. thanks for the help.

 

[HISSIN50]

No harm in changing the ECT - they degrade over time anyhow.

Good luck.