wtf is going on with my 86

carbed87

Member

Jun 5, 2005

215

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16

Oct 15, 2006

#1

• Oct 15, 2006

• #1

ok so whenever my car is just driving around town the temp gauge almost gets pegged after a few miles of stop lights and what have you. but when i get on the highway, it seems to stay around midway. i thought it was the fan clutch at first, so i swiched the one out for one off my old 91 gt (with 170,000), it didn't seem to help however, i wouldn't doubt that that one is worn out too. anyways, im torn between a few things here. i wan't to test the coolant pressure tomorrow before i buy anything, but it was also brung to my attention that my gauge cluster could be acting funky. the previous owner said that every now and then some of the gauges would peg out, then later return to normal. and while i did see the temp needle do that once (not to mention $20 of gas giving it a full tank lol) i dont know if it would be reading wrong almost all the time. i popped the hood every now and then to find nothing out of the ordinary, no wierd smells, no somke or anything... so im really left out on my own on this one.

any help would be great guys.

thanks,
mike

 

z2o_what

Member

Mar 31, 2005

309

1

19

princeton, WV

Oct 15, 2006

#2

• Oct 15, 2006

• #2

i'd try another fan, check coolant, and get an aftermarket temp guage.

 

carbed87

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Jun 5, 2005

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Oct 15, 2006

#3

• Oct 15, 2006

• #3

im not rockin one of those lame redneck temp gauges, but i will check my fan...

 

Dean85GT

New Member

Nov 27, 2004

502

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Thorold, Ontario, Canada

Oct 15, 2006

#4

• Oct 15, 2006

• #4

mine does that when I turn the lights on. The temp gauge and gas gauge rises right up

 

N

nidyanazo

Banned

Mar 30, 2005

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805 dawg

Oct 16, 2006

#5

• Oct 16, 2006

• #5

carbed87 said:

im not rockin one of those lame redneck temp gauges, but i will check my fan...

Click to expand...

One of theose lame gauges will tell you the tempature of your engine, not some arbitrary scale with no known values like the stock gauge.

 

RsStanG1987

I shaved all my pubes playing this game.

10 Year Member

Mar 13, 2004

569

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79

Dupont PA

Oct 16, 2006

#6

• Oct 16, 2006

• #6

On an 86 you can get an aftermarket Guage to fit in the stock location.

 

sunil6784

Member

Mar 31, 2005

620

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Boston, MA

Oct 16, 2006

#7

• Oct 16, 2006

• #7

How's the coolant level ? I'd pressure test your radiator. Autozone rents a pressure tester for free. Could be that you are losing some coolant. But on the highway the air is cooling the radiator enough that you don't notice it.

 

9

93 foxbody

New Member

Feb 12, 2006

1

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0

Oct 16, 2006

#8

• Oct 16, 2006

• #8

there is a chip or a voltage regulator on the back of the gauge cluster that needs to be replace. that i had to get from the local napa store few years ago

 

B

bt15

Member

Sep 3, 2003

129

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Oahu

Oct 16, 2006

#9

• Oct 16, 2006

• #9

It's probably just your dash voltage regulator. They are notoriously weak on 79-86 model cars. Swap out that $20 part and you're probably all set. Good luck.

 

795.0pacecar

lover of pudgy polygamists

Jul 11, 2003

480

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17

Senoia, GA

Oct 16, 2006

#10

• Oct 16, 2006

• #10

They are notoriously weak on all fords from the mid 60s to early 90s.

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

15 Year Member

Nov 29, 1999

31,179

34

129

Oct 16, 2006

#11

• Oct 16, 2006

• #11

One way or another, you will likely want to use an accurate gauge for diagnostics. Whether or not that gauge remains in the car is up to you.


If it happens at idle, you could use a turkey thermometer in the radiator neck, but you will be altering the true dynamic (hood up, system unpressurized, etc).

EDIT: if an aftermarket gauge is redneck to you, what would you call the turkey thermometer in the radiator neck?



Good luck.

 

carbed87

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Jun 5, 2005

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Oct 16, 2006

#12

• Oct 16, 2006

• #12

795.0pacecar said:

They are notoriously weak on all fords from the mid 60s to early 90s.

Click to expand...

where exactly are they

 

carbed87

Member

Jun 5, 2005

215

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16

Oct 16, 2006

#13

• Oct 16, 2006

• #13

HISSIN50 said:

One way or another, you will likely want to use an accurate gauge for diagnostics. Whether or not that gauge remains in the car is up to you.


If it happens at idle, you could use a turkey thermometer in the radiator neck, but you will be altering the true dynamic (hood up, system unpressurized, etc).

EDIT: if an aftermarket gauge is redneck to you, what would you call the turkey thermometer in the radiator neck?



Good luck.

Click to expand...

lol i dont see aftermarket gauges redneck, i like autometers, and steart werners and what have you, but i don't like those chrome bezeled sunpro gauges that are buy 1 get 1 free at CSK.

anyways, update... i went to a buddies house and pressure tested the system, everything came out good, and it seemed to be the cap that was the culprit. slapped a good one on and it never went beyond the "M".

thanks guys.