I have a 96 f150 4.9. & my temp gauge reads low even after the truck has been running for a long time,it barely gets into the normal range.
I have replaced to thermostat twice,flushed the cooling system,and replaced the temp sensor on the thermostat housing, nothing helped.
I believe that the engine is running at normal temp even though my gauge reads cool.
The heater gets warm and the hoses feel warm.
The thermostat was a 195 degree. what should i do next?
thanks for the help.

steve.

Upper Case Edited out by Administration,

Please refrain from its use

 

Ignore the gauge

 

I wouldn't say just ignore it. Get yourself a mechanical temperature guage (a cheap one will work fine) to see what temperature you're actually running. Then you'll know if it's just a guage/sender problem or something else.

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1995 F-150 Supercab XLT 155" 4x4 M5OD 302
1986 F-150 4x4 NP435 300

 

My point was if there is not an overheating issue or a driveabilty problem and the cooling system is maintained, the gauage is not accurate. Factory gauges are notorious for being inaccurate.

 

Water temp is 2nd most important next to oil pressure.

Install a mechanical gauge as suggested, Autozone sells cheap Sunpros for $15 that actually seem pretty accurate. If you've got more money to spend, get a higher quality unit.

 

Just get one of these infrared temp senders. They are great to have, not only for the car but also around the house.

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/RAY-MT4U.html

You can check temperature in any location and compare it to the factory gauge. On my old truck, the temp gauge reads low but it sure runs at 180F dead on.

Cheers, George

 

>Just get one of these infrared temp senders. They are great
>to have, not only for the car but also around the house.

A very handy tool, indeed. I have one and love it. Great for diagnosing lots of things. But not a replacement for a quality gauge while you're driving around.

Install a real gauge if you wanna know your real water temp while idling, towing, on the trail, etc.

 

thanks for the suggetions. i was hoping to be able to fix the stock gauge. i guess i will just live with the inaccurate gauge. it buggs me when something inst right with my truck. later steve.

 

There's no reason you can't have your stock gauge working acceptably.

If you have the 195 thermostat, have the correct sending unit, and the gauge still reads too low, it is either defective, or your voltage regulator (located on the circuit board on the back of the instrument cluster) is not working properly. Does your fuel gauge operate correctly?

If I had this problem, I would install a mechanical temperature gauge as a temporary measure to get an idea of how the temperature is running. You can probably install it in the same port as the sending unit (replace it temporarily). Then with a little effort, you can mount the gauge somewhere inside the cab. If you want to run the line thru the firewall, you will have to to that before you insert the bulb into the manifold. I once ran one out the back of the hood, through the door opening, and taped it to the dash to check things out.

Once I knew how the temp was really doing, I would then get the stock gauge to read correctly, either by replacement, recalibration, or replacing the instrument voltage regulator.


Winford:-)

 

the other gauges do seem to work properly. is the voltage regulator you talked about hard to change? what do you guys think about getting a gauge from the junk yard?


Edit: Please do not use all caps for posting.

 

87-up guages do not use a voltage regulator (IVR). The guages themselves are not adjustable or able to be recalibrated. The things to check would be the sending unit, wiring, and the guage itself.

Contrary to the opinions of some here, most Fords I've been around have had fairly accurate temperature guages (unlike the oil pressure guages ). You should be able to fix it to read correctly.

--------------
1995 F-150 Supercab XLT 155" 4x4 M5OD 302
1986 F-150 4x4 NP435 300

 

I'm experiencing the exact same problem on my '92 F-150. I've changed the thermostat, the heater core and flushed the system. My heater core was leaking on a road trip and the truck got pretty hot, yet the guage was still reading cool. I've replaced the sensor on the thermostat housing, and nothing. I've heard that there are two sending units, one for the computer, as an idle up for the warm up and the other for the guage itself. I haven't had a chance to look for the other sensor yet cause I'm at work, but will as soon as I get home. Hope this leads you somewhere.

 

I'm with tj as far as replacing the "other" sensor. I've learned that on my '89 F150, the one on the thermostat housing is for the computer/idle sensing and the "other" unit is in a place that is so inaccessable that I'm just gonna take it to a shop and have them do it. Mine is just under the exhaust manifold, on the block, dang near straight up from the starter. It's got the one wire connected to it. Replacement part is only about $8 from Shmuck's Auto. That's the one for the temp gauge. I also have replaced and flushed all that stuff like stevemye did, but that's not gonna fix the temp gauge. Just find and replace the sending uint on the block and your gauge should work properly. At least I hope mine does!

 

I'm having the same problem with my temp guage. Hydro...you said you's is under your exhaust manifold...please tell me you don't have a 300-6 under your hood. It'd be nice to just have it sitting on top (haha-fat chance huh?)