I am having problems with my temp sender on my truck. Last fall when I finally got the truck back together after rewiring it to start it for the first time the temp gage was working normally, but the Batt light and Oil Press light stayed on all the time.


This past week I figured out what was wrong with both idiot lights, however now my temp gauge is not working.


With ignition off it reads hot. With key on it stays on hot till it warms up. Then it starts to drop to mid range but remains hotter than it was.


I suspect the temp sender is bad...or am I thinking wrong?


If the temp sender is indeed bad I have another question...I rewired the truck to 12V. The gauges are the originals with a voltage reducer installed since they operate off 6V. Do I need a 6V or 12V temp sender?


Thanks in advance for any and all help.

 

You can use the original 6V sending unit. The gauge should go to cold when you turn the key on do you have the 6V going to the correct terminal on the gauge

 

check your voltage, thats a 6v gauge

 

gauge was working correctly last fall... but after having other wiring issues as previously stated, it now is messed up.


Gage is wired correctly and there is 6V to sender. After reading other threads on here I am certain the sender is bad.


My question was do I need a 6V or 12V sender? I ask because I ordered a 6V sender from Mid-Fifty. They called me up because their records show my truck is 12V. They tell me I according to their electrical guru I should be using a 12V sender, even though my voltage runs thru a reducer.


This doesn't sound right to me...but hey what do I know! I'm only a aircraft mechanic. I have a 12V unit on the way and will see what happens. Just wanted to run it by the group here to get some feedback.

 

You want a 6v sender if you are using a reducer and the original 6v gauge.

 

My thoughts exactly...but they are convinced. If they are wrong I guess they will be expediting out the correct one.

 

I would not trust them to have any idea what is correct.

 

I run 12 v on my 51 flathead with original gauges fed thru a voltage reducer and use the original 6V sending unit and it works correctly.