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86 F150 300L 4.9. computer has been ripped out. Everything on the dash works except my temp sensor. I see where one temp sensor is located near the radiator that's not hooked to anything. People posted about blthere being a second sensor that actually hooks to the gauge that I can't find. Can anyone show me where it is and how would I hook it up if the computer has been removed?
The computer has nothing to do with any of the dash gauges as the one you have the picture of was feed back to the computer.
The gauge sender is on the right side, always when sitting in the drives seat, of the motor.
It is at the back under the manifolds, hard to see and kind of get to but is doable.
The wire is a single wire that runs around the back of the valve cover dont remember the wire color sorry.
When you find the wire if you ground it and turn the key on and everything is good the gauge should move.
You might get lucky and find the wire is not on the sender as it just pushes on.
Dave ----
Wire you are looking for is a red with a white stripe. There is a white wire with a red stripe, that goes to the oil pressure sending unit. The sending units you are looking for will have a single stud for a one wire connection. All the computer stuff is two or more wires.
Once you find the wire, you can test it by turning the key to run, engine off, and get someone to watch the temp gauge as you touch the single wire to ground, and then take it off ground. The gauge will slowly swing full scale back and forth as you do this. Give it some time, it's a little slow.
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It is at the back under the manifolds, hard to see and kind of get to but is doable.
Here's a picture from when I was building my 1980 F150. The arrow is pointing at the temp sender for the gauge.
They're always hard to find eh Dave??...
Yes sir Dave, your picture is clearer than mine. I circled the sender in your pic! As an old coworker of mine used to reference, it's the "COIK fallacy"....where COIK is Clear Only If Known. The sender is right there, easy to find...if you know where it is LOL.
This it? Also no wire that I'm seeing. Anyone got a part number for a replacement wire attachment?
Yes, that is the temp sender for the gauge. It's just a one-wire hook-up. I only had one truck with a 300, but the temp sender wire came from the driver's side, I think in the same bundle of wires going to the coil, and then the one wire wrapped around the back of the valve cover to the sender. Are there any single wires on the driver's side of the engine that are not connected?
@Rembrant that's a loaded question since the computer was ripped out and there are quite a few wires that don't go to anything. That's gonna make it a little harder to figure out.
The computer wires come from the computer. I think yours is mounted in the cab over the transmission hump. If you want to get rid of those wires, take the computer out, and unplug the large wiring plug from it. Snake that large plug through the firewall and anything attached to it goes.
The wire you are looking for originated over on the driver's side inner fender. If you find the oil pressure sender, and follow that wire back, it will come from the same plug that the coolant temp sender wire comes from. You need a lot of those wires on the driver's side inner fender, you do not need those computer wires if your distributor has been swapped out.
Yes, that is the temp sender for the gauge. It's just a one-wire hook-up. I only had one truck with a 300, but the temp sender wire came from the driver's side, I think in the same bundle of wires going to the coil, and then the one wire wrapped around the back of the valve cover to the sender. Are there any single wires on the driver's side of the engine that are not connected?
I had the hood open on my truck this morning getting ready for a show and forgot to look but I am pretty sure you are right.
Originally Posted by Pjuhl2313
@Rembrant that's a loaded question since the computer was ripped out and there are quite a few wires that don't go to anything. That's gonna make it a little harder to figure out.
If the computer was pulled out then you can start where the computer was and start to remove the wires that went to it.
I think there is only 1 wire tied into the trucks harness and that was for oil pressure all the rest are not tied in and can be unplugged and removed.
edit just looked and it dose come out the harness for the coil & dist.
A long wire to reach around the back of the head to the sender.
Looks to be a red with white tracer but hard to see and did not have anything to get up on to get in there to check color better.
Dave ----
Is the sensor port in @Pjuhl2313 's first photo a decent spot for a mechanical temp gauge hookup? It looks like an easy spot to put a fitting, but would the readings be accurate? I'm thinking probably not.
I don't mean to hijack the thread, l'm trying to get all my factory stuff working too.. But l want to run redundant temp and oil pressure gauges, both mechanical. Having the factory stuff working properly is more of a vanity project... l just think it's cool when all the old stuff works, useful or not.
Ok, after looking at the wiring diagram I found the wire. Of course the switch connect is gone and it's just a bare wire. Besides Ebay, anyone know if a place like Lowes or AutoZone carries a generic like this? I enclosed a pic from the oil pressure switch.
Edit: I am going to replace the temp sensor and it comes with a wire hook up from Rockauto. I'll install after and update.
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