Hi,


My F250 instrument temp guage is not reading at all. All the other guages work great. I was going to replace the whole cluster however, I thought I would see if there,s a loose wire or something not fully connected to the harness etc that not making the temp guage read.

Is there a wire loose or Do I have to replace the whole cluster.

thanks in advance for you help here.

Thank you,

Runner

1988 F250_Custom/Cab Manual 5 speed

 

I think It would be a bad coolant temp sensor/ sender or something to that extent.

 

Thanks for helping.

If that's a possibilty, where is the sensor located on the 302?

thank you,

Runner

 

I have no idea where the sensor is, but it's probably near the T-stat housing & it's a single wire.

Once you find it, try this very simple little test.

Pull the wire off & ground it to the engine right beside the sensor.

Turn the key to run & if the gauge reads full hot, you just need to replace the sensor.

 

The service manual says the temperature coolant sensor is on the Left Hand/side of the intake manifold.

The picture in the manual shows a carburated engine and shows it being behind the distributor. No picture of an EFI engine. Look around for a single Red/White wire going to a sensor.


74 ohms of resistance the gage pointer should be at the Cold Mark.
9.7 ohms of resistance the gage pointer should be at the Hot Mark.

 

Excellent!

Thanks for your expertise with helping me figure this out!

I found the wire. It's red with a white strip. I did the quick test and grounded it to the block and it maxed out to HOT.

I'll take out the sensor and replace and see what happens.

Thanks again and hopefully that will do it.

Thank you,

Runner

 

Good deal, glad to hear it's a nice and simple/cheap fix.
The last sender I replaced was 6 bucks. A couple wraps with teflon tape will keep it from leaking.

Very nice that F150xlt had the service manual with the sender location.

 

Thanks a Million!

Runner

 

I forgot to ask you where would be the best place to get a new sensor. I looked on Napa,autozone and advanced auto parts and the part looks different then the 1 prong/wire attachment that I want to replace.

I found a used one on ebay that looks exactly the same but for a 1993 ford sho. I'm wondering if this part would fit the F250 block.

Thanks again for all your help.

Runner

 

It is not a sensor.
It is the water temp sender and any auto parts store should have them.

The Temp sender (one wire) is for the gauge and the ECT sensor (two wire) is for the computer.

Location:
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g9...enderPBMOD.jpg

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Thanks Bill!

Runner

 

DOWY10884A .. Temperature Sending Unit (Motorcraft SW924)

Fits: Among others, 1980/89 F100/350, Bronco & Econoline ~ all gas engines.

This same sending unit has been used since 1970 on many different cars/trucks, so it should be available at all autoparts stores and FoMoCo dealers

 

To find the correct part, you can search for either temperature sender or temperature switch. Sender used if you have a gauge and Switch if you have a idiot light. As you know it only uses one wire. The ECT (Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor uses two wires).

If the threads are not pre coated, use Teflon thread sealant on the threads. Don't use Teflon tape.

Advance Auto shows the part as F1855 around $11.00.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...re%20sender___

 

Thank you.

Just another question: Is there a sending unit for the oil pressure guage? My Oil pressure gauge works where the needle goes an 1/8 up on the reading and I'm assuming that's OK. But thougth I would ask thinking this sensor should also be replaced.

thank you.
Runner

 

Yes there is a an oil pressure sender for the oil gauge.
Not sure what you mean by 1/8 up on the reading.
Are you talking about 1/8 up the normal scale or something else?

The oil sender:


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