Temp Guage Dancin Around

i was on my to my dads house n my temp guage started dancing around lookin for some help with what the problem maybe...PLEASE HELP

 

T-stat

 

Your sayin my thermo stat... cuz now i just came and its not doin it

 

How much and at what frequency is it jumping around?

A broken thermostat will usually either be frozen open or closed. Frozen closed will cause overheating. Frozen open will cause it to take an awful long time to reach operating temperature. I suppose if it was only opening when it got way above temperature, you could potentially see some fluctuations.

Frequent jumping might point to something else. Temperature sending unit malfunctioning (I think they call it an engine coolant temperature (ect) sensor now), wiring, or maybe the gauge itself.

Just a complete guess though, as those are the only items I can think of off hand that deal with displaying temperatures.

 

x2 Faulty Temperature Sending Unit

 

My wifes car did that a while back....it was because there was no coolant in the overflow tank and the coolant in her radiator was several quarts low...when we filled it all back up to normal level the temp gauge stopped going all over the place and acted normal again....

 

I think thats the first thing he would check...I know I would...

 

ya i did check that first thing and now its pegged out and stuck on overtemp

 

Back to T-stat haha...check the lower rad hose when the engine is hot...is it hot or cold?

 

well its fixed cost me 611 to have it fixed t-stat was bad and ect truck wasnt reaching full temp

 

611?!?!



You don't want to know how much you would have saved if you did what reply #1 recommended.

 

$611 hmmm

That would have done the timing belt.