This is driving me crazy!!!!

[bobhol]

My temp gauge is swinging between 175 and 185....I have replaced the impellar twice in two years ,160 degree thermostat twice in 2 years,sending unit replaced and ,yesterday I replaced the temp gauge all to no avail ...it still reads 175 to 185. The IR reading at the sensor base is around the 160 mark plus or minus 5 degrees so I know it is not overheating .Why can I not get the gauge to agree with the actual temperature? aaaaaagh!!!

 

[greekfreek]

Re: This is driving me crazy!!!!

My temp gauge has been off since I bought the boat new in 2010. I checked it like you did... & know how far off it is and know my dealer is useless... Don't know what the answer is maybe someone will reply...

 

[gm280]

Re: This is driving me crazy!!!!

Not knowing how your gauge is wired up or even works internally, but have you checked the voltage to the gauge and the ground too? If your supply is fluctuating could be it is effecting your gauge too... Just a thought...

 

[m_steiger]

Re: This is driving me crazy!!!!

Just a thought but when you replaced the sender, you didn't use any sort of teflon or pipe dope did you? That could create high resistance in the circuit and lead to inaccurate readings.

 

[Don S]

Re: This is driving me crazy!!!!

Just a thought but when you replaced the sender, you didn't use any sort of teflon or pipe dope did you? That could create high resistance in the circuit and lead to inaccurate readings.

That works backwards in this situation, higher resistance would make lower temperature readings showing on the gauge.

 

[smassey22180]

Re: This is driving me crazy!!!!

My gauge does the same thing and I have a 140 degree thermostat. I checked the thermostat housing with my IR thermometer and it says 135 so I don't worry about it. My old gauge was broken but it just had a color range on it with no numbers. Straight up was normal. 175 on my new gauge is straight up.

 

[bobhol]

Re: This is driving me crazy!!!!

Thanks for all the replies ...I used nothing on the threads of the sender ...I was wondering if my voltage is higher than normal(whatever normal is ) if that would "push" the gauges to a higher than normal reading ...anyway I guess 180 degrees is the new 160...lol...regards,Bob

 

[tahoejag]

Re: This is driving me crazy!!!!

I have had recent issues with my oil pressure and temp gauges reading on the high side. Both different instances. I disconnected the sender wires and cleaned up connections with wire brush (they were a little dirty/oily for I drench the engine with wd40 prior to winter storage). Seems all good now---no more fluctuating readings. I always think from simple/cheap fix first and start from there leading to...."oh **** its gonna cost me" fixes. Money to clean up connections $0.00. Time- two beverages.

 

[alldodge]

Re: This is driving me crazy!!!!

Wheater your gauges reads higher with higher resistance or higher with lower resistance depends on the manufacture of the gauges. VDO fuel gauges read 0 ohms at empty and 75 ohm at full. Others are the other way. My suggestion is it is probably grounds, and running a seperate ground up behind the dash can fix many issues. Many quality manufacturers run grounds up on new manufacture for the reason. My nickles worth.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: This is driving me crazy!!!!

Also clean up your connections at the back of the gauge. You could run a wire from the sender to the gauge to see what that gives for a reading too.

 

[bobhol]

Re: This is driving me crazy!!!!

I ran a separate wire from the sensor to the gauge as one of my first attempts to solve this....the connections are good as it is now a new gauge and all wiring is good....the separate ground wire makes me think though...I may try it and see ...thanks for the input everyone. Bob