okay, so i'll be driving along, and all of a sudden my temperature needle shoots up past the red.

i pull over, turn it out off, and i dont even wait like 10 seconds, i turn it back on, and the needle is back to the middle of the gauge, if the car was really overheating, wouldnt it shoot straight back up the red?


my question is, what can be causing this? maybe a faulty ecu? a bad temp sensor? is maybe cause my cam seal is kind of worn and throws out oil every once in a while and maybe oil gets into that sensor?

someone please help me out.

id appreciate it very much.

 

Sounds like the gauge itself. Start with something easy. If you have a friend with one try swapping and see what happens.

 

Sounds like a bad coolant temperature sending unit. It's the 1-wire sensor right under the distributor. Also check for a damaged sending unit wire or connector that is grounding out.

 

what do you mean by grounding out?

 

yea, if oil is coming from under your Distributor than it most likely is pouring onto that sensor. and causing it to freak out or ground it out. grounding it out mean their a steady positive 12V and oil or another conductor touch's the positive and touch's a ground or another metal and causing a little spark that freaks everything out. Good Luck Man.

 

damn that cam seal!
i have to get it fixed asap!

 

hey i was wondering, what is that thing called, the one where the one wire sensor plugs into.

maybe a temperature switch? i tried googling it, but no results, maybe you guys know better.

ron, i know you know, thanks for the help.
alot.

 

coolant tempature sensor.

but im confused now since your thread is temp sensor and i know you would have tried that first right? lol

 

See post #3. The coolant temperature readings for the dash gauge come from the 1-wire temperature sending unit under the distributor.

Majestic Honda calls part #11 "Thermo Unit (Denso)".

 

thanks ron.
i think i fixed it.

 

just wondering, how does this sensor go bad?

 

I could not say the exact reason for the failure of your sensor (thermistor) but, like any electrical component, it has a finite lifespan that is probably significantly decreased by the extreme heat and chemicals produced by the engine.

 

hmm that makes sense, i guess it was too old already.

since its a 94, that makes it 14-15 years old.