I had a swap done in my '89 hatch to the d16z6. Since the swap my temp gauge on the cluster hasn't been working right. Is there a thermostat for the temp gauge on the radiator or is it only pulled from the o2 sensor?

 

temp sensor for the gauge is on the end of the head below the distributor - has a 1-wire connector with yellow with green stripe wire

 

Just to clarify...

Temperature Sending Unit - (TSU) = 1 wire

Coolant Tempertaure Sensor - (CTS) = 2 wire

Just in case you needed to buy one and wanted to know what it was to ask for.

 

Which one controls the gauge on the dash?

 

The Temperature Sending Unit.

 

Thanks!

 

Oh, and btw what I meant by not working right was if i let the car sit and idle and get warm, the gauge would go up to normal operating temp. Then if I drove the car around the gauge would go back down to cold, but I know the engine isn't cold because i've been driving it around. Any suggestions?

 

Verify if your car has a thermostat in it. Has the radiator fan been wired up to run constantly?

 

Also make sure the cooling system has no air in it.

 

More air and less coolant. Which means it would over heat not be to cold.

 

What? "Lack of air" is ideal in a cooling system. You need to check your facts.

 

Air in the cooling system will prevent the coolant from circulating properly. This can cause overheating, hot/cold spots, and the gauge to appear to function improperly. If there is an air pocket around the temperature sending unit, then the unit never reads the temperature of the coolant because it never comes in contact with it.

 

This guy again..stop posting wrong faqs on threads just to get your post up..the more air in the system the less coolant it would be getting hot faster

 

Sorry I meant lack of coolant opps. I'm new give me a break

 

Haha, from my experience, if air blips by the TSU, my gauge pegs out hot with the quickness! So fast that I know it's not really that hot.

 

So "lack of coolant means less coolant"? Interesting... Being new doesn't make you type better or worse let alone have proper grammar or sentence structure. Unless you just found out what the Internet was and a computer at the same time? Then I guess we will understand. All we are asking is don't post information that you do not know what you are talking about. Not only does it confuse the people seeking help, but the people in the future that may dig this thread up. It's a lose - lose situation that is easily avoided by you not posting. If you want to numb your post count up with useless topics go and check out the General Discussion and Debate Forum. You will find most people with 10k+ posts spend a LOT of time there. Otherwise just stay out of the Technical Forums with misinformation...

 

I do know what I'm talking about. I make a mistake on a random thread. If i wanted to get my "thread count" up I would have stopped at the required amount to become a member so just stop trying to act like badass.

 

I'm actually going to check the thermostat since it does take forever to get warm. Whoever owned the car before, probably took it out.

 

99% sure it's the thermostat being stuck open. Your sending unit is obviously fine if it goes to normal at idle.

If it goes higher than normal you'll want to check your fan and fan switch.