So I own a 1997 EJ8 Civic with a D16Y8 and ever since I bought the car, the gauge temp shows way too low temperatures.

The gauge basically shows three positions: fully cold below cold mark, slightly above cold mark and the maximum value is a bit above 1/4 maybe 3/8.
The car has a new thermostat and coolant. I tested the old thermostat and it worked just fine. The radiator fans are not always on. So then I think my problem cames from the ECT gauge sending unit.

What do you guys think? Could this sensor be sending wrong values to the gauge?

Also I tried connecting an obd2 cheap bluetooth scanner to compare with the ecu temp reading but apparently my car doesn't have an obd2 port. Maybe because it was sold outside the US? (Even though it was made in the US)

 

Bump

 

I would test it.

 

Update: I changed the sensor and it immediately started working like it should.

An odd detail is that the old sensor had a smaller nut size (1 mm) than the new one. Maybe it was meant for another model and that's why I was getting inaccurate readings?

Anyway, I'm happy I finally solved it :D