pezter22

I recently had a VettAid analog gauge cluster put into my '84 and I am getting an incorrect reading on my water temp gauge.

The gauge pegs at near 180 degrees and will not go any higher. My cooling fan is set to turn on at 190 and it does turn on, but the gauge still states 180.

Today I replaced the Coolant temp sensor in the driver's side head (single blade sensor) and the gauge again stopped 180.

Does anyone have any experience with replacing the digital cluster with the Autometer analog gauge set? Is there something I missed with the installation?

The other gauges read correctly. I am getting no error codes. Any help would be appreciated. I wanted to check with the forum folks before I contacted VettAid for a possible replacement of the gauge (if that is the issue).

WVZR-1

I would have thought that they would have either supplied you with the sender required or mentioned to you what resistance senders the gauge worked with. They cover it in this FAQ and you could check your sender for values. I would think that all AutoMeter share the same resistance values that are mentioned in this FAQ:

http://www.autometer.com/tech_faq_an...x?sid=1&qid=57

Another quick thought. Supply a good ground to the sending unit using a wire with alligator clips and see what happens. I'm guessing you used maybe some type of sealant on the sender and don't have a good ground. A single blade/terminal temp sender requires an excellent ground for proper operation, use no sealant or tape.

pezter22

Thanks WVZR-1. I removed the sensor this morning and removed the teflon tape and reinstalled the sensor.

I warmed up the car and checked the sensor with a multimeter as recommended in the FAQ. With the cooling fan on the numbers I was getting was 212 to 215 ohms which should correspond to a similar temperature. Unfortunately my gauge was still stating 180 degrees.

Tomorrow I will pull the gauge cluster and check the connections in the back of the setup and see if I have a good ground connection to the gauge.

WVZR-1

You're using a single terminal switch/sender and it's NOT the same one as the fan switch. Correct? Where did the switch/sender come from? With the gauge package?

An OE switch/sender is 254 Ohm @ 180 and 153** Ohm @ 220 I believe maybe? Where do you have the sender located now?

*** woops 135 Ohm @ 220

pezter22

Hmmm, I'm going to have to recheck those ohms values. They don't seem correct.

pezter22

The VettAid cluster only came with a oil pressure sender. My old LCD temp gauge was reading correctly before the conversion.

On a '84 the passenger side head is a cooling fan switch and the drivers side head is the coolant temp sensor that is connected to the gauge.

The old sensor is a year old (from Corvette Central) that was installed after I replaced the head gaskets. I recently purchased another sensor from Autozone (backordered at CC). Today I reinstalled the Corvette Central sensor (Autozone sensor still gave me the same 180 temp on the gauge).

I'll check tomorrow for new values and check ground.

Thanks for the help.

pezter22

I just downloaded the pdf instructions for the AutoMeter water temp gauge and it DOES say install the sensor INCLUDED with the kit.

So that may be the issue. I don't have the correct sensor.

cgantner5150

I have the VetteAid gauge package in my early 86. My gauge sender is on the passenger side between #6 and #8
. Also - check resistance in the wiring between the gauge and sender. My wire was all cracked and corroded. I made a splice back where it exits the harness and it read correctly after that. I have verified it when datalogging with DataMaster (within 2 degrees of what the ECM sees).

pezter22

Looks like I may have a ground issue underneath the dash. This weekend I'm going to check the grounds underneath the driver's side.