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Temperature Gage

Old May 27, 2015 | 04:08 PM
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Default Temperature Gage

My 1971 C3 -350 engine temperature gage, the needle just started bouncing all over the place erratically? Just had the car in for new tires and alignment and this issue occurred going home from the tire shop. Is there a wire that they might have broken or come loose when they had the hood up on the lift for alignment?
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Old May 27, 2015 | 09:32 PM
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Mine used to do this. The connection between the wire (green if I remember right) and the temperature sensor on the engine was not good. You might want to check that.
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Old May 28, 2015 | 11:35 AM
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Originally Posted by Griff2002
Mine used to do this. The connection between the wire (green if I remember right) and the temperature sensor on the engine was not good. You might want to check that.
check the sender to make sure the terminal isn't loose on it then follow the wire looking for a bare spot.

Willcox
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Old May 28, 2015 | 01:39 PM
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Hi,
Maybe they hit the wire with a wrench when they were putting the shims on the rear bolt for the a-arm?
It's pretty far away but might depend just how the wire was run.
Regards,
Alan

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Old May 28, 2015 | 08:11 PM
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I have a battery quick disconnect. Drove the car one time when it was making just enough contact, though technically "disconnected". Tightened it up and temp gauge went back to normal steady reading. First place to start with any electrical issue, clean the battery terminals and the engine ground contacts.
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Old May 28, 2015 | 10:41 PM
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Typical symptoms for a sender wire with a 'break' in it (possibly at the connector that fits on the sender). With vibration, that broken wire will 'make' then 'break', and so on. It is just constantly flipping the needle. It is unlikely that such a fracture in that will is inside the dash area; almost always under the hood.
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