LS3 Install guys - temp gauge?
 

Ive got 2 gm temp senders in the ls3 block, one for the ecu and other to work a temp gauge, the temp gauge ive got is the problem, not slowing any sign of life, can anyone point me towards a gauge that will work with the ls3 gm sender?

gm temp sender has 2 pins, one for earth and other resistence, I think!

cheers

dave

The front drivers head sensor is for the ecu, +5V and low reference, no ground. No idea what the other one is for. I drilled and tapped the drivers side brass block plug for 1/2" NPT and used the sender that went with my OEM 68 gauge.

theres plug hole on the other side of the block, at the back, which is for a temp sender, which needs to be a metric fitting, thats why ive got the gm sender, so will that sender work with a guage??

cheers

dave

Tough to say what that sender is for. They come in different resistance ranges for various manufacturers. What gauge are you wanting to use? It might be easier/cheaper to try to get a sender for that. There are adapters for the metric head hole. I've also seen people drill and tap the passenger rear location for a standard sender.
For me it was easiest to drill and tap the block plug.

the sender ive got is the one from gm for the ecu, it has 2 pins, one is for earth and other shows 4.5 volts when cold, and goes down when it gets hotter, the ecu seems to send a 4.9 volt to it

there must be a gauge that works in that range?

cheers

Normally the ecu sends data to the temp gauge in all but 98 cars. The ecu gets temp info from the drivers side head sensor. Is the gauge your using intended to run off the ecu or a sender?

"The ECT, like the IAT is a thermistor sensor, so it also changes the resistance based on temperature. The same range of resistance (ohms) is used as in the IAT. The pcm also sends a 5V signal to the sensor and monitors the return voltage. When the engine has not been run for several hours, the scan tool should read the IAT and ECT temperatures close to each other.

The PCM uses the signal for many of the control systems that affect fuel economy, emissions and idle, so any degraded or loss of signal has a great impact on the engine performance.

There are two different ECT sensors. One is a three wire used on very early (1997-98) LS1 engines, where the third wire (usually green) goes directly to the temperature gauge on the instrument panel. The later engines use a two wire sensor and the pcm conditions the signal and a separate signal from the pcm goes to the gauge on the instrument cluster."

some good info, therefore need to try and find the signal wire in loom for a gauge

dave

I tried using one of the 3-wire temp sensors but was unable to get an accurate reading on the temp gauge. There are radiator hose adapters from Jags That Run that have fittings for temp gauges (I think). I put a home-made fitting into one of the heater hoses and use a stock sensor for the gauge. The fan comes on when the temp hits the hash mark before 210 so as long as the temp doesn't go much above that I consider it normal.

:cheers:

Rick B.

If it was me, I would get a sender for the gauges I wanted to use. Then decide how to install it. I like matched gauge sets, instead of finding one gauge to match the sender. I used an adapter like this to hook up mine.
http://static.speedwaymotors.com/RS/...822277~2_L.jpg
Later on I am thinking of adding a tablet computer to the dash. Here is a cool application using bluetooth. See post 9
http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversion...e-options.html

I recently swapped a 2011 LS3 into my 1966 Nova SS. For my Auto Meter water temp guage to work properly I:

- Removed the small screw-in plug on the passenger side cylinder head located just rearward of the last header tube.

- Threaded in a metric-to-SAE brass conversion gizmo made by Auto Meter

- Then threaded the Auto Meter temp sensor into the conversion gizmo. From there, the wiring is as dictated by the Auto Meter instructions.

Exactly what I did and it works just fine.
The stock sensor I do not think will work with any gauges other than the factory one it was designed for. I'm no electrical engineer so I'm sure it could be done but with a lot of work.

Well, I guess I went the hardest way about it when I did mine. I had a stock sensor from Autozone or wherever and had one of the machinist at work cut it down to fit the LS fittings on the motor. One thing about cutting it down like I did is it should react to temp changes quicker, good or bad.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1274Medium.jpg