You could put a scanner on it and read the ECT value in live data, monitoring it to see what is being reported. Better yet would be to graph it over time.
Crazy Temp Gauge
- Thread starter General Mishap Co
- Start date
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rockola1971
Full Access Member
Since its happening during braking and turning to the right...And the Temp is going up (Not down--That is an important clue), I would say you have an intermittent short to ground. Your sensor resistance lowers as it is heated up by the engine coolant. A short to ground produces the same result as a overheated engine ******* the temp gauge. You need to do an inspection the whole length of the wire from the temp gauge to inside the dash. If you are lucky your problem will be under the hood or right where the harness passess into the firewall. Have someone watch the gauge (engine running) while wiggling wire and harness to isolate immediate area of the fault. There is a small chance that your problem is in the cluster (stepper motor or the soldering job at the circuit board) but this fault typically is a busted solder joint and results in temp needle swinging way past the max.
