F150 false overheating on gauge

[Tree-Farmer]

Snow and cold today, staying inside, but the mailman is out, brought mail in the cold and is a woman

My 2006 F150, 5.4L, has 300,000 miles and mostly works fine, but the temp gauge says it’s hot sometimes, but I don’t think it’s actually overheating.

Normally, the needle is right in the middle, then it will creep up, until it hits some threshold and then moves quickly all the way to hot and Reduced Engine Power will display.

I then put it in neutral, turn off the engine, then start it again and it will immediately be back to normal temperature and works fine again, I keep driving. This is what makes me pretty sure that the engine is not actually overheating. I’ve had an engine get hot and it takes about 30 minutes sitting by the side of the road with the engine off to cool off enough to start again. With mine, it shows pegged hot, but tuning the engine off, then the key back on, it’s immediately back to normal temp.

It’s interment, but getting worse. It used to happen after maybe an hour of driving, now it happens every 5 minutes, but not regular, sometimes it’s fine for 10 or 20 minutes, before it happens again. I shut it off, start it again and it’s fine for another 10 minutes.

I would like to ask your help with 2 questions.
What could this potentially be?
How can I do troubleshooting to find the problem? To be more sure where the problem is?

My guess is that the temperature sensor in the block is going bad and I should replace the temperature sensor.
What else could it be? What do you think?

Troubleshooting? Can I find the sensor and put an alternate gauge on it? Have a gauge (or something) in my cab and run wires to the sensor and see if the sensor shows hot sometimes? Or will the computer let it work without the temp sensor connected?

Thank you!

 

[EFV]

Intermittent erratic operation of a gauge/dash cluster in modern vehicle ?
My money is on a bad ground. Do an internet search for all ground locations on your
truck. Next most likely is failure of dash cluster soldering but yours doesn't sound like
that.

 

[Brownie450]

I'd get an infrared hand held point & shoot digital thermometer
& check the temp. on the thermostat housing going to the
upper radiator hose when the light/ gauge goes high. The
actual temp. reading will let you know if the gauge is lying.
Should be in the 190 to 195 degree range if thermostat is
O.K.
Jim

 

[Hobo,NC]

#1 Check/confirm coolant level

2# Cylinder head temp sensor problem my experienced guess without asking a bunch of questions that normally will not get answered.

 

[used red MN]

Does the check engine light come on? Checking the codes would be a good place to start in my opinion. This is old news but repair manuals have diagnostic trouble shooting trees that are associated with the set codes. Often you can find the troubleshooting for a code on the internet but that can be like the Wild West.

 

[rustred]

Snow and cold today, staying inside, but the mailman is out, brought mail in the cold and is a woman

My 2006 F150, 5.4L, has 300,000 miles and mostly works fine, but the temp gauge says it’s hot sometimes, but I don’t think it’s actually overheating.

Normally, the needle is right in the middle, then it will creep up, until it hits some threshold and then moves quickly all the way to hot and Reduced Engine Power will display.

I then put it in neutral, turn off the engine, then start it again and it will immediately be back to normal temperature and works fine again, I keep driving. This is what makes me pretty sure that the engine is not actually overheating. I’ve had an engine get hot and it takes about 30 minutes sitting by the side of the road with the engine off to cool off enough to start again. With mine, it shows pegged hot, but tuning the engine off, then the key back on, it’s immediately back to normal temp.

It’s interment, but getting worse. It used to happen after maybe an hour of driving, now it happens every 5 minutes, but not regular, sometimes it’s fine for 10 or 20 minutes, before it happens again. I shut it off, start it again and it’s fine for another 10 minutes.

I would like to ask your help with 2 questions.
What could this potentially be?
How can I do troubleshooting to find the problem? To be more sure where the problem is?

My guess is that the temperature sensor in the block is going bad and I should replace the temperature sensor.
What else could it be? What do you think?

Troubleshooting? Can I find the sensor and put an alternate gauge on it? Have a gauge (or something) in my cab and run wires to the sensor and see if the sensor shows hot sometimes? Or will the computer let it work without the temp sensor connected?

Thank you!

for starters,... disconnect the battery ground, wait ten minutes , let the computer reset, then attach cable and see if this exact problem is still there. then let us know.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Given the age of the vehicle and the miles, I would suspect a wiring problem. Corrosion in a connector, insulation rubbed through and intermittently shorting somewhere down deep in the bowels of the truck.

Have you troubleshot the temperature sender yet? It may be that simple.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

,

 

[rustred]

i will put my money on the cyl. head temp sensor as hobo is guessing also. computers and sensors do weird stuff. that is why i asked to reset the computer as very few have these code checking tools, and half the time the cheap ones dont work anyhow. and he says he stops the engine and restarts it and its normal, that that is kinda telling a person it is not running hot.

 

[Hobo,NC]

i will put my money on the cyl. head temp sensor as hobo is guessing also. computers and sensors do weird stuff. that is why i asked to reset the computer as very few have these code checking tools, and half the time the cheap ones dont work anyhow. and he says he stops the engine and restarts it and its normal, that that is kinda telling a person it is not running hot.

I remember a Focus from 2016 no codes temp gauge erratic I replace the cylinder head temp sensor and wiring harness (pig tail). If the cooling system checks good a $30 sensor is a good investment. I spent quite a bit of time driving it it was not heating.

 

[Sprint 6]

Since we're just guessing, I'll throw in that I haven't seen that vintage of F150 with a correctly functioning IPC in years. Those IPCs are prone to developing communication issues due to poor internal solder connections. Brake warning light, gauges that drop out, shutting down the entire comm line, killing all cab electrical functions, etc.