Temp Gauge Ford 2000

[DocXmas]

Guys I still haven't got my 2000's temperature gauge working correctly. It is a 1970 3cyl gas ford 2000. I have had it a week and when it runs for about 5 minutes the temperature gauge pegs to hot. Considering it is 4 here in NW Missouri seems a little quick to me. I took my wifes candy thermometer and measured the coolant in the radiator and it was cool stuck my finger in to be sure and it was barely warm to the touch. I replaced the temperature sending unit this morning and still have the same results pegged after 5 minutes and the engine doesn't seem hot. What should I do next? Is there a cheap easy way to put in a manual temp gauge without replacing the entire instrument cluster. Frustrated in MO want to push a little snow with my new tractor but am afraid I am misdiagnosing this thing and will lunch the engine. Any guidance will be much appreciated. I am pretty new to this stuff so be patient. :? :?

 

[KCFlame]

Might be a ground wire off the guage or its faulty. IF I were you I would get some radiator flush from the auto parts store,run it thru per specs of the stuff, drain it all out, flush it good with water (engine and radiator), replace the thermostat, and try again. Hopefully that would solve any blockage in the radiator. Is either hose, top or bottom, getting good and warm? Check it after running it of course with the tractor off.

With a new sending unit, sounds electrical, not temp related. Not certain how practical it is on that model, but you could hook up a over the counter temp guage for testing purposes to verify the actual temp of the engine.

Only other thing I have ever done was to take an air hose and blow back in the engine where the sending unit goes, had one blocked once and the did the flush thing mentioned above.

Doubt it is a head gasket, based on what you said.
Good luck

 

[murn ga]

Could be the voltage stablizer behind the dash, but the fuel gauge should be acting up also if was the stab.

 

[DocXmas]

Thanks KC. where do you get one of the over the counter gauges your talking about and how do you hook it up? Is there one you simply connect to the current sending unit?

Hoses and all feel warm.

 

[RodinNS]

Again, check the voltage stabilizer, and then check for a bare wire between the gauge and the sender. You have an electrical problem, not a mechanical problem. The voltage stabilizer will feed somewhere between 6 and 10 volts into the fuel and temp gauges (I don't remember the exact spec), but it's some value less than 12 volts. If you've got 12 volts going into the gauges, which I'm fairly sure you do.... they will read hot on the temp and FULL on the fuel.
The engine couldn't possibly get that hot in 5 minutes of idling without showing some other serious signs of combustion gases going directly into the cooling system. It would be pushing all the coolant out in a matter of minutes if it was actually that hot. Get a good multimeter and chase down the electrical problem.

Rod

 

[KCFlame]

(quoted from post at 16:49:52 01/19/08) Thanks KC. where do you get one of the over the counter gauges your talking about and how do you hook it up? Is there one you simply connect to the current sending unit?

Hoses and all feel warm.

The one I have is left over from the 66 Impala that had aftermarket guages. Yes it connected to the normal sending unit. It was an auto parts store item at the time.

 

[KCFlame]

PS: I have used it on the lil Ford 1600 to verify the factory guage and it seemed to be about 10 degrees off but its pretty old...

 

[RickB]

Sounds as if the dash cluster is trying to ground through the temp sender. Verify the ground from the proofmeter frame to the VR. Alternatively, there is a problem with the voltage stabilizer as Rod suggests. Does the fuel gauge work? This is fed a lowered voltage signal as well, and can also provide an alternative ground path. It's going to be difficult to find an off-the-shelf temp gauge with a sender that will match size/pitch you need.

 

[DocXmas]

I am in the process of trying to sort through the wiring deal. I am not very skilled at any of this and electrical is my biggest weakness.

Doc

 

[DocXmas]

Thanks Rod. I have 12 volts going to each gauge as you predicted for some reason the fuel gauge seems to work. I am going to replace the stablizer and cross my fingers and hope I was checking the right wires basically each wire come off the stabilizer to the respective gauge.

Doc

 

[RodinNS]

Again, I don't have a book on that tractor to know the exact value, but I think it's 10 volts. It might not hurt to check that with a dealer before you order any new parts. This is the value that comes out of the stabilizer, not into the stabilizer. Good luck.

Rod

 

[DocXmas]

(quoted from post at 20:00:51 01/20/08) Again, I don't have a book on that tractor to know the exact value, but I think it's 10 volts. It might not hurt to check that with a dealer before you order any new parts. This is the value that comes out of the stabilizer, not into the stabilizer. Good luck.

Rod

Which book would your reccomend? I have the owners manual and the tech service manual from ford. The tech service manual doesn't get into any gauge issues or specs.

 

[DocXmas]

Sorry to keeping beating this horse. Talked to the ford place here in town and they said they had a "manual" gauge that would work. Plug in a new sending unit and mount it to the metal somewhere. A little cheaper than the voltage stabilizer. Any upsides or downsides to going that route? The voltage stabilizer I have found doesn't look exactly like the one on my tractor (4 prongs vs. 3 on mine).

 

[Anonymous-0]

Sounds to me as if it would be a stuck thermostat, happens more than you think.
Kent

 

[RodinNS]

Ford service manual is best. An I&T would probably do in a pinch...
A manual gauge will work but I prefer the electric. Think about that next time you split the tractor... A manual gauge that's stuck in the head isn't so much fun then, and you've got to remove it. An aftermarket electric might be an option too, but I kinda like to keep the instruments looking somewhat original if I can.
Personal preference I suppose...

Rod

 

[RickB]

The downside is it looks like someone couldn't or wouldn't go through the effort to make a repair look and function as the tractor did new.

 

[DocXmas]

(quoted from post at 10:46:10 01/21/08) Sounds to me as if it would be a stuck thermostat, happens more than you think.


Kent

Pulled it out and put it in hot water and it opened up.

 

[Robert Koller]

Do you know if the sender unit has been changed. If the sender is for a light instead of a gauge, it could be the culprit. I would remove the sender and install a capulairy type in it to check the temperature. Also make sure the water is circulating. You may have a concentrated hot spot leaving the radiator cool which could damage the engine if left unattended.