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93 Ranger temp gauge issue


tonyzz

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My gauge mainly stays at cold, when driving the gauge will move a hair or 2 but not as it should. I have replaced the sending unit 2 times different units, and have the same issue. I did ground the single wire and the gauge moves to hot and over. I reconnected the wire and the gauge goes back to cold. The last sender I pulled some of the white tape off hoping to get it a better ground. Same issue, does anyone have any ideas.

Thanks

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rangerenthiusiast

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How’s your heat? Could the ‘stat be stuck open?

I only ask because my needle would barely move above cold either, though I had great heat and don’t even currently have a fan shroud on her (I bought a new fan blade and shroud, but that f@cking clutch nut is locked up tighter than a bulls @ss in fly season). Expletives aside, I recently changed the sender (not sensor) and the temp gauge now behaves as it should. The truck warms up, the gauge goes a little past halfway, the ‘stat opens, and she drops right back down. It’s one of the few things that has gone smoothly on this truck so far.

Sorry it didn’t work for you. When was the last time you had that ‘stat out? How’s the coolant? It’s topped off and mixed 50/50 with water, yeah? Can you tell if the water pump is circulating?
 

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Either you are low on coolant, or your thermostat is stuck.
 

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Are "they" selling you an ECT SENDER?

ECT Sensor won't work for gauge

Sender will have a cylinder shape that sits in the coolant: https://i0.wp.com/www.affordable-fuel-injection.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ECT-sensor.JPG1.png?fit=1500,1125&ssl=1
Sensor has a cone shape in the coolant: https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/433905_Temp_Sensor_1.jpg

When you grounded the Sender wire did you ground it to the Intake Manifold, i.e. ground it to where Sender gets its Ground

Yes the lower few threads need to be bare metal to get a good ground, IF.......lower intake IS a good ground :)
 
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tonyzz

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The heat works fine once truck is warm about 5 minutes, coolant is the yellowish color and radiator and overflow are full to were there are suppose to be. I can change the thermostat to see if that corrects it. The sending unit I put in has one wire going to it, I have attached a picture of the unit I repleace with the same type.


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rusty ol ranger

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Thats the right sending unit.

Trying taking a pair of pliers and crimping the plug tighter around the threads where it plugs, my 77 F250 did this same thing and that fixed it
 

rangerenthiusiast

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Rusty makes a really good point here. When I took my old sending unit out, I could see right away that there was corrosion on the threads that make contact with the plug on the wire. My guess is that the old sender was working, but just wasn’t getting enough contact to send an accurate reading. But for 12 bucks, I just popped the new one in. Initially, it didn’t seem like the plug fit tight enough, but I shoved it down hard and eventually it held. Not really a great design on Ford’s part. So if you have a way to crimp it down a little without damaging it, it might well help. Good luck!
 

tonyzz

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I'll try that after work and let you know how it goes, I'll try the long needles nose as it hidden down by the alternator.

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rangerenthiusiast

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I'll try that after work and let you know how it goes, I'll try the long needles nose as it hidden down by the alternator.

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Yeah, that’s what I had to do too. It doesn’t seem like too bad a spot to get into, but there’s a bunch of stuff in the way. Take a deep breath and try to just take your time with it. :icon_thumby:
 

tonyzz

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I tired this morning took the wire off and squeezed it a little, put wire back on sender much tighter fit however still no go. I did get it to go to the line that marks cold when running the air, without air it sits at the farthest to the left that it can, checked heat again blowing hot, may try to change thermostat to see if that fixes it. Not sure when blowing hot for heat gauge still shows rest position by C.

I also retested the ground right next to where it fits and with alligator clips and a screwdriver grounded next to unit and gauge went to hot full sweep.

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tonyzz

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I attached a photo of the gauge and highest level it gets to with the AC on.


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RonD

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Not a thermostat issue, even if it was stuck fully open or no thermostat it should still get to a 1/4 on the gauge.

If wire tests OK, then new sender is the problem.
 

rangerenthiusiast

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That’s exactly where my temp gauge was sitting before replacing the sender. If you’re getting good heat (not just mildly warm), then the ‘stat can’t be stuck open. I suppose it could be stuck closed, but then you’d be overheating like crazy and the engine would quickly run like crap.

One thing I may have forgotten to mention before. When I took the wire off my sender, I noticed that there was a lot of corrosion inside. So I took a small piece of sandpaper, wrapped it around a rivet shaft (a very small screwdriver would also probably work), stuck it inside the wire connector, and twisted in a clockwise motion. I repeated this several times with new pieces of sandpaper each time and blew out the loose corrosion with compressed air. My theory was that the corrosion inside was allowing some current to pass through, but not enough to raise the needle to the correct spot. Not sure if it actually works that way, but the new sender now works as it should.

Couldn’t hurt to try the same thing on your end. At most, you’ll lose about 5 minutes of your time and a little sandpaper, right? Good luck, brotha.
 

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