shelby5041

hi

recently my temp gage has been doing some crazy things

sometimes it wont move at all from the 100 mark...sometimes it will take about 20 min then move to normal...sometimes it moves to normal then back to 100 then back to normal....sometimes it will go to 150 mark even after driving 30 min.....

sometimes it does all of the above

this just started about 2 months ago....i did have the radiator and water pump and thermostat and radiator cap changed about 2 months ago...


any ideas what the issue could be?

thanks

toasterknight

Sounds like a faulty sensor to me.

shelby5041

according to autozone and pep boys the 1997 jeep cherokee 4.0 does not have a temprerature sending unit

so now what?

what do i need to change to get the temp gage to work again?

what sends the temp to the gage?

jpmarine6786

It's the sensor on the thermostat housing. I would check the wires and plug before buying a new sensor.

Ralph77

Pig tail at Napa: ECH EC260

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...260_0334283522

Sensor: ECH TS3005

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...005_0169648368

William08

The same thing happened to my 98 about 2 weeks ago. I ended up pulling the instrument cluster out and tightening the 4 Philips head screws that go to the temp gage. I sprayed it and the plugging wires with WD-40 before re-installed the cluster. Working great now.

madmanmarty

It was a dirty connection on my dads '96.
Start with Marine's recco first.
Usually the sensor second. Make sure u get a mopar sensor If necessary.

shelby5041

update'
'
thanks madman and jp

i unplugged the sensor from thermostat housing and then plugged back in....and the past 4 days the temp gage seems to be working normal now

not sure why.....we will see if it continues to work....it hasnt worked for over a month now and after i did that it now functions'

maybe it was just a bad terminal connection or dirty...i am going to use electro contact cleaner on it when i get time

i also wiggles the wires a little....although the wires look fine ....

shelby5041

will monitor it for a while and see what happens......seems it could be a wire issue internally or simpply a dirty contact at the end of wire harness or coming out of the sensor....

shelby5041

a corroded contact will cause this to happen.........

shelby5041

update 5 days and still seems to be functioning ok now

madmanmarty

Good to hear.

shelby5041

update

its been about 1 week and temp gauge has been working ok since i unplugged and plugged back in

shelby5041

update

its been about 2 weeks since i disconnected and reconnected temp sensor and it still is working good now

so if anyone every has a wacky temp reading going up and down and not moving at all.........operating haywire lol......first thing to check would be a bad / dirty connection or a damage wire at the connection

mine so far seems to be just a bad or dirty connection

i will assume this thread is closed but if it acts up again down the road i will update....

thank you

i love these forums....they are so informative........

now i need to get my third brake and rear wiper motor and rear washer to work,,,,all 3 are non working...i made another threead for this