New temp gauges DO work!!

All this time of owning my 2000 Mustang GT, I was convinced that the temperature gauge was an "idiot" gauge. It acted like a placebo always at the 1/2 way mark, and if my car ever got hot, I expected that I would immediately see lights and the gauge pegged in the red.

Not so. This weekend, I drove to Vegas on what was a 109 degree day in the desert. We were uphill, in a traffic jam, with the A/C blasting in a fully loaded car. The temperature gauge actually moved!!! :) It went to 3/4 for a minute until we started moving more than 5mph. All this time I thought it was stuck at 1/2.

As soon as I started moving, the temp went back to 1/2.

Reply to
Victor DiMichina
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Agreed.

This is what confused me! The movement between 1/2 and 3/4 and back was very smooth, and took several minutes. It appears that it locks at 1/2 way for a "safe zone" of temperatures, say 185-210 or something. Interesting though.

Vic

2kGT 5m blk suspension upgrades
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Reply to
Victor DiMichina

Did ya get stuck in that @#$%@ backup before Stateline coming from California ?

I was in that this past friday for 2 1/2 hours ! I wasn't as worried about temps as I was about GAS ! I practically coasted into Buffalo Bills !

Reply to
Chief Wiggum

From the Ford Service DVD for a 2001 Mustang:

"Engine Coolant Temperature Gauge

"Engine coolant temperature information is received by the instrument cluster from the PCM over the SCP network. Engine coolant temperatures above 121°C (250°F) will cause the gauge to indicate above the normal band. If the engine coolant temperature information is missing or invalid for five seconds, the temperature gauge will indicate below the cold (C) position."

From a truck Service Manual -

"Temperature Gauge

"The PCM receives the eng>

Reply to
C. E. White

Wow, that seems a bit high. Isn't 250 usually in the red for most cars?

obviously the trucks don't get the idiot gauge that the Mustangs get.

Reply to
Victor DiMichina

As far as I can tell, the temperature gauge on my 2003 Exxpedition acts exactly like the one on my 2001 Mustang. The statements in the manual are a little different, but I believe the result is the same. If the temperature is "normal" (as defined by Ford), the gauge moves to the middle of the range. When it is cold it is at C, when the truck reaches the "normal" temperature, the gauge moves gradually to the middle. I've never seen either the Mustang or the Expedition move higher than the middle - even though the Mustang will turn the cooling fan off and on which indicates a changing temperature.

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

If you put the IP in "test" mode you can see the actual coolant temp in the digital odometer readout display. You can watch the digital display changes in temp but the "gauge" will not move at all. Mine has never indicated anything but right in the middle no matter what the actual temp is (once it's past "warm up").

----------------- Jim '88 LX 5.0 (now in car heaven) '89 LX 5.0 vert '99 GT 35th Anniversery Edition - Silver Mods to date - Relocated trunk release to drivers side, shortened throttle cable.

Reply to
AZGuy

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