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Nate
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/30/2003
17:59:37
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 Subject: temperature gauge is CRAZY (little help)
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Message:
Going up and down hills, my temperature gauge shoots up to the red area at which point the CHECK GAUGES light comes on. But after about 15-20 seconds, the needle swings back down to the middle of the range where it is supposed to be and the light goes off. What in the world is making it do that!
I changed the spark plugs, spark plug wires and drive belt on sunday (today is tuesday). Does that have anything to do with it? I would think if it did, why didn't the problem start immediately?
Maybe I need to disconnect my battery for a few minutes to make my PCM reset? Or maybe I jostled the thermometer in a bad way when I was messing with the airbox on Sunday?
Any help appreciated.
Nate
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jaggy
GenIII
9/30/2003
18:27:45
|  RE: temperature gauge is CRAZY (little help)
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Message:
Check your fluid levels.
If your radiator is low it could cause the senerio you are describing.
usually when a thermostat goes bad it sticks open, not closed...but always worth checking.
What type of engine? 4.7 thermo is on the bottom of the motor near the oil filter. If the fluid is at the correct level and you want to test your thermostat, take it out and run without it.
if the temp still spikes you know it is not the thermo.
good luck...check the coolant level.
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sj34
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/30/2003
22:13:33
| RE: temperature gauge is CRAZY (little help)
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Message:
my bros chevy did that. turned out to be a bad thermostat. did the exact thing you described. its only a 7-8 $$$ part...try changing it. see if that dont fix it for ya
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Nate
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/30/2003
22:23:57
|  RE: temperature gauge is CRAZY (little help)
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Message:
Ok gentlemen! I think you nailed it. My poor radiator was bone-dry. My fault for not checking it over. After the condition the spark plugs were in... I should have known that the previous owner was a slacker. If he never checked the plugs, he most likely never checked anything else.
So I got some flusher/cleaner and some new antifreeze. I asked about a thermostat (probably not the issue, but at $9, why not!) at the parts store which shall go unnamed, but they didn't carry the brand everyone here seems to talk about. I'll put the cleaner stuff in there tomorrow, let it do its thing. That'll put me at the weekend when I can drive out to buy a thermostat.
Thanks! These forums rock!
Nate
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