Help! - Temp Guage Just pegs the needle - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

arkracing · 05-18-2005, 10:29 PM

I've been trying to hook up my temp guage and every time i plug the wire into the sender - the needle on the guage pegs to hot (like she is grounding out) what the heck gives. I thought maybe the sender was bad so i tryed 3 different ones and then i went to NAPA and bought the right one for a '69 with a 250cid and a guage - even though there is a SBC in it now. My temp guage does the same thing - pegs to hot? what gives? if if pegs it that means it is working right?

is it the guage

jhow66 · 05-18-2005, 10:38 PM

check your printed circuit on back of dash.

arkracing · 05-19-2005, 07:54 AM

Check it for what? it was working find when i had the 250-6 in it.

Maybe the wire is grounding out somewhere - even though it is taped up seperatly all the way to the firewall?

I did a search on the bard here and it seems several other people have had this problem but no-one ever replied with what they found it to be

DW67c10 · 05-19-2005, 08:33 AM

Yes, please help. I spent hours last weekend trying to get my new guage to work. My guage was also pegged. First i put a new sending unit in, then I pugged in the whole dash out of my black truck in to cheyenne that guage worked find. So i took my cluster apart & put a new guage in it. the new guage pegged as soon as i turned the key. I tried everything printed circuit, i even took the guage out of the black trucks cluster & that guage pegged.

please help

Dan W

arkracing · 05-19-2005, 11:59 AM

guess we'll just have to overheat DW

This seems to be a very common problem - but nobody knows the answer? seems wierd.

I didn't want to go the aftermarket gauge route (cause the factory guages should work perfectly fine) but looks like that is where i'm headed if i can't get this figured out

jhow66 · 05-19-2005, 12:16 PM

If it still pegs after doing all that green wire that goes to sender is grounded somewhere. Here is how you can check--reach up behind dash and unplug the harness that goes to dash.Unplug green wire at sender and use ohm meter to check it.Put one lead to green wire and other end to ground. If meter moves green wire is grounded which will make gauge peg.Let us know how it turns out.

jhow66 · 05-19-2005, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arkracing

Check it for what? it was working find when i had the 250-6 in it.

Maybe the wire is grounding out somewhere - even though it is taped up seperatly all the way to the firewall?

I did a search on the bard here and it seems several other people have had this problem but no-one ever replied with what they found it to be

To see if the circuit is burnt anywhere. Check yours like I told DW-c10.

chickenwing · 05-19-2005, 01:44 PM

I second Jhow66's troubleshooting procedure.

**pjmoreland** · 05-19-2005, 02:29 PM

Does the needle peg to hot if you have the green wire unplugged from the sender?

Your sender looks like this, right?

arkracing · 05-19-2005, 05:40 PM

Yep that is what the sender looks like. When it is unplugged it slowly - very slowly returns to it's cold position - took about a week. that's why i thought it was the sender and since my truck was originaly 6cly i went and got one for a 6 with a guage and not an idiot light. pluged it it and it did the same thing the other 4 senders did.

I haven't looked @ it since saturday so i don't know if it came back down or not yet. but the first time i unplugged it - it came back down just very slowly

**pjmoreland** · 05-20-2005, 12:16 AM

My guess is that your gauge is bad. If the green wire were shorted, the needle would peg whether the green wire was plugged into the sender or not.

chickenwing · 05-20-2005, 08:57 AM

True, but if he has a pinched sending unit wire the results are the same. Rather than replacing components till it is fixed (democrat style), troubleshoot it like jhow66 suggested.

kxmotox247 · 05-20-2005, 12:09 PM

Have the same problem... Someone on here once said that teflon tape on the threads of the sender can cause problems. Don't know if that's true or not.

chickenwing · 05-20-2005, 12:15 PM

I had forgot about that... It is true

Broken_down? · 05-20-2005, 01:27 PM

well I am going to thow my 2cents in on this one. I had a problem with my gauge just freaking out It would just start jumping back and forht like it was on crack. The green wire looked fine but after looking at the connector it would wiggle a little bit on the wire. I could unplug and replug and see the needle jump around. So I did a little repair on the connector, I yanked the wire our of the connector and stuck a small blade of a knife and picked all the crap out of the metal connector and pryed open the back of the connector and reput the wire back in and crimped it back down and have not had a problem sence and that was over a year ago. My electronic teacher always told me "Start at the basic part first and work your way from there". Sadly I have not learned that yet.

Good luck.

Rich

05-18-2005, 10:29 PM	#1
arkracing Weekend Warrior Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: CT Posts: 1,787	Help! - Temp Guage Just pegs the needle I've been trying to hook up my temp guage and every time i plug the wire into the sender - the needle on the guage pegs to hot (like she is grounding out) what the heck gives. I thought maybe the sender was bad so i tryed 3 different ones and then i went to NAPA and bought the right one for a '69 with a 250cid and a guage - even though there is a SBC in it now. My temp guage does the same thing - pegs to hot? what gives? if if pegs it that means it is working right? is it the guage __________________ -'07 GMC Sierra K2500HD -'66 C10 Suburban -'68/'71 K20 Service Bed Project -'69 Chevy C30 Mason Dump -'33Ford P/U 396ChevyPowered

05-18-2005, 10:38 PM	#2
jhow66 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Knoxville Tenn. Posts: 3,058	check your printed circuit on back of dash. __________________ 56 Chevy Bel-Air 2dr. HT (purchased new) 71 Chevy Cheyenne SWB PU (502HO) 65 GMC short bed step--work in progress and my gofer

05-19-2005, 07:54 AM	#3
arkracing Weekend Warrior Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: CT Posts: 1,787	Check it for what? it was working find when i had the 250-6 in it. Maybe the wire is grounding out somewhere - even though it is taped up seperatly all the way to the firewall? I did a search on the bard here and it seems several other people have had this problem but no-one ever replied with what they found it to be __________________ -'07 GMC Sierra K2500HD -'66 C10 Suburban -'68/'71 K20 Service Bed Project -'69 Chevy C30 Mason Dump -'33Ford P/U 396ChevyPowered Last edited by arkracing; 05-19-2005 at 07:54 AM.

05-19-2005, 08:33 AM	#4
DW67c10 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Jackson, NJ Posts: 64	Guage help Yes, please help. I spent hours last weekend trying to get my new guage to work. My guage was also pegged. First i put a new sending unit in, then I pugged in the whole dash out of my black truck in to cheyenne that guage worked find. So i took my cluster apart & put a new guage in it. the new guage pegged as soon as i turned the key. I tried everything printed circuit, i even took the guage out of the black trucks cluster & that guage pegged. please help Dan W

05-19-2005, 11:59 AM	#5
arkracing Weekend Warrior Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: CT Posts: 1,787	guess we'll just have to overheat DW This seems to be a very common problem - but nobody knows the answer? seems wierd. I didn't want to go the aftermarket gauge route (cause the factory guages should work perfectly fine) but looks like that is where i'm headed if i can't get this figured out __________________ -'07 GMC Sierra K2500HD -'66 C10 Suburban -'68/'71 K20 Service Bed Project -'69 Chevy C30 Mason Dump -'33Ford P/U 396ChevyPowered

05-19-2005, 12:16 PM	#6
jhow66 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Knoxville Tenn. Posts: 3,058	If it still pegs after doing all that green wire that goes to sender is grounded somewhere. Here is how you can check--reach up behind dash and unplug the harness that goes to dash.Unplug green wire at sender and use ohm meter to check it.Put one lead to green wire and other end to ground. If meter moves green wire is grounded which will make gauge peg.Let us know how it turns out. __________________ 56 Chevy Bel-Air 2dr. HT (purchased new) 71 Chevy Cheyenne SWB PU (502HO) 65 GMC short bed step--work in progress and my gofer

05-19-2005, 01:44 PM	#8
chickenwing Lovin' Life in Miss.! Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Puckett, Mississippi Posts: 1,937	I second Jhow66's troubleshooting procedure. __________________ The truck... you hear that? No really, you did hear that?!!!

05-19-2005, 02:29 PM	#9
pjmoreland Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: CA Posts: 5,349	Does the needle peg to hot if you have the green wire unplugged from the sender? Your sender looks like this, right? Attached Images

05-19-2005, 05:40 PM	#10
arkracing Weekend Warrior Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: CT Posts: 1,787	Yep that is what the sender looks like. When it is unplugged it slowly - very slowly returns to it's cold position - took about a week. that's why i thought it was the sender and since my truck was originaly 6cly i went and got one for a 6 with a guage and not an idiot light. pluged it it and it did the same thing the other 4 senders did. I haven't looked @ it since saturday so i don't know if it came back down or not yet. but the first time i unplugged it - it came back down just very slowly __________________ -'07 GMC Sierra K2500HD -'66 C10 Suburban -'68/'71 K20 Service Bed Project -'69 Chevy C30 Mason Dump -'33Ford P/U 396ChevyPowered

05-20-2005, 12:16 AM	#11
pjmoreland Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: CA Posts: 5,349	My guess is that your gauge is bad. If the green wire were shorted, the needle would peg whether the green wire was plugged into the sender or not.

05-20-2005, 08:57 AM	#12
chickenwing Lovin' Life in Miss.! Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Puckett, Mississippi Posts: 1,937	True, but if he has a pinched sending unit wire the results are the same. Rather than replacing components till it is fixed (democrat style), troubleshoot it like jhow66 suggested. __________________ The truck... you hear that? No really, you did hear that?!!!

05-20-2005, 12:09 PM	#13
kxmotox247 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 1,396	Have the same problem... Someone on here once said that teflon tape on the threads of the sender can cause problems. Don't know if that's true or not. __________________ Baby Blue's Build Thread: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=652776 Project 68's Build Thread: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...17#post8442117 www.stonecolumnclassics.com Email: Josh@stonecolumnclassics.com

05-20-2005, 12:15 PM	#14
chickenwing Lovin' Life in Miss.! Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Puckett, Mississippi Posts: 1,937	I had forgot about that... It is true __________________ The truck... you hear that? No really, you did hear that?!!!



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