>My '71 spit has strange goings on with the temp gauge. It stays in the very
>lowest very small section of the coolest area most of the time.
>Occasionally, it goes higher but rarely and then only to about the 1/3 point.
> I have stopped and opened the hood and it certainly does not seem to be
>running hot. I can put my hand on the upper hose and can touch the top of
>the radiator, although I don't want to linger. This happend today for
>instance and it was humid, in the 90's and driving in Boston traffic.
>Even if the thermostat was stuck open, I would think that it would run hotter
>than the 1/3 point on a hot day. When I was on the expressway cruising at
>about 3500 rpm plus, it was usually in the lowest area.
>Any ideas, he asks fully expecting many creative thoughts?
>Steve M
Steve --
I had a similar occurrence with the temp. gauge in my 1500, except
that it was always toward the top of the gauge, or past! I had tried
everything: flushing the cooling system, replacing hoses, new water
pump, driving V-E-R-Y gently, took the (oversized!) radiator out and
had it boiled and inspected, was ready to add an oil cooler -- when
someone suggested that we try a different, known-good temp. gauge.
Lo and behold - my Spit registered just below the midline at all
times!
I would say it's possibly a miscalibrated temp. gauge. It's also
possible you have an extremely low temp. thermostat installed? And
-- if the thermostat is stuck open, then it would probably take a
very long time for the car to warm up at all. Does it?
Have you checked and cleaned electrical connections at the temp.
sensor and at the gauge?
(A low coolant level could cause the temperature not to register
properly, too. Check that right away if you haven't already.)
Also -- IMHO, it's normal for a car to (at least sometimes) register
a lower temp while cruising at speed, since that's when great volumes
of air are sucked through the radiator.
Hope this helps.
Dan
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dan Buettner - Des Moines, Iowa - mailto:danb@thelittlemacshop.com
1977 Spitfire, FM64159U, now with an O too. In need of a
comprehensive restoration, but will have to wait its turn in storage.
1957 TR3, TS15098L. Needs an O. Undergoing frame-off restoration begun 9/99.
1988 Honda Civic 4WD Wagon. 178,150 miles. Gets me to work and back
home again every day. No home page. (go figure)
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