?????over heating p38 but not ?????

Hi guys can any of you help out with this problem i have got a 97 p38 diesel and when i drive it from cold the temp gauge goes up to normal temp within 1.5 miles and by 3 miles the temp gauge is in the red with the warning light on but its not over heating it runs about 82 degrees-- ive had the temp checked with a digital thermometer,ive had a sniff test done and no leaking gases in the water,im not using/losing any water,no steam coming out anywhere,ive had 2 new sensors on the head made no difference, ive taken off all the earths cleaned them up and added 2 more earth leads 1 battery to chassis and 1 chassis to engine but temp gauge still reading in the red, any ideas on what it could be or what to try next as i get paranoid about the gauge when its that high have done aabout 4k miles like it and just want it sitting normal thanks

I suppose it could be a duff guage. I have not looked at the wiring for the guage, but on some cars there used to be a voltage stabiliser for the guage, if there is one and it fails the guage would read high. Have a look at the diagrams in RAVE.

If you disconnect, the temp sensor with the engine hot does the guage go down?

Just had a very quick look at RAVE, the temperature sensors are different resistance values between petrol and diesel so it's possible you have the wrong sensor?

The guage is actualy driven by the BECM, the amount of needle deflection is calculated based on the resistance of the sensor. There appear to be 3 types of sensor, petrol engines, and 2 different diesel types dependant on year.

you need to check the sensor.

fcuk knows how without finding out the resistance values tho!!!

i doubt tho that the sensor is at fault because youve had 2, it'd be a freakish coincidence!

check the wiring for corrosion? its probably shagged at the ecu end. you'll have to look up in rave for the connector locations

hi i have been to range rover and they ordered all the sensor dor me and i took my old ones down to get the right ones as like you guys said there is 2 different ones for mine, have just brought a copy of rave so will look at that for connectors and try them over weekend if i unplug the ecus will i need to put in the eka when i connect them back up

p38on22s said:

hi i have been to range rover and they ordered all the sensor dor me and i took my old ones down to get the right ones as like you guys said there is 2 different ones for mine, have just brought a copy of rave so will look at that for connectors and try them over weekend if i unplug the ecus will i need to put in the eka when i connect them back up

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Just hope that the old ones you took down were the correct ones for your car. Best quote the VIN to the stealer and get them to order from that

Datatek said:

I suppose it could be a duff guage. I have not looked at the wiring for the guage, but on some cars there used to be a voltage stabiliser for the guage, if there is one and it fails the guage would read high. Have a look at the diagrams in RAVE.

If you disconnect, the temp sensor with the engine hot does the guage go down?

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yes it does go down

the ones i took down had been in the car since i owned it (2 years) and its only recently they started to play up

strange but a silly though has come into my head ( i know theres lots of silly thoughts in my head) has anyone tampered with the dash? maybe its the guage thats at fault!

unscrew it and push on the connectors. don't undo the yellow wire tho thats for airbags and you dont want the going off when your leant over the steering wheel!

gavbriggs said:

strange but a silly though has come into my head ( i know theres lots of silly thoughts in my head) has anyone tampered with the dash? maybe its the guage thats at fault!

unscrew it and push on the connectors. don't undo the yellow wire tho thats for airbags and you dont want the going off when your leant over the steering wheel!

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HI no one has ever played with the dash since ive had it(2 years) and it only started playing up in december its also never had any wiring cut or modified stereo is still on standard wiring - did think it could be gauge but always thinking the worst as you do. as for the airbag seen a mate get a broken nose by one before and now he wont go near one unless the battery has been off the car a hour now.

its obviously not a standard fault, might be worth keeping a thermometer in the glove box till you get it sorted.

bit of peace of mind. i'm pretty sure it'll be dodgey wires tho somewhere

have just cleaned all the becm terminals and connectors they was all clean did the same to the wiring in the o/s footwell terminals not so good there cleaned them all up and just about to go out and try it.

good luk!

thanks i need it