Temp guage stopped working

Co-Pang-Yang · Dec 31, 2009

Hi all.

Another little problem with my disco is the temp guage doesn't work. On very rare occations it flickers up and down a bit for about 10 seconds but most the time there is no response at all.
Anyone heard of this problem before? Or know of the wiring locations? I'm looking to remove the viscus fan soon so need to sort this out first.

I will be getting a Haynes manual as soon as i can lol.

Cheers Chris.

Mark Disco · Dec 31, 2009

the temp sender is screwed into the thermostat housing. to test the sender remove the single wire going to it and earth it to the cylinder head. the needle should move when the ignition is switched on, if not then the wiring or the guage is faulty. trace the wiring to the dash and check for breaks, if all is ok then try another guage.

my guess is a knackered sender unit tho

Sean · Dec 31, 2009

Mark Disco said:
trace the wiring to the dash and check for breaks

and then when you've rebuild the birds nest that was once your loom chop the spade connector off the sender and re-do it

Mark Disco · Dec 31, 2009

Sean said:
and then when you've rebuild the birds nest that was once your loom chop the spade connector off the sender and re-do it

yes, the voice of experience is right

i assume the poster has 'some' experience of working on heaps of jun .... i mean landy's:doh: if not then START AT THE END OF THE WIRE THAT IS THE MOST ACCESSABLE, AND CHECK FOR CONDUCTIVITY AT 6" INTERVALS!! failure to follow the above WILL result in scraped knuckles, anger, blood, a mess of wires, and the fault still not diagnosed because you gave up due to blood loss

Co-Pang-Yang · Dec 31, 2009

Cheers for the info guys, i'll check the sender unit tonight. Take it i'll need to go direct to LR for a new one?

Co-Pang-Yang · Dec 31, 2009

Mark Disco said:
i assume the poster has 'some' experience of working on heaps of jun .... i mean landy's:doh: if not then START AT THE END OF THE WIRE THAT IS THE MOST ACCESSABLE, AND CHECK FOR CONDUCTIVITY AT 6" INTERVALS!! failure to follow the above WILL result in scraped knuckles, anger, blood, a mess of wires, and the fault still not diagnosed because you gave up due to blood loss

Well my first love has always been Vauxhalls so i am highly skilled in the art of knuckle scuffing and swareing!! :lol:

Mark Disco · Dec 31, 2009

for the cost of them, i would. sensors/senders are worth the extra few pennies IMHO, ive has spurious senders before that have never quite worked right, put an OE item in and worked perfectly and lasted longer

Mark Disco · Dec 31, 2009

Co-Pang-Yang said:
Well my first love has always been Vauxhalls so i am highly skilled in the art of knuckle scuffing and swareing!! :lol:

you come from the same stable as me then!! Astra GTE/GSi were the cars i grew up in, the XE engine was never the nicest thing to work on!!

nicedayforit · Dec 31, 2009

Mark Disco said:
the temp sender is screwed into the thermostat housing.

Not on a 300tdi it isn't. The temperature gauge sender is screwed directly into the front face of the cylinder head just below the thermostat housing.
The easiest way to see it is to look in from the drivers side.
The connection to the sender could either be corroded or broken to give the symptoms you have. Cheap and easy to replace if it comes to it.

Co-Pang-Yang · Jan 1, 2010

Mark Disco said:
for the cost of them, i would. sensors/senders are worth the extra few pennies IMHO, ive has spurious senders before that have never quite worked right, put an OE item in and worked perfectly and lasted longer

Ok do you happen to have a part no. for these, or a link to where i could find out myself?

Mark Disco said:
you come from the same stable as me then!! Astra GTE/GSi were the cars i grew up in, the XE engine was never the nicest thing to work on!!

Oh yes, still got my project car which is a mk3 Astra thats eventually going to be a 400+bhp LET powered track car.

nicedayforit said:
Not on a 300tdi it isn't. The temperature gauge sender is screwed directly into the front face of the cylinder head just below the thermostat housing.
The easiest way to see it is to look in from the drivers side.
The connection to the sender could either be corroded or broken to give the symptoms you have. Cheap and easy to replace if it comes to it.

OK thanks for the info i'll have a look at the wiring and see what state its in.

Temp guage stopped working

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