1963 Water Temperature Gauge
The other day when I started my 63 I noticed the temperature gauge near the 240 mark so I checked the engine and did not think the temperature was anywhere near that hot. Everything seemed normal, I shut the motor off and removed the sender wire from sender and turned the ignition switch to run and the gauge came down to just below 180 (center).
I removed the engine harness to fuse block plug and found a few wires that worked back out of the plug a very little bit so I fixed them and plugged the harness back in. After checking the gauge again with the ignition switch in the run position and the sender wire NOT connected to the sender I still could not get the temp gauge to go to the cold position. I checked the gauge ground to cluster, cluster ground and birdcage ground, all good. Checked voltage at the fuel gauge fuse where the ignition switch run wire feeds and all good.
Fearing the gauge coil going bad the last test was to set the ignition switch to run and ground the sender wire to see how the gauge reacts. All normal, the gauge pegs full hot like it should so I shut the key off and reconnected the sender wire to the sender on the intake manifold. At that point I turned the key to run again and the gauge needle went back to the cold like normal.
Thoughts on this are appreciated, I thought bad ground or voltage problem but all checked OK, or one of the wires in the firewall plug that pushed back slightly not making good connection in the plug but the 12ga red that powers the ignition switch was not one of them so at this point I'm not sure.
What I did notice was the barrel nut on the ignition switch was loose, I am not sure if that switch needs to ground on the cluster AND the last few times I started the cold engine I noticed, click-click a few times from the starter solenoid before the starter spun.
No other issues, all wiring new so the only thing I can figure is bad connection at the firewall plug OR could it be the green turn off knob on the battery not allowing a good connection.
Sorry for the long winded, I sure hope the coil in the gauge is not going bad.
I removed the engine harness to fuse block plug and found a few wires that worked back out of the plug a very little bit so I fixed them and plugged the harness back in. After checking the gauge again with the ignition switch in the run position and the sender wire NOT connected to the sender I still could not get the temp gauge to go to the cold position. I checked the gauge ground to cluster, cluster ground and birdcage ground, all good. Checked voltage at the fuel gauge fuse where the ignition switch run wire feeds and all good.
Fearing the gauge coil going bad the last test was to set the ignition switch to run and ground the sender wire to see how the gauge reacts. All normal, the gauge pegs full hot like it should so I shut the key off and reconnected the sender wire to the sender on the intake manifold. At that point I turned the key to run again and the gauge needle went back to the cold like normal.
Thoughts on this are appreciated, I thought bad ground or voltage problem but all checked OK, or one of the wires in the firewall plug that pushed back slightly not making good connection in the plug but the 12ga red that powers the ignition switch was not one of them so at this point I'm not sure.
What I did notice was the barrel nut on the ignition switch was loose, I am not sure if that switch needs to ground on the cluster AND the last few times I started the cold engine I noticed, click-click a few times from the starter solenoid before the starter spun.
No other issues, all wiring new so the only thing I can figure is bad connection at the firewall plug OR could it be the green turn off knob on the battery not allowing a good connection.
Sorry for the long winded, I sure hope the coil in the gauge is not going bad.
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