Temp Guage acting up?

[Acidbath88accordlx]

Ok, this just started on monday, I have heat, but my temp guage won't come up..... until today since it got warmer outside, got up 1/4 of the way... BUT as soon as I turned on my heat , just for the hell of it, the gauge goes down..... car runs fine, no unusual idle, no excessive smoke, oil smells fine... I did notice that there might be wetness starting on the engine but, The snows melting here and theres a lot of puddles.... Don't know... going to wait and let it cool down before I check the coolant level.... will give more details in a bit.... oh yeah it's an 88/carbed, mostly original everything except plugs, wires, and all that... cooling system may be original.... don't know... like I said, I'll give more details in about an hour....

[Acidbath88accordlx]

ok.... just checked my coolant level and thats fine.... smelled my oil 3 times and it smelled normal... checked the wetness and it's oil, probably spilt from the last time I put oil in it.... I think it's the thermostat... anyone else agrees.... the crazy thing is... I have more than enough heat, doesn't seem like theres a temperature drop.... Any ideas?

[shepherd79]

I believe you answered your own question.
Yes, the symptoms show that you have somekind problem with thermostat.

[88Accord-DX]

Spend a few dollars more & get a "fail-safe" thermostat. It is worth it compaired to the engine overheating & the consiquences.
Beleive me, I've seen way to many thermostats stuck closed that overheated the engine then blown head gaskets & warped heads.

[Acidbath88accordlx]

Funny thing is.. mine stuck open....

[lostforawhile]

thermostat I would agree,if that doesn't fix it it might be something like a sender for the temp gauge. in other words normal temp but the gauge is acting screwy. it should be the one wire deal on the back of your intake manifold. how dirty is your cooling system? the coolant has to bypass through the hoses going into the intake manifold and if your system is dirty it can affect your temp reading because it affects the coolant going to the sensor.

[Acidbath88accordlx]

coolant clean... had a buddy do a radiator flush last summer at his work

[lostforawhile]

well I would try the thermostat first,they are cheap,if that doesn't fix it i would say pull a temp sender from a junkyard and try that,it's easy to fix,usually they dont go bad but sometimes they do, it's not too hard to change,only one wire and it unscrews. if you can't find one i'll try to get one at the junkyard next week if I can. there is a procedure for testing the sender,but it's eaisier to just swap one. if all else it might be the gauge. oh have you tried cleaning the terminal on the sender if all that paint was on your engine maby the terminal is dirty. that would make it read low.

[Blkblurr]

If the thermostat is stuck open the engine core temp will not climb much. You will still get heat if that happens but not much on very cold days. Your gas mileage will decrease as well.