Tempeture gauge....Fiat Ducato ! (1 Viewer)

[mark e]

My tempreture gauge is reading maximum as soon as i turn the key. As in there is a short circuit. .After a couple of minutes it dies down to normal running temp. What im affraid of is having a false reading and ingnoring it or is a genuine reading !

Any mechanics out there ?
As allways, Thanks in advance :thumb:

 

[sinbad1]

My tempreture gauge is reading maximum as soon as i turn the key. As in there is a short circuit. .After a couple of minutes it dies down to normal running temp. What im affraid of is having a false reading and ingnoring it or is a genuine reading !

Any mechanics out there ?
As allways, Thanks in advance :thumb:

Sounds like your temp sender unit is caput others will advise

Regards

 

[shortcircuit]

Have recently experienced the same problem. Creep up to normal then off the top of the scale. Would then waver up and down.

Had a look underneath and found 2 ? sensors in the coolant hoses and wiggled the connection which appears to have resolved the matter as I have since done 500+ miles with gauge at normal.

Read a posting on another forum, possibly Fiat, where the problem has been resolved by unplugging behind dash and then reconnecting. Not very scientific but if it works???

I will be interested in any solution.

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[scotjimland]

Check the connection on the sender, it's not uncommon for them to get corroded .. If it's a spade replace it.

 

[mark e]

Thanks for the replies so far. Will try tommorow to see if the above works.

P.S. Where abouts are the connections please ?

 

[m300td]

malc

the temperature sender is near the thermostat housing try un connecting the wire going to the sender the temperature gauge should not move also check the cable that goes from the temperature sender has not rubbed on any metal part earthing it out this would make the temperature gauge go stright into the red

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[nomad]

Temperature gauge Fiat Ducato

Hi, I've had this problem twice on my 2003 Ducato 2.8. The first time disconnecting at the temp sender solved the problem. on the second occasion that did not work so I bought a new sender (£26 if I remember correctly. and non returnable) and that made no difference either. Then on advice from one of the forums I disconnected the instrument cluster and reconnected it and the problem was solved.
I hope it works for you too.
Colin

 

[Geo]

Hi, I've had this problem twice on my 2003 Ducato 2.8. The first time disconnecting at the temp sender solved the problem. on the second occasion that did not work so I bought a new sender (£26 if I remember correctly. and non returnable) and that made no difference either. Then on advice from one of the forums I disconnected the instrument cluster and reconnected it and the problem was solved.
I hope it works for you too.
Colin

Just resurrected this post to confirm that disconnecting the speedo cluster and re connecting, does in fact cure the problem of Ducato wayward temp needles.
This particular one went straight to "Normal" when ign was turnd on. it now starts at Cold where it should be with a cold engine.
I can only assume its a poor connection (Resistance) associated fault, it has been suggested a build up of static may cause the fault but I think not
Geo

 

[stevegreen]

Thanks for bumping this. I have the problem at the moment which led to me being escorted off the hard shoulder of a busy dual carriageway by French Police. I'll try disconnecting the instrument cluster If I can find it and see if it works.

I blogged about the French Police incident if you fancy a laugh it's linked below.

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[Geo]

Yes I thought it interesting enough to bring up again
Fiat had quoted the customer (a member on here) £500 for a new cluster
2 min Job FOC as it was in for a cambelt change :thumb:

 

[spinone]

dodgy temp gauge

I have the same problem but don't know how to remove the instrument cluster to disconnect it.
Could anyone help me, please?

 

[lebesset]

mine has always been perfectly reliable . only thing is it always reads one quarter up the gauge at normal running temperature

should be grateful for small mercies I suppose , at least i know where I am !

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[nomad]

Hi Spinone, Try the sender end first and if that doesn't work then there are 2 screws which secure the instrument cluster casing (maybe with allen key heads) remove these and you should just be able to get your hand in to disconnect the temp gauge connector and reconnect it again. Hopefully it will work for you.
Colin

 

[Phil]

A low reading is usually caused by a stuck open thermostat, easy enough to change if you want the engine to run at the correct temperature. Water temp at normal running should be about 90 degrees.

Phil.

 

[paulmold]

This is apparently such a common fault that I notice it appears in a technical question in the latest (June) edition of Practical Motorhome magazine.

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[Geo]

I have the same problem but don't know how to remove the instrument cluster to disconnect it.
Could anyone help me, please?

Two Torx screws easy to find, undo and remove speedo carefully unplug the connection and re fit plug
sorted
Geo

 

[robert.s]

Just resurrected this post to confirm that disconnecting the speedo cluster and re connecting, does in fact cure the problem of Ducato wayward temp needles.
This particular one went straight to "Normal" when ign was turnd on. it now starts at Cold where it should be with a cold engine.
I can only assume its a poor connection (Resistance) associated fault, it has been suggested a build up of static may cause the fault but I think not
Geo

I also have had this problem with my 2006 2.8, cleaned the multi connector on the cluster did the trick. Robert

 

[Slick Vic]

Had the same problem and looks like it has worked for me, will know better in the next few days.
Thanks:thumb:

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[ShiftZZ]

Tried changing the sensors, that did not work, had the instrument panel taken out and the static whatever removed, that only worked for a short while.

Temp gauge would start at normal then go to max, then fall back down again, then the red light would flash on and off. Recently, the gauge was at cold and would not move.

Everything tried and failed..

I hope it works for you....

 

[Sidney]

This is an old post but I wanted to give my experience

This is an old thread but I wanted to give my experience.

Vehicle: 2004 2.8 and I first encountered a problem when on route somewhere or other...

The temp gauge shot up to max but there were no other warning lights. I stopped and had a look saw very little evidence of the engine being hot. I continued the journey. Occasionally it would start to drop and then shoot up again.

I checked a few forums and found the usual bits and pieces. Over a period of time I...

1. Stripped the dash and disconnected the instrument cluster
2. After disconnecting the battery I removed static by ensuring everything that was metal was earthed to ground
3. Cleaned and polished the connections to the sender
4. Disconnected the battery for a whole week

None of these worked.


Then I took the sender unit out. Note there are two in the thermostat housing - one goes to the engine management system and one just works the temperature gauge.


The sender unit was given a bit of a shock - provided by a tub of boiling water and the chest freezer.


Stupidly at this point I hooked up the multimeter (you see why it was stupid later). The sender unit worked with the resistance changing when subjected to changes of temperature.


So with sender working it went back in the van.


It worked! Brilliant! :thumb:


Then a couple of weeks later the problem came back.:Angry:


Subjecting the sender to extremes of temperature must have kicked the the thermistor back into life.


Stupid! :Blush: I should have checked the resistance on the sender before putting it through the extremes of temperature.


New sender. £30 ish (or cheaper via Fleabay) problem never came back. :thumb:

 

[wanderer]

Had the same problem on my 2004 2.8 fiat . Temp guage going up into the red with no sign of over heating ,it started just after we got into France and we were touring France Portugal Spain and back. I found it very difficult to ignore whilst driving so my wife stuck a plaster over the guage so i could not see it , got back 6 months later with no engine problems and replaced the sensor

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[Barclaybasher]

Had the same problem on my 2004 2.8JTD Ducato

Disconnected guages and everything went back to normal.

After a week or so problem came back, before I had chance to try anything else it went back to normal again and has behaved itself since (over a year ago)oh:

 

[markymark]

Hi everyone.
Experienced erratic engine temp readings as soon as switching on the ignition in my 2004 Ducato 2.8 JTD.
Removed the connector at the temp sender unit from underneath the van.
Cleaned and reconnected but made no difference.
Made the decision to replace the engine temp sensor and ordered a replacement.
Removed using a 22mm spanner, washing up bowl on standby to catch coolent, Lost about 3 litres carrying out the swap and got wet. Reconnected the wiring unit, topped up the coolent and everything has worked well since. (3 Weeks Ago)

If anyone wants a photo of the sensor fitted to get an idea where it is let me know and i can share with you.
Its also worth checking the connection type fitting first to ensure the correct sensor is ordered the first time unlike me.

I know the basics regarding engines through my Army days but have no idea when it comes to electrics and using a multimeter to ID problems, worth giving it ago to save some penny's and time.

Hope it helps.

 

[Piggypowell]

Hi I would love a photo please as I have the same problem ! Also access is limited on my Eura Mobil Integra 810 2002 model.
My e mail address is markpowell1@btinternet.com or if you have an iPhone you can iMessage me on 07782399956

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[MartMaeve]

Hi everyone.
Experienced erratic engine temp readings as soon as switching on the ignition in my 2004 Ducato 2.8 JTD.
Removed the connector at the temp sender unit from underneath the van.
Cleaned and reconnected but made no difference.

If anyone wants a photo of the sensor fitted to get an idea where it is let me know and i can share with you.
Its also worth checking the connection type fitting first to ensure the correct sensor is ordered the first time unlike me.

Hello there, I'm having the same issues, and have ruled out the instrument cluster end, so now looking at the sender side of things. Do you still have a pic available?

Cheers!
Martin

 

[markymark]

Hi Martin.
Unfortunately I don’t have the picture on my new phone and I’m away from the van for the next 2 days. I thought I would have uploaded a copy of it on to here but I also cannot find it. Rest assured on my return I will get under the beast and snap away for you.

 

[Dazspy]

Hi Martin.
Unfortunately I don’t have the picture on my new phone and I’m away from the van for the next 2 days. I thought I would have uploaded a copy of it on to here but I also cannot find it. Rest assured on my return I will get under the beast and snap away for you.

If there is any chance of some help to find and identify the sender, I would be very grateful!
I've disconnected battery and binnacle cluster today, temp still starts at 1/2 way point when cold and climbs from there.
So I would like to try cleaning connections and possibly replacing the sender.

If anyone can share a photo to help me locate it?? I have a 2002 (facelift version) 2.8JTD

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[Jev88]

This is from a 2.5TD (1999) so not sure if it helps.

Stand in front of bonnet and lift it. Look straight down in the middle and you should see something like this. The thread not visible as that will be inside your engine.

 

[Dazspy]

Thanks for the support, I have had a good search around the engine bay looking for a similar part, but the closest thing I have found so far seems to be screwed into what I assume is the fuel rail. I assume some kind of flow meter?

I wonder, will this temp gauge/sender be found screwed into the cooling system lines only, or maybe into the engine block?

I am also discovering a (worrying) number of disconnected connections, molex type connections dangling freely, not broken wires at least.

 

[Jev88]

Might help...

This one below may be from a LATER engine...

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