Gilbs

So after my old radiator had a crack at the top,I changed out my radiator, upper and lower radiator hoses, thermostat, and both fans. These are all oem parts too. I tried to bleed out the system of any air, checked the hoses to make sure they were on correctly, and even checked the mounting of the radiator and it all seems fine. The one problem is getting temperature readings from my temperature gauge. I'm unsure of what to do to help fix this besides changing the sensor. I also drive a 2002 base model since i know the 99 models and type s differ in some ways. Any help would be greatly appreciated

whitetiger5

Hi Gilbs, welcome to acurazine. I would recommend to grab a copy of the "service manual" and check out the section on engine cooling. It explains the cooling system and the various sensors in use to monitor/control the system.

if you search for "99-2003 service manual" you should find a couple of listings that show how to get it.

My general feedback with regard to your specific problem: if there is air in the system; you will see your temp gauge spike UP, not down to "C."

If it is staying at the very bottom of the range i.e not even moving a little bit; I would suspect your coolant temp sensor connection has been broken (which I believe is close by those hoses you replaced).

Chiller2002TL

Did you remove the plug for the coolant sensor at the bottom of the radiator near the bottom hose and screw in/tighten the sensor?

Gilbs

The base model doesn't have a sensor at the bottom of the radiator, but yeah I just replaced where the sensor would be and still no readings. Another thing that occurred to me is that while the car was sitting when I was waiting for a new radiator I replaced the lights inside of the gauges with LEDs. The battery was fully disconnected, but could it have still shorted out when pulling out the cluster?

whitetiger5

I'd use my bluetooth OBD II reader to check the coolant temp when the car is warmed up. if it shows proper temp, then the indicator is not getting the signal.