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Re: coolant temp gauge (archive)
[ Follow Ups ] [ 7-series (E23) Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]
Posted by Steve Hillman on August 20, 2001 at 16:58:17:

In Reply to: coolant temp gauge posted by Fabio on August 19, 2001 at 21:08:35:


I get no reading for the coolant temperature gauge, but occasionally it flickers. What sensor should I check and how would I check it to see if it works?

There are two wires going to the temperature sensor, but at least on my '85, they do different things, so you can't just short them together to check the coolant gauge. One wire controls the gauge, while the other controls the "over temperature" LED at the right side of the gauge.

Try shorting each wire to ground. One should turn the light on, the other should pin the needle in the "hot" zone.

What's more likely is that you have a bad solder joint on your instrument cluster circuit board, which would explain the "flicker". You'll need to pull the cluster, pull it apart, and carefully check the traces going from the external connector to the coolant gauge. My cluster board had many loose connections on it.

Steve Hillman
'85 735i 5spd


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