QuestionQUESTION: William hello, I amfollowing up. 1. The temp at the top of the radiator is 170 and at the bottom is 160. The temp at the thermostat housing is 188. I used a pyrometer. 2. I also tried the resistor in line. A 47 ohm 1/4 watt 5% resistor lowered the temp gauge reading to '11:30' on the gauge. 3. Someone from another website suggested that the back of the instrument panel has to be regrounded to the chassis. William can you please address the three issues I've mentioned if you can. Thanks, I very much appreciate your help. Paul
ANSWER: The temps look good, I presume you have a 190 thermostat fitted. The gauge reading is just below centre (is it)which is fine. As for the extra earth it wouldn't hurt to try it with a simple crocodile clip cable. But what about the very fast warm up, did that still occur, and did it coincide with the actual engine readings?
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QUESTION: I recall the jag dealer saying that the temp was low and maybe due to the independ garage putting in a lower thermostat. I will get the correct thermostat. 1. Are they easy to install?
2. What should I attach the alligator clip to? There are screws on the back of the instrument panel that are not in the path of the circuits. There are the paths of the circuits and there are the screws that come from the gauges which sit in the paths of the circuits. Where should I attach the clip to? Thanks sincerely. Paul
ANSWER: I think the thermostat is a higher one or it wouldn't be so hot at the housing. Depending on your climate, now may be the time for a higher one. It wouldn't hurt to check it, the temp is usually stamped on it, first get a new seal/gasket. You can heat it in a pot and use the pyrometer to see at what temp it opens and then closes. I doubt it is an earth problem as it would likely affect the other gauges! Attach the clips to any metal part behind the dash and then to a solid part of the body/frame. Remember all earth wires are black, so you can use one of those. I have just thought that there may be voltage stabilizer behind the dash in the instrument feed circuit. If this were faulty it would cause strange readings, but once again, it would affect all gauges.
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QUESTION: Hi William, some good news. As you may recall first I put in a 100 ohm resistor; the needle hardly moved out of cold. Then I put in a 10 ohm resistor; the needle went all the way to hot, barely affecting the needle; then I tried a 47 ohm and the needle went to about 11:00 on the dial. Now I put in a 37 ohm resistor and the needle is straight up on the 'N.' By the way it took 4-5 minutes for the needle to go to the 'N' after start up from the engine being off for about 7 hours. It was on 'C' when I started it and it ended up on the 'N' in 4-5 minutes. I will check the thermostat. Is it difficult to remove and put in a new thermostat? I appreciate your help. This sight is great. I would like to offer my help some way also. Some other interesting news; one of my high beams wasn't working. I switched the bulbs and the same side didn't work indicating the fuse or relay. I checked the fuses in the forward fuse box and found a blown fuse for the radiator fan! The fuse for the high beam was defective and I switched with a new one and now the lights work well. I wonder about the radiator fan! I will check it again in a day. When should the radiator fan kick in so I know when to check it? I know there's a lot of info here. I appreciate your answers to the issues I asked about.
Best regards, Paul
AnswerProviding the engine is not actually getting hot you have resolved the high reading issue. Wasn't the fan coming on previously when the gauge went up? In any event the fan should come on around 200, give or take a little, also it should come on whenever the AC is switched on.
