i have enjoyed learning about my 914 in the last six months or so. but, i have a question, and the haynes manual was no help.

so my temp gauge on the console works... sorta. even after the engine gets good 'n hot, the temp needle barely gets above the first tick, and it never sees the middle of the gauge's range. is this a problem with a sender of some kind, or a bad gauge? i'm thinking oil temp sender, but what do i know? if i'm on the right track, how do i replace/repair it? thanks, can't tell you how much i've learned since joining this site, it's truly amazing.

and if someone could give tips on making my odometer/trip meter work again, that would be cool also.

here i go, trying to remember how T-IV's work ...

the sender is under the taco plate under the engine. i don't know if it acts as a plug to keep oil in, so i wouldn't go yank it out until either you know, or the sump is empty... R&R, check for dirty contacts (if it;s like everything else under a 914, of course the contacts are dirty, it lives in oil goo...) clean 'em up, make sure it's well grounded, re-install AFTER you verify the proper torque - some of that stuff goes back in with surprisingly little torque ... i think there are gaskets on the taco plate, you might want to make sure you've got enough before starting. note the part number while you've got it in your hand.

check the contacts at the gauge - make sure the grounds are shiny and clean, check for broken and/or frayed places in the connector - i've had some hangin' by the merest thread ...

odo - remove, send to Palo Alto Speedo or North Hollywood Speeds, when it returns, replace, then put a big sticky on your dash: NEVER ZERO IN MOTION.

What Rich said, pretty much.

High resistance in the gauge-to-sender circuit will give you lower temp readings. So will a mismatch between the gauge and the sender. (Bad news: The original sender is NLA! Good news: This gives you an excuse to upgrade to a gauge with actual numbers! )

There is a gasket between the cover plate and the sender plate, a crush washer between the sender and the sender plate, and two more crush washers on the two bolts that hold the cover plate on.

Pelican has a tech article on how to get your odometer running again--if the speedometer is working. If the speedo and odo are both non-functional, the problem is likely in the cable or the angle drive on the transmission. Unscrew the cable from the transmission and check to see that the tab sticking out of the angle drive does turn when the car moves forward.

--DD

the only time i've been under the car was about ten minutes ago, when i adjusted the clutch. so i'm unsure about what exactly a taco plate is, but i'm learning...

dave, i looked for that article on the odo earlier today, but couldn't find it. i emailed them about it though. the speedo works, although i think it's a few mph off on the high end, unless owning this car has suddenly given me a lead foot -- (totally plausible)

so adjusting the trip meter while it's running is a big no-no i gather. i'll never do it again, i promise. so it's probably my fault, i killed it! but it seemed like the odo just slowly died. it would work intermittently, then stopped altogether...

What Gauge do you have in the dash? I had a '74 914 that had the temp gauge in the dash and someone added the center console. I had low temp readings because both gauges were hooked up and the signal was being split between the two. If I unplugged the temp gauge in the center console the dash gauge jumped up.

Also could be the resistance thing mentioned above.

-Mike D.

Ooh, good point! John Rogers had a similar problem with his daughter's car...

The odometer article is titled "Gauge repair and refurbishment". Not so obvious, I'm afraid, but search the Tech Articles page for "odo" and you should be able to find it. Or just follow this link:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/M...auge_repair.htm

--DD

mine is a 2.0 with the center console, so i think the temp gauge was there to begin with. thanks to all for the replies, i'll get in there and see what damage i can do.

dave, that's a great article, thanks for the link. sounds like i can probably take a look at the odo myself, with a little care and patience.

Where should a stock temp gauge be reading. What temp is say straight up? On the bottom of the red? I have a combo gauge with temp above the fuel gauge.




Where (if available or exists) can someone get a oil temp gauge that has numbers for one of these combo gauge.

My engine is running way too cold but it is because of the 2 qt oil cooler mounted in the rear trunk, no thermostat and winter amb. temperatures. I'll post pics if I ever get to 10 posts.

This is a good excuse to replace all your console gauges with NEW VDO gauges. I did last yr. what a difference there is in being able to have a temp. gauge that you can read numbers. I my case it turned out I was running a lot cooler than I thought. I got everything I needed from The Bird. I also replaced the clock with a oil pressure gauge .
Dave

Hey this is a good topic. I hope I can jump in here and ask the same question, but with a twist. I have a 73 with just the factory idiot light hookup. I put in a center console and hooked eveything up. Checked my wires for connectivity, but no dice. the temp guage jumps when I start the car, but doesn't show squat when the engine comes up to temp. Is there a down and dirty way to tell if it is the guage, sender or the wire from it to the guage?

Also one last question. I have a VDO cyl temp guage I would like to put in. Where is the cheapest place to get the sensor that goes on the sparkys?

Combo gauge oil temp gauge: It is possible that one from a 911 would work--but you would have to make certain that the sender you got has the same resistance range as the gauge module does.

Steve, make sure you have the gauge hooked up to the right wire. Check the wiring diagrams for what color that should be. If your car did not have an oil temp gauge originally, it will likely not have a sender and you will need to install one. The existing sender is only for oil pressure, and only runs the light.

If you do have a sender, and are plugged into the right wire, then dig out your ohmmeter. Unplug the sender wire from the gauge, and check the resistance from that wire to ground. It should be either a couple of hundred or a couple of thousand ohms. When the engine warms up, the resistance should drop to a much smaller amount.

You can fake the sender's signal by using a potentiometer (a variable resistor). Hook it to a ground and to the sender input terminal on the gauge. Power up the gauge, and vary the resistance of the potentiometer by turning the knob. Low resistance should give you a high reading, high resistance a low reading.

--DD

success! i removed the speedometer, cracked it open, and sure enough, that metal gear near the number wheels was spinning freely on the shaft. i used two different methods to make it stay on the shaft: i roughed up the end of the shaft a bit with my grooved pliers, and i also squished the wheel ever so slightly. it was a tight fit, so that's a good sign i guess.

the hardest part of the whole process was aligning the number wheels so they display correctly in the gauge face. this took me well over an hour to get right, which is no wonder since there are six wheels to keep in line. it takes quite a bit of thought and patience, as you must arrange them so that full numbers are facing out of the gauge face holes, while also making sure that when the next number advances, for example from mile 13119 to mile 13120, it will do so correctly. i tested it with a drill and a square drive bit, and it looks like it all works as it should. i think i'll put some more grease on the gears before i put it back in the dash though.

now if it would only stop raining, i could get out on the road and test it.

Will do Dave and Thank you for the help.