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3000 Temperature gauge question

R

Royse

Well-known Member
My 3000 has the original instrument cluster in it and all of it works
except the temperature gauge. Tach, hour meter, fuel gauge, oil
pressure and charge lights, just not the temperature gauge.
I would prefer not to replace it since the hour meter works.

It has a new thermostat and temp sender unit. BTW, this has the
1/8 inch sending unit, not the larger one with an adapter.
A hand-held infrared thermometer tells me it is running at the
correct temp, but the gauge doesn't work. Is there an aftermarket
gauge that will hook to the original style sending unit and show me
the correct temp? With the cab on it I have lots of mounting options
without messing things up, but I would like to see the current temp.

Or are there other options I haven't thought of?
Seems like with the 1/8 inlet I would have trouble getting a
bulb type temperature gauge to fit, although that would be fine.
Maybe even better as I could judge the temp when I plug in the
newly installed block heater.
 
Does your intake manifold have a 3/8" NPT plug at location #2 shown in the link below? If so, you could install a mechanical
temp gauge at that location. If not, you could always drill and tap one of your own. If you end up doing that, try drilling
the hole closer to the front of the engine - the temp reading will be more accurate, as the front of the head close to the
thermostat is the hottest point in the engine. I've done this numerous times - it works well.

I just remembered that you said you had a cab. If said cab has a heater, do not "T" into a heater hose line - that will not
be accurate.

With regards to your factory gauge, assuming your fuel gauge is working and is accurate, it's not the voltage stabilizer.
Try grounding the wire that attaches to the sending unit. The gauge should go to full. If not, try the same trick at the
gauge to isolate the wire. If the gauge still doesn't move, and you have power going to it, you have a faulty gauge.
Plug
 
Thanks Bern, I'll have to check on the plugs, haven't looked.
The cab is an old All Season cab. No heat other than tarp.
Which actually works surprisingly well when you're out there for hours.

The fuel gauge does work and is somewhat accurate, but not reliably.
If it says I have gas, then I have gas. But with a full tank, it may
only show 3/4 of a tank on the gauge until it bumps around a while.

The temperature gauge never moves at all, even after three hours
of running the front blade and snow blower today.
I'm not sure if that gives you any more information or not.

mvphoto30658.jpg
 
The voltage stabilizer on the back of the iunstrument cluster provides power to both gauges, so if one gauge is working you know the circuit to and through the voltage stabilizer is good.

Have you checked the wire from the voltage stabilizer on the back of the instrument cluster to the temperature gauge? Have you checked the voltage at the temperature gauge with the key switch on?

Have you checked continuity on the wire from the gauge to the sender? Have you measured the resistance of the sender (remove the wire from the sender and measure resistance from connection to ground) while the tractor is both cold and at operating temperature?
 
I had the same problem with my 3000. Put in a new voltage stabilizer and temp and fuel gage both work but not 100%. I think the original set up is not good from day 1. My temp gage now moves a little bit but not much. Fuel gage is not real accurate.
 

First thang break it down so its simple... Confirm its a sender, wiring are gauge issue...

https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/viewtopic.php?t=1328010&highlight=stabilizer

It dumbfounded me that's not EZ to do I laid it all out on a table wired it up I still did not get it til I used a DSO scope to see how the stabilizer functioned... It opens and closed the circuit whoda thunk it...Then right thar in my hand I had a OEM manual that splained it...

I would be interested in what you find as far as ohm readings at the sender... If OK the next step would be to scope the voltage to the sender...

Get this in yer mind the sender is a short the stabilizer is breaking the voltage going thru the gauge...

on off on off etc...

The gauge reacts slowly to the reaction/short normally you will not see it flicker but if you put your eye right on it you would...
 

One more thang I call the stabilizer a slouch module it dampens the gauge... on the temp side the sender is slow to react to temp but on the fuel side with fuel slouching around the sender is very active... The stabilizer slows the reaction down...
 
The stabilizer is designed to keep the voltage constant for consistent readings, not slow down the gauge. Those gauges are
plenty slow on their own due to their construction.
 
Royse,

Where do you want to mount the aftermarket gauge and is there any brand you prefer?
All of the new gauges are going to be moving coil so a current to voltage converter might have to be sandwiched in between meter and sender. It is going to depend on the gauge you select.

We went through pages on this subject many months ago.
 
Thank you guys, I may not get back to testing until this weekend.
I have not checked the voltage at the sensor, but did replace it.
Same results, old and new. It's easy enough to test which would
also test the continuity of the wire if I had an accurate voltage.

I take it there is no commonly available electric gauge that will
work with the original sender. That's a shame.
If I can get a mechanical gauge installed, it would also help in
letting me know if/when the block heater has made a difference.

Plugging it in for one hour didn't seem to make much difference.
I don't trust their "thermostatically controlled" claim enough to
leave them plugged in all the time. High tomorrow isn't supposed
to be above zero. But I won't need the tractor tomorrow, so I'm
not going to start it or work on it in that weather.
 
Deutz Lover, I don't remember seeing that post.
I can mount a temp gauge anywhere in the cab.
From the ceiling if need be, doesn't really matter to me.
I do not have a preference on the gauge brand.
Just one that works and is relatively accurate.
 
Conventional block heaters are not thermostatically controlled - once plugged in they're on all of the time. You can however
buy remote mounted thermostats that will work with them. Let me know if interested and I can supply more details.

As for the temp gauge, I doubt your typical 600-watt block heater would get the water warm enough to even tickle a gauge that
starts reading at 100 degrees.
 
sammorgan3 and I went on a lengthy discussion on matching sending units and trying to get a cross index of the original sending units. It went on for ten pages. The date was May 2018.

Aftermarket gauge cluster for generator only. Started by Sammorgan3

Basically we needed to know the resistance of the sender at two temperatures using an ohm meter. One reading should be at about 80 F and then at about 180 degrees F.
Right now I cannot get to the sending units I have and they may not match yours.
The sending units on these Fords provide current to the thermally operated gauges, but that is not necessary on the electric gauges. They just need a calibration fudge factor. It would be quicker to remover your sender and put in a matching sender to go with the gauge. However if you wish to keep you current sending unit we need to find a compatible sending unit/gauge combo and just keep your old sending unit. I have to look up the vdo catalog and if I remember it was Sammorgan3 who found it.

Are you sure your gauge does not work. Have you put an ohm meter across the inputs of the gauge itself?
 
Get this in yer mind the sender is a short the stabilizer is breaking the voltage going thru the gauge..
Click to expand...

The sender is not a short. It is a variable resistance between the gauge and ground. The resistance varies as a function of the temperature. If it was a short, then the meter would always be pegged when the key is in the run position.
 
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