Thermostat Gauge

[r.booser]

So I have searched and searched and cannot seem to find the answer. I have a 85 chevy c20 with a 350. Im fixing the gauges and the thermostats reads nothing. But it seems the sensor for it is in the thermostat housing which is not on my truck. So does anyone know what wires are for the thermostat so I can follow them to find the clip and install? Thanks for the help guys and gals

 

[PrairieDrifter]

The temp sender could be on the drivers side head, or the passenger side head, or on the intake, it could be on the either side on the block below the manifolds also. The heads are a normal place for the temp sender that I've seen

 

[r.booser]

do you know the color of the wires? Trying to track this down and fix it.

 

[firebane]

Wire is generally green. Default placement is between 3 & 5 on drivers or 4 & 6 on passenger.

 

[r.booser]

what do you mean default placement? I found a clip that has a pink with black stripe and yellow. It is hooked up to nothing. Was hoping that would be it since it would be an easy find.

 

[firebane]

default meaning factory.

 

[rich weyand]

PNK/BLK and YEL is to the idle stop solenoid on the carb. The temp gauge sender wire is DK GRN. My temp sender is between the #1 and #3 spark plugs on the driver's side head. It routes along the lower edge of the valve cover with the spark plug wires.

 

[r.booser]

Thanks, don't think I really need to have idle stop hooked up. I'll see if I can track down that dark green wire tonight.

 

[HotRodPC]

On my trucks it was the dark green wire and it went to the left side head. Is the guage not registering at all, or is it reading infinite as in full hot? If it's reading infinite, the green wire is grounded out, usually on the exhaust manifold, or someone got it pinched in between the trans and engine block.

 

[r.booser]

no it is not registering at all. My gas tank is maxed out but I think it is because the ground strap is broke. I have those and the oil pressure gauge to fix and I'm back in business. I have fixed a bunch of issues in the past 7 days.

 

[rich weyand]

Just below the center of this pic, the temp sender is the brass colored doodad just behind the #1 header tube. You can also see the wire, routed between the valve cover and the Y-nuts. It is black there, because I had to splice on an extension after some PO buggered it.

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[r.booser]

perfect, that is the one I thought it was. There is a aftermarket one on the truck now. But it stopped working the other day. Do not like the idea of driving around without know the temp. Maybe I'll pick one up on the way home and track down the infamous dark green wire!

 

[rich weyand]

Careful, most aftermarket senders are a bad fit for the gauge. The sender is independent of engine, but the sender and the gauge have to agree on how many ohms equals how many degrees.

This page says the correct unit for the 1988 is a GM #8993146:
http://gmpartswiki.com/getpage?pageid=56466

You can find them on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro....H0.TRS0&_nkw=GM+#8993146&ghostText=&_sacat=0

Hope that's the right one, but it is the one listed in the parts book on-line.