Temp Sending switch ?
 

Does anyone know if the water temp switch on the head is the same unit if you have the light or the gauge on the dash cluster? I had changed from lights to the gauges, and the needle doesn't go above the 1st mark. Is there something wrong with the gauge, or might it be the wrong switch on the engine? Does anyone have the part number for the gauge sending unit I would need and where to buy it? Auto Zone or Advance doesn't have a clue. They don't list gauges in their parts, which I figured......

thanks, Steve

Re: Temp Sending switch ?
 

two seperate part numbers. One has a said connector, the other looks liek a nail head.

Re: Temp Sending switch ?
 

The one I have is a nail head.....which is that for?

Re: Temp Sending switch ?
 

the idiot light

Re: Temp Sending switch ?
 

I have the one that looks like a nail head, and it works with my gauge cluster

Re: Temp Sending switch ?
 

The nail head should be for the gauge setup. I've had 3 different gauge clusters in my truck, and 2 different temperature sending units, and at 190 degrees, my needle has always been just on the first mark.

Re: Temp Sending switch ?
 

Same here, near the 1st mark, but at times goes to 3/4 mark for a minute and then back.....That's why I was wondering if I have the right sending unit....

Re: Temp Sending switch ?
 

They are deffinately different.
The sender for the gauge should be progressive...making it rise slowly.
The one for the idiot light will jump suddenly.
Why not just test it?
The sender is just a "grounding" unit. If you ground your wire to the gauge it should "peg" the gauge. The gauge sender works like a rheostat, progressively giving more ground. The idiot light just trips all at once, when it hits a pre-determined temp.

If you heat the gauge manually (gently with a propane torch or something similar) while keeping the external housing grounded, you should be able to tell which way it works. The pain factor in this is the you have to remove it for the test.

Another thing that can affect the sender is the ground itself. If you have liquid pipe-dope or excessive wraps of tape........it may not be getting enough ground to go any higher. Since you said that is goes up some and stops, this may be your only problem. If so, you still need to take it out to fix it..........might as well test it while it's out.

Re: Temp Sending switch ?
 

The Nail Head is correct for the guage, Standard #TS-6, Borg Warner #WT-203. Hope this helps!!:)

Re: Temp Sending switch ?
 

Thanks for the help on this and also for the part numbers......