Temperature sensor and connector

[wrapumup]

I am having a little trouble finding out stuff on these for a 1984 chevy truck. I really just need a new connector on the end of the wire. This is a wierd connection, not sure why they just didn't make it a standard faston connector. Any help or ideas are appreciated.

[akart]

Go to a salvage yard there will be 100's of them there.Splice it on or redo the connection in the fitting. GoodLuck

[Bandit130]

Check out this site might find the connector you need.

https://www.repairconnector.com/

[hatzie]

What does the sensor look like?


1984 should be a 1/4 disconnect with a single Packard 56 female connector like the sensor on the far right in the picture.

If you have the 01513321 nailhead sender, second from the left in the picture, it's the wrong one for your 1984 temp gauge. This sender takes a Female Packard 56 terminal but the plastic shell has a slot to slide over the narrow part of the nail head.

The Pico 5665PT repair pigtail with the slotted shell will fit both types of sender...


The correct connector for your 1984 sender would be a 2977253 Female Packard 56 single...


Both connectors have this Packard 56 Female terminal inside...

[72velle]

good info. Are the parts #s listed GM part #s?
Would the wrong sensor cause your gauge not to work?

[Dead Parrot]

Originally Posted by 72velle

good info. Are the parts #s listed GM part #s?
Would the wrong sensor cause your gauge not to work?

Yes. IIRC, there are 3 different resistance ranges in the square body run of years. Plus many of the aftermarket sensors don't match the GM values. You can't just go by the terminal types as I think some of the resistance range changes didn't match the terminal type changes.

And you can add in the ever popular installation of an idiot light sender in place of a gauge sender.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by 72velle

Are the parts #s listed GM part #s?

All of them except the Pico number are GM part numbers.

Download the GM parts books and look up the temp sender for your rig.

The gauge will work.with the wrong sender. However. It will not work as intended. The needle position will be off.
No automobile or truck temp gauges were/are highly accurate but using the wrong sender makes em much worse. You can just "get used to it" or put in the correct sender.

And the Idiot light switches will not work at all for a gauge... it's unfortunately pretty common to find that too.

Language is important... it avoids confusion. For instance gauges take senders but idiot lights take switches and manual transmissions have flywheels but automatics have flex plates. The parts goons and retailers use the tower of Babel approach mixing up the wording and it's predictably confusing. One of my pet peeves.

[72velle]

The temp gauge on my 84 isn't working. I am thinking that the PO may have put the wrong sender in when the engine was swapped.

[hatzie]

When you ground the Temp sender wire with the ignition switched on it should nail the temp gauge all the way to HOT... If your temp sender wire is melted onto your exhaust manifold it'll do the same thing.

[natedogg]

I'm having the same issue with my 84. Bought a new temp sensor at the parts store, installed it and now it reads too high. How do you read the resistance on the temp sensor to make sure you have the correct one for your truck?

[72velle]

Is this the right sensor?
https://www.autozone.com/electrical-...sor/114273_0_0

[Dead Parrot]

Originally Posted by natedogg

I'm having the same issue with my 84. Bought a new temp sensor at the parts store, installed it and now it reads too high. How do you read the resistance on the temp sensor to make sure you have the correct one for your truck?

You will need a Ohm meter(the O in VOM). Disconnect the existing sender wire and connect one side of the meter to the sender tab and the other to the engine block. Cold, and depending on ambient temps, your reading should be either a few hundred ohms or between 2 and 3 thousand. As the engine warms, the reading should drop to under, IIRC, 100 ohms, again depending on how warm the engine gets. A 160* tstat may not get under 100 while a 195* should.

There are some resistance curve charts either posted or linked to in some other forum threads on this subject.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by 72velle

Is this the right sensor?
https://www.autozone.com/electrical-...sor/114273_0_0

For what vehicle??

Go to RockAuto.com and drill down to your manufacturer, year, model, and then engine.
Temp sensors will be listed under Cooling System, Temperature Sender/Sensor.

Standard Motor Products sometimes abbreviated to Standard and AC Delco are good suppliers.

[72velle]

Sorry, thought we were still talking 84 chevy truck.

[hatzie]

That sensor will probably make the gauge read something. It has the correct terminal and maybe the correct threads. I've never been real keen on Holley parts on my GM. Holley belongs on my F250.

In 1984 there could be two different senders depending on the sensor hole in the head...
Rockauto isn't the only outfit to carry these but they make it easy to do a lookup.
3/8" Standard TS76 https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...030936&jsn=448
1/2" Standard TS71 https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...030936&jsn=454