general parts? (thermostat)

Denied · Post by **Denied** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:39 pm

Turns out my thermostat is busted, was very hopeful that it was just the cable or the contacts but I have continuity at both ends. Started the car after replacing the radiator, ran fine but the temp gauge didn't move an inch (or even a mm).

As I eluded to in another post, I'm mainly a motorbike person, so I'm a little n00b when it comes to sourcing parts particularly for a Nissan going on over 20 years old.

Given that I have an E15S, where would I go to get a new thermostat? Auto One? Repco? Nissan dealer?

baz · Post by **baz** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:00 pm

Continuity at both ends?..From ecu to coolant temp sensor (1 pin sensor for dash) . the 2 pin is for the ecu

Because you have continuity, doesn't mean its fine, the sensor may be shot or the dash needle maybe shat itself, the 1pin spade connector that goes onto the sensor, earth that out & see if the needle goes up on the gauge, if so then the dash is working..Have you removed the thermostat & bench tested it?..You want to see it open & close, if thats fine then its more than likely your temp sender

Denied · Post by **Denied** » Sat Feb 02, 2013 4:21 pm

I was just checking continuity in the cable as the cable was brittle and generally looking to be in cruddy condition.

After a quick run down to get some beer from the local bottle-o the temp gauge finally started responding as expected and came up to about 1/4 temp (which is where it used to usually sit)

Damo · Post by **Damo** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 8:19 am

Just to clarify a couple of things. You are talking about a temperature sensor, not a thermostat, they are two related items that are nothing alike. The temp sensor which operates the in dash gauge (as Baz has stated) is the single wire one. Coming from an electrical trade background 'continuity' is an extremely wide term to use, and almost irrealevantn as anything will show 'continuity' if you throw enough voltage at it.
If you measure resistance from the wire going into the loom to the gauge and to the positive terminal of the battery (with ignition on), you are measuring resistance of the gauge and wire. If the results are less than 200ohms, everything is ok. Make sure you give the wire a good wiggle while checking the resistance to show up potential damage inside the wire's sheathing.
If you measure the resistance of the sensor to ground, the very nature of the sensor will change its resistance depending on the temperature of the coolant surrounding it. 'They' have a negative temperature coefficient so as temp increases, resistance will decrease. At 20deg, I would expect a temp sensor like it to read something like 1200-5000ohms. You can do a search to find out exactly the range, but that should be close enough.

Damo

baz · Post by **baz** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 5:45 pm

When he says Continuity, to my understanding its when you have a complete circuit, so if he teased from the the beginning to the end, & the multimeter beeped, then there is a solid connection..Thats just what I gather his talking about?

Denied · Post by **Denied** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:55 am

yep, baz, got it in one. I was just concerned about the cable as it looked extremely brittle and where the cable went into the connector (at the temp sensor end) looked like it had snapped off.

And yup, I see that the temp sender/sensor and the thermostat are different things. but correct me if I'm wrong, it looks like the temp sender is in the thermostat housing, right? Single wire connection?

I think the reason I was having trouble was that I was being too impatient and the thermostat hadn't opened yet, meaning no coolant was flowing past the temp sender, thus no movement on the needle. But this is just me guessing, please correct me if I'm wrong

Post by **tassuperkart** » Wed Feb 06, 2013 8:20 am

The water temp guage sender AND thge EFI temp sender are both subject to bypass water flow when the thermostat is closed.

So the guage will go up regardless of what the thermostat is doing.

Oracle

Denied · Post by **Denied** » Wed Feb 06, 2013 4:52 pm

I like it here... you guys are really on the ball and know what you are talking about

poeticjustice88 · Post by **poeticjustice88** » Wed Feb 06, 2013 5:41 pm

That's a blatant lie and we disregard ANY notion of knowledge!

Denied · Post by **Denied** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:05 pm

Fine. I take it back.

baz · Post by **baz** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:50 pm

As Pops said, the needle will move before the thermostat opens as the thermostat will open at around 75 degrees (depending on what thermostat temp you have, its written on the thermostat at what temp it opens)...

Post by **tassuperkart** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:04 pm

And furthermore, the opening temp is just that, when the 'sta BEGINS to open. Full opening will happen considerably after that.
Always worth remembering!

Oracle