I am considering buying a car. It drives good, is clean, and appears to have been well maintained by its current owner, but he doesn't have a lot of information about this issue. The needle that reads the car's tempature doesn't work or doesn't work correctly. Sometimes is reads and stays hot-and sometimes it reads and stays cold. There are no funny noises from the engine and no other gauges indicate any type of issues. Everything looks good under the hood. I was wondering how serious of an issue this could be or not. thanks.
2007-05-07 01:25:02 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
First of all - it's a Ford product. Second of all, it's a used Ford product with no warranty. I would avoid a used Navigator...it is common to have electrical, transmission, engine and suspension problems on these vehicles.
Also, it has had 12 different recalls.
Compare that to the Honda Pilot - it has had 3.
2007-05-07 01:32:54 · answer #1 · answered by Gemma 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I suspect the guage is receiving an intermittant fault - the wiring is faulty or the sensor is failing. If the car is running well with no signs of overheating then the guage is reading incorrectly. You can check the wiring for a bad connection. Since the guage is showing something I think it is probably still good. The sensor may be failing but when those go you usually do not get a readout at all. I would have the wiring traced.
2007-05-07 08:37:38 · answer #2 · answered by K R 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Year make model and mileage would be helpfull. Unless the temp guage issue is repaired by the current owner keep looking. As always buy the best example of the car you want and afford. You have to know before the engine overheats! And know and trust what the temp actually is.
2007-05-07 08:33:53 · answer #3 · answered by John Paul 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes there's a separate coolant sensor that drives the temperature gauge. You can look up it's location on your engine at http://www.autozone.com and buy a new temperature sensor for $25 that's easy to install. But first remove and reconnect the wire connector to the gauge sensor and that may fix the problem. The engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT) is another temperature sensor that tells your computer how hot the engine is to run the engine properly.
2007-05-07 08:39:42 · answer #4 · answered by bobweb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like a shorted, loose or grounding wire to the temp sensor...may be hard to track down but check the connector at the sensor first and trace the wire back from there to find the cause. Paul
2007-05-07 08:39:14 · answer #5 · answered by paul h 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋