[lareerudee]

Yes, I searched a lot, some details missing, or not clear. This is for my 1993 LX 1.9 SW. This has been my daily driver for approx 9 years. This is about my FIFTH 1.9 Escort, all 5 speeds and never had a problem with the Temp Gauge. I see posts galore about the variation in "normal" indication on the face of the gauge, and yes, mine varied car to car too, but always a reasonable indication. But THIS 1993 is reading HIGH HIGH HIGH, sometimes WAAAY PAST HOT. but not boiling, nor heating up. I had a mechanic test temps with infrared, and said gauge is not accurate, but the fans come on at reasonable temps. Yes, I replaced the temp sensor/sender, and gauge does the same thing. I'd like more accurate indication, so am willing to buy an aftermarket gauge. I see others did that too, but it leaves some questions unanswered. The "new" sensor that comes with the gauge is longer than our "receptacle" will accommodate. Is there an electronic gauge that somebody has that can use the existing single wire? For now, pretend that I don't care if it's on the driver side windshield post, on the dash, in the cupholder or LAYING on the PASSENGER SEAT. I just want to know if there's one that you folks have used that will meet this criteria? Or if it comes with a new sensor, will it fit in the existing threaded connection?

Thanks

 

[denisond3]

I have never used an aftermarket gauge. I have had five escorts, and with one of them the gauge would read too high - anytime the engine was warmed up and the ignition was on; but if I shut the engine off, the gauge would immediately drop back to what was a normal reading. This got fixed when I eliminated the rectangular item attached to the negative terminal of the battery. It had 3 to 5 wires (depending on options) connected to it, and they are all just ground wires. I cut the wires off, stripped back the insulation, and soldered them all together, along with an extra wire. The extra wire i bolted to the firewall where the original ground cable was clamped to the firewall. Presto - the gauge behaved normally after that.
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[zzyzzx]

I also think that you should fix the real problem instead of adding a another gauge.

 

[Joey_Twowagons]

You can add a 3/8 NPT "adapter" to increase the depth to accomodate the longer sensor of your gauge.

Weatherhead 3200x6.

 

[henryinSATX]

I'm sure my OEM gauge is working ok, but if you want something better than "one pinky finger's up from C" there's a much better setup hanging slopily from my center A/C vent. It's a 9V battery-powered thermocouple display. It's somewhat like this one

these react very quickly, and are sensitive. At idle, warmed up, I see my coolant temp drop 2 to 4 degree C within 30 to 45 seconds after hitting the heat to high. Mine is wired to read the coolant leaving the head, using a metal inline adapter, with an industrial thermocouple threaded into it. I haven't tried it, but I think this one would work ok with the sensing junction slid inside the top hose as you fit the hose onto the radiator inlet (the wires are thin & uncrushable, it probably wouldn't leak). The downside is there's only 40 or 50 inches of lead, but maybe enough to trail it over the fender, back out the hood at the cowling, and in beside the door. You may be stuck taping the display to the A-pillar. I'm an instrumentation tech, so I had the luxury of using the premium setup from work. This is cheap and simple, just to try it w/o spending a lot. You'll be surprised at how UNINFORMATIVE the OEM gauge is. This is NOT your grandmother's temp light in the Oldsmobile!

Or, you could get a harbor freight DVOM, with a thermocouple feature, but the lead may not be as long. Trust me, if you want to know the EXACT temp, RIGHT NOW, something like this is the setup.