WATER TEMP GUAGE acting weird?

[1bad_stang]

Ok, I put my boost guage and water temp guage on this weekend and now I have a few questions. First off, my water temp guage reads 180*-200* before the stock guage is even a quarter of the way up!! The stocker still rides about halfway (normal) when the car is fully warmed. The temp guage I installed reads 200* after full warm up. Does this sound right? Is the stock guage that inaccurate? Maybe it has something to do w/ the way I powered the new guage.
My second and most important question is: Why when I dim the lights on the dash and new guages the water temp. guage drops by as much as 15*-20* Turn the lights up and the temp guage goes up?!:shrug: I'm thinking I should've put the switched 12v for the temp gauge on its on hot line? Its hooked up w/ the power wire that runs the lights on the guages.

Thanks guys,
Verlin

 

[traktrbeam]

I would say the readings are normal, but the dimming effect is NOT.

 

[Screamin Cobra]

Ok, I put my boost guage and water temp guage on this weekend and now I have a few questions. First off, my water temp guage reads 180*-200* before the stock guage is even a quarter of the way up!! The stocker still rides about halfway (normal) when the car is fully warmed. The temp guage I installed reads 200* after full warm up. Does this sound right? Is the stock guage that inaccurate? Maybe it has something to do w/ the way I powered the new guage.
My second and most important question is: Why when I dim the lights on the dash and new guages the water temp. guage drops by as much as 15*-20* Turn the lights up and the temp guage goes up?!:shrug: I'm thinking I should've put the switched 12v for the temp gauge on its on hot line? Its hooked up w/ the power wire that runs the lights on the guages.

Thanks guys,
Verlin

Yeah, the readings sound about right. That is if your fans are on stock settings and you still have the 180* thermostat. With the water temp, you just connected it incorrectly. Just switch where you hooked the wire from the cluster lighting to the proper connector on the gauge itself. I did that myself when I was hooking up my buddy's gauge, I just connected it to the proper place afterwards. It was an autometer lunar series gauge.

 

[1BDSNK]

Yep, 180 - 200 sounds about right. These cars run hot. Even in the cool air we now have in Michigan, my car still runs at least 185 - 190.

If your gauge needs both a power & lighting connection, then tap fuse #20 for a keyed 12 volts and tap fuse #37 for the light dimmer. Both of these are found in the small fuse panel in the driver side foot well. These are mini fuses and the mini Add A Circuits work well for this application.

 

[GetBitBiatch]

It depends on where you located the temp. sensor. When mine was installed it was put near the rear of the block which is the farthest place from the radiator that it could possibly be. The stock sensors are closer to the radiator and reads the temp of the water coming thru there and the aftermarket gauge would be reading the temp. of the block after the water has been cycled thru the block and warmed again. Both gauges are right, just taking the readings at different locations.