First, a little back ground info. I purchased a non-running 96 XJ for a build project. After tearing into the engine, it was evident that the engine had run extremely hot. I found a good salvage engine from a 98 Grand Cherokee and proceeded to do the swap. At this point, everything was in good working order except the temp gauge. I did some investigating and was able to figure out what that plug that went to nothing was for, this may explain the original overheating issue since the gauge wasn't even connected. The 98 does not have the head port for the gauge sending unit so I relocated it to the thermostat housing. FYI, it is a Borg Warner sending unit from O'riellys. My gauge now works but it reads too hot. I have confirmed with an infrared gun that the cooling system is working properly and when the gun shows 210 at the thermostat housing, the gauge is pegged. I have found info regarding resistance readings of the sender vs. temp readings but some of it is conflicting. I did a cold check on mine and come up with the following info. The cold engine reads 72 with a temp gun which is the ambient temperature. My gauge with the key on shows 155 and the resistance of my sender is 321 ohms. I purchased an aftermarket gauge but would prefer to keep the stock setup if possible. Is it possible that the sender is bad? Suggestions are greatly appreciated.
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Cooling guru needed
- Thread starter 96camoxj
- Start date
- Location
- Maurertown,Va.
You could have the wrong sender,There is a sender for a guage cluster and one for a light cluster.
Both were available ,PO could have swapped speedo cluster,but not sender.
Lots of threads on placing sender units other than head in the forum......
Both were available ,PO could have swapped speedo cluster,but not sender.
Lots of threads on placing sender units other than head in the forum......
To be sure I'm understanding you, there are two separate senders for a 96? I have read that some had idiot lights on older models and the newer ones have actual gauges. A specific sender is required in each case but I bought the sender for a 96 and I was under the impression that it came from the OEM with gauges not idiot lights.I'm not being argumentative but just trying to make sure I have accurate info.
joe_peters
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Grants Pass, OryGun
Yes--the 1996 has available BOTH a temp light sender and a temp gauge sender.
Is it possible to know which one I have by appearance? It is a 1/8-27 pipe thread with the male spade connection that connected to the factory single wire connector near the firewall. Violet wire if I remember correctly.
- Location
- Maurertown,Va.
They both look the same....one wire. You were correct on the info I gave.
Digger87xj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Buffalo Creek/Lakewood CO
make sure the sending unit has a good ground. use no tape or sealant on the threads
I did use thread compound on the sensor, but to see if this was an issue, I stripped a wire and wrapped it around the exposed threads and then ran it to a chassis ground. It didn't make a difference in my gauge reading. I'm inclined to take my meter to the parts store and check the resistance on another sensor at ambient temperature to see if it is close to what I have now.
Well, I took my meter to the parts store and checked two different brands of sending units. Both sensors showed around 2.5 kilo ohms at ambient temperature. Mine was reading 321 ohms at ambient temperature which explains the high temp reading. It appears that I picked up a bad sending unit. I will install this new one and verify my gauge readings with a temp gun and report back with my findings.
