Hello, my son bought a 1982 Nissan 280zx and after some work and parts into it, we finally got it going, well almost. We just finished installing an intake manifold gasket and it sounds and test drive was great. But, the coolant temp gauge is not reading. When we first noticed it, the needle was all the way to max hot. But the engine was cold. Then it didnt read anymore. So I started to look for a new one. I cannot find a replacement one. I ordered one from autozone and they sent me one that was like a bullet thing with no thread. I returned it. Then I ordered another one and they sent me the same one. Then I ordered one from Z Car Depot and the one I ordered, is too big but the website showed that it was a fit for my car. I took the temp gauge to Napa so they could tell me what thread size it has. They said it is a 1/4 tapered npt thread. The sensor the car has, is a single wire one. I wonder if I have to get the one wire one or something else. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I could find this sensor or any advice as what I could do. I dont want to drive this car without a temp gauge. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Coolant Temperature Gauge Sensor
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Pretty sure you need the smooth sensor 1 wire, that has a fitting that is threaded and NOT part of the actual sensor. I bought a single part sensor (thread and sensor all in one). I had the wrong resistance, so even though it fits, its not right.
Another thing, nor sure about a zx but on my z the temp gauge has a ground wire that must go to the body ground for the meter to work properly. The normal way to check is to disconnect the single wire bullet connector, should read on the extreme cold, then ground the harness fitting and it should go full hot. that way you can confirm the meter is working, then its just a matter of checking out the resistance fo the sensor, cant recall but I am sure the FSM should give you temp chart that gives you what the resisance should be at various temps.
Another thing, nor sure about a zx but on my z the temp gauge has a ground wire that must go to the body ground for the meter to work properly. The normal way to check is to disconnect the single wire bullet connector, should read on the extreme cold, then ground the harness fitting and it should go full hot. that way you can confirm the meter is working, then its just a matter of checking out the resistance fo the sensor, cant recall but I am sure the FSM should give you temp chart that gives you what the resisance should be at various temps.
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Yea there are several different variations in the aftermarket World. The "smooth" sensor mentioned above has a threaded bushing that is a separate part from the sensor. That may be the "bullet" type that you got. I have noticed that the bushing and the sensor tend to stick together. Look at your original to see of it is the 2 piece type. The sensor is brass and the bushing is steel. You may have to do a little cleaning with a wire brush to see where the two meet. First two pictures are of one of my 3 old spares, all are stuck together. Last two pictures are a 1 piece replacement from somewhere. The threads are metric. Just an odd size metric.
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Thank you Dave M for the information. I had read that the 1 wire sensor, the body acts as the ground. But Im not sure if it applies here. Also, my son started to poke around there and a wire came lose. I do not know where that wire is suppose to be. Yesterday, I took the temp sensor gauge off and the wire broke off, so now I am really need a replacement one. The black wire in the pic is the one to the temp sensor, the other one that has some blue, is the one my son broke off of something. But at the bottom of both wires, I notice they are the same color.
Than you Kickstand 80 for the information. Thank you for the pics. The one I have, looks like a whole piece. It had a wire coming right out of the back of it, with the connection part at the end of the wire. Im wondering if, while I had taken everything apart removing the intake manifold if I got the wire lose. I was removing the sensor yesterday and the wire broke off. This is what it looks like.
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That is not the coolant temp sensor. That is the sensor that turns the injector blower on and off (aka hairdryer) The temp sensor will be the one that has the round spade connector on it (no wire sticking out) it is right next to where this one came from. There should be 4 sensors. 1-thermo-vac switch 2-themo-time switch 3-hair dryer switch and 4-coolant temp sensor.
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Geez, dam your good. Thank you for this information. I am going to go under the good right now.
This helped. So I found it, and the one I ordered seems to be the one I needed after all. I was looking at the wrong thing. I have one more problem, I need to find the wire that goes to the temp sensor. It must be hanging somewhere because the old one, the back is gone.
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Drive it like you stole it........................... maybe not quite. Enjoy it every chance you get!
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Smash up the old sensor and get the bushing off and keep it. You may need it some day.
Ok will do.
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