Hello all, just had a quick question concerning the significance the role of the temperature sender plays in relation to proper cooling system function?
I believe my 1994 LS400 may be experiencing a malfunctioning cooling system and is possibly causing it to overheat. My temp gauge does not work so i cant be to sure if its overheating or not so i just haven't really been driving it.
ill save my cooling system issues and other problems for another post. but i managed to narrow down my faulty temperature gauge to the needle and motor in my cluster, but until i have the time to get one from the scrap yard, i bought a new universal one from the auto parts store.
So now back to my question. Does the stock temperature sender have any other function besides moving the temperature gauge? as in is it connected to the ECU or something that would cause my car not to run properly if not installed?
i plan on using the port of the original temp sender to install the new universal one and just want to make sure that it wont cause any other problems before i go ahead and do so

 

Hey buddy.

I'm 99% sure the sender is only for the gauge needle.

I've had to replace both. My gauge wasn't working either. First I replaced the Coolant Temp Sensor which is for the ECU and then I realized there is a Sender for the actual gauge. Well I changed that one out too but my cluster is just bad - needle still doesn't work. However this tells me that the Engine Temp Sender is just for the gauge.

Also are you sure a universal one will work? These cars are very sensitive and I think the sender is cheap... Like $20-30 new if I remember? Good luck. Try changing the Coolant Temp Sensor if you feel your car is having problems because of that. If that one has over 100k miles on it, you will probably get some power and throttle response back. When I did mine, it was a significant change.

 

hey thanks for replying! Yeah im positive its the cluster! i pretty much went through the potential causes i could think of, and replaced one part at a time until basically it was the only thing left! first thought my thermostat. got that. before i even had the chance to install it the upper hose randomly decided to blow off my radiator and broke the neck. oh well. got a new radiator. installed the thermostat.. nothing... okay i thought. ECT sensor.. nope.. okay okay now it HAS to be the ECT sender right? nope.. so i decided to break into the cluster to see what was going on. ( i had my suspicions about it since day one, not only did it never move from cold, but it also wouldn't illuminate as the other gauges did). so i took it apart. and actually that reminds me i was going to make a post concerning something id encountered on the inner face of the back plastic cover...
anyways, i noticed during the disassembly that i was definitely not the first to be taking it apart, and whoever had in the past was certainly not as careful as they couldve been. most the plastic tabs were snapped off, and had a few missing screws... whatever. i get to the temperature gauge only to find that the coil spring mechanism, that i can only assume allows it to spin move correctly, was destroyed! i mean it was all tangled up. ruined beyond repair... not to say i didn't try...
so i did look online for a new one but the only one i found was on ebay, only it seemed it was only the motor itself and did not appear to have the needle coil combo deal included with it, which is primarily the only thing i need i suppose. although i would rather go with a whole new unit to be on the safe side.. and besides im thinking i might just replace the whole cluster assembly with one from the scrap yard anyway. mines not all that pretty anyways lol

 

There are a few temperature sensors on these cars. One just for the gauge. One for the fuel injection system. One for the radiator fans. At least for the gen 1 stuff.

 

https://www.lkqpickyourpart.com/loca...ia-281/prices/

25-30 bucks for whole cluster at pickapart.

InstrumentCluster (digital)$25.87
Instrument Cluster (manual)$31.00