Temperature Sensor

[grady]

Where is the sensor for the temp gauge on a V6?

I thought it was the single wire sensor with a male spade connector mounted in the housing where the upper radiator hose attaches to the engine. But unhooking the wire (tan or gray) didn't kill the gauge.

Next I found an adjacent (smaller) single wire sensor (red) but can not remove the wire. It pivots around the top of the sensor post but resists pulling off.

Can't find the answer in the bible nor can I decipher it from the schematics.
Grady

[taz turbo]

Assuming its your 280i (2.8 v6). At the front of the engine there is the aluminium housing (looks like a thermostat housing, but it's not!) the top hose from the radiator connects to this housing, in addition to the top hose there should be three tapings in this housing. The largest tapping nearest the top has a temp. sensor for the fuel injection cold star injector and is connected by a two pin brown AMP connector, the lowest tapping should have a blanking plug screwed into it, rendering it unused (on my car anyway) and between these two there is the third tapping which is the smallest of the three, this is the temperature sender for the temp. gauge. As to the colour, I can't help you there as I re-wired my car and the colours may not be as was, but on my car it's dark green. You said you have TWO single wire output sensors? Does you car have any other emission equipment with it being a US car? And you also said that removing one of these wires had no effect on the temp gauge reading, what manufacture gauges do you have? I ask as the Stewart Warner minor gauges read all sorts of strange readings when the ignition was turned off.

[grady]

Assuming its your 280i (2.8 v6). It is
The largest tapping ...a two pin brown AMP connector, Check
The third tapping which is the smallest of the three, is the temperature sender for the temp. gauge. OK, but how does the wire un-clip??? It looks like it should lift off but I can't pop or pry it off???.
Lowest tapping should have a blanking plug screwed, Nope, this is a larger 1 wire sensor. I've got stock USA pollution equipment.
What manufacture gauges do you have? VDO
Thanks Grady

[taz turbo]

The original temp. gauge sender terminal on my car was a standard 1/4" blade that a female 1/4" receptacle with insulation boot would push onto, however this sender went U/S and the replacement when supplied was a slightly different connection. The terminal on the sender is a round diameter of about 4mm (oops 5/32") with an undercut, what remained looks something like a small mushroom. The original 1/4" receptacle (now without insulation boot) slides over this terminal, obviously not now in the same axis as the centre line of the sender as was with the original but now at a right angle to the centre line. For reference it looks something like this www.csp-shop.de/shop/produkte/en/electric_instuments_racimex_20186a.html

[jeff m]

Grady, it's a red wire on my series 1.5 USA model.
I just went out to pull mine off, It's a tricky little sucker isn't it. It should pull off at right angles to the the sensor, I didn't want to mess with mine too much today. (not convenient to break it right now )
The other two are "thermotime switch and ECU time switch.
Jeff

[grady]

Thanks, all. I'm rigging a temporary digital temp gauge to see what really happening and didn't want to break something that may not already be broken. Grady