[1real95SS]

as i read all water gauges go bad in the impala and the sensor on the front by the water pump is for the pcm. i have a auto-meter gauge ready to install but need to know if i tap into the wire on the RH side of the block will my gauge read??

 

[1real95SS]

anybody? Ive ran everything but the sender wire and ground. where can i tap into??

 

[1real95SS]

or do i have to use the sending unit that came with the gauge?

 

[BigB9000]

Pretty sure you have to use the unit that came with the gauge.
Maybe remove the pipe plug from the driver side head and tap into it there?

I wouldn't mess with the WP sender though.

 

[94MI9C1]

I don't know where you read that all temp gauges go bad, they are no more prone to failure over an Autometer gauge to be honest, most from what I can gather put one in for better accuracy.

As stated above DO NOT splice off the temp sender on the water pump, leave it alone.

If you aren't going to use the factory gauge just takeout the original sender on the passenger side and put in the new gauge sender. I really don't think that there is any difference in the senders to be honest, pretty sure all manufacturers use the same sender specifics.

 

[1real95SS]

NOOOO i wasnt talking about tapping into the WP sensor i was reffering to the one on the passanger side.
as far as the gauges going bad, ive read countless threads of people saying they have been thru the same issue weather it was the sensor, gauge etc... seems common in these cars to have temp fail.

but as u stated ...

i should unplug the one wire sensor on the passanger side of the block... and replace the new sender there?

 

[1real95SS]

DID I MENTION I HAVE THE ELECTRIC GAUGE AUTO METER ... it came with two fittings such as these

 

[1real95SS]

anybody??

 

[94MI9C1]

Yes
remove old put in new, I still think that you can use the old sender, but I am not entirely sure on that one.

 

[1real95SS]

Yes
remove old put in new, I still think that you can use the old sender, but I am not entirely sure on that one.

i figured it out. was fairly easy. thanks!

 

[pmgm]

Coolant temp

I just saw this post.. Where can I put my sender(Autometer) in but also keep the factory one to....

Thanks

 

[ocala]

PMGM, I have the same question.

I want to keep the factory gauge working, plus add an Autometer. I'll have to check but I think mine is mechanical.

Anyway, now there's two of us with the same question!

 

[juniorwatson]

I want to keep the factory gauge working, plus add an Autometer. I'll have to check but I think mine is mechanical.

Anyway, now there's two of us with the same question!

I installed the F-Body sender & connector in the water pump and a mechanical gauge in the RH cylinder head. I had to get a plumbing adapter to fit into the cylinder head and then thread the mechanical gauge sender into it.

The F-Body sender and connector allow you to keep the PCM and OEM gauge. They BOTH will read from the sender in the water pump and the mechanical will obviously read the water temp in the cylinder head.

 

[ocala]

Water Temp sender

Hi,

Would anyone who has mounted a water temp sender in the R/H cylinder head mind taking a pic so I can be sure I'm putting it in the correct location?

Also, not to push my luck, but I have a mechanical Oil TEMP and a mechanical OIL PRESSURE gauge that I plan to mount as well. All of these will be IN ADDITION TO and NOT REPLACING any existing gauges. Appreciate any advice as to where I can mount these sending units.

Pictures would be wonderful...

Thanks everyone,

Tony

 

[juniorwatson]

Hi,

Would anyone who has mounted a water temp sender in the R/H cylinder head mind taking a pic so I can be sure I'm putting it in the correct location?

Also, not to push my luck, but I have a mechanical Oil TEMP and a mechanical OIL PRESSURE gauge that I plan to mount as well. All of these will be IN ADDITION TO and NOT REPLACING any existing gauges. Appreciate any advice as to where I can mount these sending units.

Pictures would be wonderful...

Thanks everyone,

Tony

Tomorrow morning I can get you pix of the water temp sender into the head, as well as the mechanical oil pressure setup.

If memory serves me correctly I got adapter for the mechanical oil PSI into the engine block from Ghetto Wagon for just a few bucks last year. The engine block has a hex head plug in there from the factory.

More to come tomorrow (I'm spending some time with my parents before they fly back to Austin tomorrow)

 

[ocala]

Thank you!

I'll look forward to that. A picture is definitely worth a thousand word when you're doing this kind of stuff. I just want to be sure I don't mess anything up.

I really appreciate your effort.

 

[ocala]

One more question...

Can you please explain this:

"The F-Body sender and connector allow you to keep the PCM and OEM gauge."

I really don't understand, thanks again.

 

[juniorwatson]

Here is the water temperature sender pic:

1. I used a straight piece of pipe from the cylinder head to the adapter; 1"
2. You'll need to get an adapter into the cylinder head (Where the OEM Gauge sender is).
3. Install the AutoMeter Adapter (RED) into the hardware store pipe (Rusty) adapter.
4. Thread the water temperature sender into the AutoMeter adapter.

The Oil PSI Sender (As good as I could get by squeezing my hand down in there):

The Adapter to the engine block I bought from GhettWagon, and the rest of the fittings were supplied with the AutoMeter gauge. I chose to put a piece of clear tubing over the 1/8" nylon tubing for the gauge, to give it a little resistance to any heat that is generated in that area the best I could.

I ran the lines up through the firewall (I drilled a hole for both gauges and used the AutoMeter supplied grommet to seal the firewall), and then made two service loops in case I the line got pinched or anything went wrong), and then into the gauge.



I used a 2" hole saw, and then this tool to make the cut-outs for the gauges:

Here is a pic of the F-Body sender I installed in the water pump, so I could have both the PCM and OEM dashboard gauge reading off the same place allowing me to install the AutoMeter sender in the cylinder head.

You'll need the sender as well as the 3 conductor pigtail to do this (I'll have to dig up my receipts later if you want P/Ns for this)

This is the best shot I could get with the RAISS installed.

The conductor with the heat shrink tubing goes to the factory wiring for the OEM dashboard gauge from the RH cylinder head.

Here is a picture when I first installed the gauges:

I decided to move them outward more so I could better see them while driving (In a 2nd bezel I had)

I hope this helps.

 

[juniorwatson]

Can you please explain this:

"The F-Body sender and connector allow you to keep the PCM and OEM gauge."

I really don't understand, thanks again.

The factory sending unit in the water pump is what the PCM sees for water temperature. It has a 2-pin head on it. You need to install an F-Body sending unit in place of the factory sending unit to keep both the PCM and dashboard gauge working.

You don't have to do this, but I chose to just for my own kicks to see where the factory gauge read in relation to real world measurements from the AutoMeter gauge.

I got the sending unit and connector from RockAuto.

 

[ocala]

Thank you for the extra effort to help!

This is a really great help. I was cutting trees that fell in my yard during a storm yesterday, so this is the first chance I've had to look at it.

I'm going to get further along and see how it goes. What is the difference between the F-body and B-body sender? I guess I'm dense but I still don't understand. I DO want to have the autometer, as well as the dash guage working.

Thanks again,

Tony