2000 Dodge Neon temperature guage

FIREBOSS2

MEMBER
2000 DODGE NEON
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
95,000 MILES

My temperature guage goes from normal to zero. The check engine light came on and a ding was heard. The guage goes back to normal and then goes to zero. After a few minutes the guage will jump to high hot and drop to normal. It appears that the cooling system has planty of fluid.

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 AT 7:51 PM

7 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

thank you for the donation,

This may just be a faulty sensor, but as the check light is on, I would be getting a scan to see what the set fault code is, tart here and report what you find.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 AT 8:07 PM

FIREBOSS2

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6 POSTS

You may be right. The code is PO117 - Engine coolant temperature sensor 1 circuit low input is what I retrieved from my PocketScan Plus.

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Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 AT 8:42 PM

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

OK, I would be replacing the sensor first.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 AT 1:02 AM

FIREBOSS2

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6 POSTS

I replaced the sensor and the problem still exists. The temp guage is "locking" out at zero which causes the fan to cut on. How can I test the wiring?

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Saturday, June 26th, 2010 AT 5:11 PM

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

If you earth out the temp sender wire, the gauge should deflect to full hot, just hold the earth long enough for someone to tell you it moves, it should be instantaneous.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Sunday, June 27th, 2010 AT 1:16 AM

FIREBOSS2