The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 59 Temp gauge issue

Hello All,

I picked up an old gauge cluster that was pretty rough. I took it all apart, went through it all cleaning and oiling as needed. I blasted and painted all the housings and faces. I reassembled it and everything works but the temp gauge (I tried two different ones). I can not confirm that either ever worked. Both start off on "C" then after I rev the engine they peg out on "H" even on a cold engine (no over heating issues confirmed by my original working cluster). I have read through a few threads that say the gauges need a good ground to work properly.

Since I painted the back of the housing would this cause a grounding issue?
Why would this only affect the temp gauge and not the fuel or volt gauge?
I'm not sure which settings to use to test it on my voltometer - How do I use a voltometer to bench test this?
Would I be able to substitute a spare fuel gauge for an electrical temp gauge?

Thanks in advance

Stock temp gauge is mechanical. Paint, and grounds won't bother it. The bulb and capillary tube are all there is with some alcohol in a sealed unit. Look close at the routing of the tube. One truck I helped with had the tube touching the exhaust manifold, got hot fast. Moved the tube away and it worked fine. There are tips on here about changing to an electrical sensor and gauge. Use the search function for more information.

Thanks Steve I should have been a little more clear in my question. I have a completely working set of gauges in my truck right now. The gauges I am troubleshooting are spare electrical gauges I picked up for just in case. I can not confirm that they ever worked so they are definitely the variable.

1959 temp gauge should have been electric, not mechanical. I think they stopped using mechanical gauges in either later 55 or 56 in the Task Force trucks.

55.2 was the last year for a mechanical gauge.

Hey all,

I wanted to report back on this one. Though the fuel and volt gauges were not affected by the painted surface it seems that the temp gauge was more sensitive to the amount of grounding. I removed the paint around the mating surfaces of the pod and the main cluster housing. I reattached and the gauge works fine. Lesson learned again GM did stuff for a reason...


Just some cool geeky temp gauge tech:

There were two variations of gauge clusters made in 55.2.
Very early ones have no tab on the back by the "C" side of the gauge pod. This means that right and left side pods could potentially be interchanged.

Later 55.2 had the same tab that the 56-59 had on the "C" side of the gauge pod. This prevented interchange of pod.

I have one of each, I know they are both 55s because they have the 55 style turn signal tube mounted to the main housing. I can post pictures of anyone is interested.

Thanks again all.

I'd like to see the difference! I've never had a 55-2 in my hand that I know of, only 56 and up.

Mike B

Learn something new every day. I thought the 55.2 were manual gauges and in 56 they started using electric gauges.

Hey Mike B,

The main noticeable difference is the fact that 55.2 had a tube that the turn signal indicator slid over. 56-59 had three little tabs that the turn signal slid over. See the difference next to the arrows between photo two and three.

Early 55.2 without the tab preventing the pods (right and left) from being interchangeable inside hexagon. Notice the round hole for the turn signal indicator.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m127/59apache/Early_55.2_zpsnd1ydct9.jpg
*quick note, the actual pods on both sides were also interchangeable. The hole for the oil sender and the temp sender were exactly the same sizes. I don't have a picture handy.


Later 55.2 or possibly early 56 with the tab preventing the pods (right and left) from being interchangeable inside hexagon. Notice the round hole for the turn signal indicator.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m127/59apache/Later_55.2_zpspe6zr3gd.jpg


56-59 with the tab same as late 55 inside hexagon. Notice the three punch out tabs where it was round in the previous years.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m127/59apache/56_59_zpsldcivalk.jpg


Roy I think you're right about 56 being the first year for the electric temp gauge.

Just a reminder paint on the backs of these things was a no-no. I took the shots before I removed the paint.

Some more cool geeky trivia:
In 55.2 and possibly early 56 the actual indicator color came from a film glued to a one inch paper tube like the cars had. The same one inch paper tube in 56-59 now had a little plastic cap instead of the plastic film. Early? 56 electrical temp gauges had three dots like in 55 but later on they got two dots and the line in the middle. It is amazing how a junk lot at a swap meet allowed so much learning. It has been a really cool journey so far.

***If anyone can correct this please do! I am no expert just interpreting the differences I see in these three clusters.

Now you have me wondering what my junk clusters look like...I'll report back what I find!

Mike B