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

Can someone tell me which term. on the temp gauge the hot wire goes to. It's a second series 55. If it is hooked up wrong will it fry thr gauge.

hot being the one that goes to the ign sw [power], I believe it hooks to the drivers side term - the one to the sender is ground, toward pass side - if the gauge is known good and you hook it backwards, you can tell as soon as you turn on the key, instead of jumping up to C it'll either bury itself to the left or jump to H, you'll know to turn off the key I doubt that would fry it

Bill

Aren't dual terminal temperature senders for idiot lights?

LG

gauge Grif, not sender

Bill

Umm, '55 2nds have mechanical temp gauges. '56 is electric.

not always, may depend on truck size/model, I've got a gauge set from a 55 5T that has the elec gauge .... and we can only answer questions as asked

Bill

OOoops, my bad. I should have known it was pass my nap time.

LG

Just going through that with my '64. From what I've read, it seems that you won't fry it if it's backwards. I believe it is like a light bulb, as long as power goes through it, it don't matter which way. I tested mine to see if it works (it was out of the truck) by putting wires on it and just touching them on a battery. The needle would jump to H hooked up either way but what I DID notice is that wired one way, the needle would hang on H for a few seconds after I removed the ground wire as if there were some sort of residual power and wired the other way, it would immediately go back to C. I made a note of which was which and will wire it so as the needle returns to C right away.

Thanks for the help everyone. George

Just givin' ya a hard time red . The manuals (shop and assembly) only show the mechanical, but I wouldn't be suprized at all if they didn't to a running change. Mine did have the mechaical gauge, but i swapped it out to an electric gauge from a '56.

Update. Just tried mine. Took the truck for a drive and the gauge didn't move. Got home, reversed the wires and the gauge now goes to Hot. I may have the wrong sender but it appears that the wires do have to be the right way.