Temp gauge not working

[Etch]

Ok, almost 200 hours on my 3525 and I have encountered my first problem. I noticed the temp gauge is no longer working. All other gauges are working. Any suggestions on where to start troubleshooting?

[AchingBack]

Sometimes it is a simple as a corroded, or loose contact where the temp sensor connects on the engine block.

[skipmarcy]

If it uses the typical one-wire sensor you can ground the wire to a good ground and it should peg the gauge all the way hot. If this works, the sending unit (sensor) is bad. If it doesn't peg the gauge, trace the wire back for a broken connection to the gauge. If OK, check for 12v power to the gauge with a test lite or voltmeter. If all this checks out, the gauge is bad.

[Etch]

Thanks for the info. I tried the grounding the sensor lead, but no change on the gauge. The tractor is still under warranty, so I'm going to talk to the dealer before I crack open the instrument cluster. I didn't see any break in the wire up to the console.

[Etch]

Must be a loose connection or ground somewhere, because magically, my temp gauge is working again. I had started the tractor yesterday to finish up some shredding befor taking out the instrument cluster as instructed by my dealer. As I was getting on the tractor I noticed the fuel gauge wasn't working in addition to the temp gauge. Oh well, I need to get this done, so I started moving and the gas gauge started working, but not the temp gauge. About half way through shredding I look down and the temp gauge is working again and it continued working the whole time, so I guess it's something loose.

[Ken Cunningham]

I remember reading somewhere about a wire on the alternator causing guages to not work, I think it was the ground wire for the alternator.

[Etch]

Yeah I read that too. I have checked it and it is not loose. Might be a loose connector to the gauge cluster.