Oil temperature gauge

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zdr
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Oil temperature gauge

Post by zdr »

Mine's dead, never moves. All other gauges work fine. Any ideas?

Thanks!
David Rice
'67 330GT 2+2 #9673
'71 365GTB/4 #14521
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tyang
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Post by tyang »

Hi David,

Have you checked to see if there is voltage to the gauge? I think the sender is in the bottom of the oil pan. Pull the lead to the sender, and check to see if there is voltage with a test light (Obviously with ignition on). If there's voltage, take to + lead to the sender and touch it to ground. Have a helper look at the gauge to see if the needle moves.

Tom
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330GT
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Post by 330GT »

The water and oil temperature senders are the same parts. So you could just run a test wire from the water sender to the oil temp wire. If the gauge then reads the same as the water temp (have the engine warm), you need a new sender. Otherwise, connect the oil sender to the water temp wire. If water temp gauge reads correctly, your sender is OK and you need to look at the wiring (one piece runs from the gauge to the sender) or the gauge. The +12v runs from one gauge to another as needed, so it's unlikely that there is a problem with that as multiple gauges wouldn't be working correctly.

To access the gauge, remove the tach first. That leaves a big hole to reach through. Much easier and faster than trying to work around the wiring, steering column, etc.

TomY is correct in that the sender is as the rear of the sump on the LH side. The water sender is at the front at the top of the timing chest.

New senders are available and not too expensive at ~$25. Probably one of the cheaper parts for a vintage Ferrari.
Regards, Kerry
http://www.330gt.com 330 GT Registry
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zdr
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Location: Vancouver, WA

Post by zdr »

Thanks guys - I'll try all of the above. Since I posted my original question, I have developed a short in the circut that runs the power antenna, clock, horn, etc. Will start looking for the source of that, too. Any common issues there to start with?

While on electrical stuff - do the cooling fans come on in stages? I've seen one of mine run (driver's side), but not both, but know both of the motors work (have run them directly from battery).

Thanks again,
David
David Rice
'67 330GT 2+2 #9673
'71 365GTB/4 #14521
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tyang
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Post by tyang »

While on electrical stuff - do the cooling fans come on in stages? I've seen one of mine run (driver's side), but not both, but know both of the motors work (have run them directly from battery).
Hi David,

You must have your car mistaken for something a more sophisticated! Check the ground to the fans, and the usual connections.

A common problem with these fans is you need to look closely at the case of the fan body. Get a bright light, and take a close look. You should see something stamped in the body. L U C A S. That's the root of most of the problems.

Tom
'63 330 America #5053
Rudy van Daalen Wetters
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Post by Rudy van Daalen Wetters »

Yes, those Lucas fan motors are junk. They are easily fixed as they
are about as crude as something you built in Electric Shop while
in junior high. Somehow, I still have to keep them on the car...

Rudy van Daalen Wetters
1963 GTE s/n 4001
1966 330 GT s/n 8705
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Post by 330GT »

zdr wrote:...

While on electrical stuff - do the cooling fans come on in stages? I've seen one of mine run (driver's side), but not both, but know both of the motors work (have run them directly from battery).

Thanks again,
David
See http://www.parrotbyte.com/kbc/ferrari/F ... Wiring.htm for the fan circuit. Since your car doesn't have A/C, both fans should come on at the same time when the thermostat senses the water needs cooling.
Regards, Kerry
http://www.330gt.com 330 GT Registry
http://www.parrotbyte.com/kbc/ferrari 250 PF Coupe 1643GT, 330 GT 2+2 8755GT, 308 GTS 23605
Jimmyr
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Post by Jimmyr »

Temp senders are a strange and troublesome item. The internal resistance in them varies with age. The sender is the usual trouble spot in either of the temp gauges. When ordering a new sender be sure to ask if the new sender has an adaptor fiting that fits your engine, as the new replacement senders ( Alfa, Fiat) may have the smaller thread than some of the 250's. One easy test is to remove the sender and place the tip in water and watch the resistance drop as you heat the water. If the resistance is higher than 1000 ohms the internal carbon enement has been damabed by age or heat and can no longer drop to its lower resistance and provide an accurate gauge reading. Jim
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gsjohnson
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Post by gsjohnson »

My oil temp gauge takes a looooooooooong time before the needle moves. Typically this was the same with my vintage race car. The oil takes much longer to get up to temperature in comparison to the water temp gauge.
GS
1965 330 GT 2+2 Interim
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Post by whturner »

gsjohnson wrote:My oil temp gauge takes a looooooooooong time before the needle moves. Typically this was the same with my vintage race car. The oil takes much longer to get up to temperature in comparison to the water temp gauge.
Mine never moves unless I let it idle in the driveway for a long time on a warm day. I asked my mechanic about that and he said it was normal, when used as a race car it will move.

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Warrem
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tyang
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Post by tyang »

With at least 10 quarts of oil, and a finned alloy oil pan, it take a long time for the oil to warm up. That is normal.

Tom
'63 330 America #5053
zdr
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Post by zdr »

On a 3-4 hr mountain drive in 80-90 degree weather this weekend, the needle moved up to 80-90 deg C range. Could that be correct?

The water temp gauge never moved over more than 1/3.

Great drive!
David Rice
'67 330GT 2+2 #9673
'71 365GTB/4 #14521
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tyang
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Post by tyang »

Sounds right to me.

Tom
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Rudy van Daalen Wetters
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Post by Rudy van Daalen Wetters »

Same as mine.

Rudy van Daalen Wetters
1963 GTE s/n 4001
1966 330 GT s/n 8705
zdr
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Post by zdr »

OK, good to hear. I'll assume mine is fine.

BTW - I fixed my cooling fan. Was unplugged at the fuse box. That was an easy one!

Thanks
David Rice
'67 330GT 2+2 #9673
'71 365GTB/4 #14521
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