Isuzu Trooper Owners Club UK™

NZ Trooper 87 · Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 22:38 Post subject: Newbie owner temp gauge question!

Hi there everyone. New to Isuzu and new to 4WD. Just bought a great little 1987 Mk1 SWB trooper. 2.2 turbo diesel. 220,000kms on the clock. Very tidy and we're pretty stoked with it. The temperature gauge on the dash sits hard over to the left under C for cold and never seems to move. Question: Is that where it's supposed to point under normal operating temps OR should it point straight up half way between C and H? I obviously dont want this thing to overheat so I want to make sure the gauge at least is working but Ive never seen one that sat under C the whole tim before. So is this normal or should I look for the fault?

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Browndoff · Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 0:45 Post subject:

You know yourself that it should be about half-way - on almost ANY car! The whole design of the coolant system of ANY engine is aimed at maintaining the 'ideal' operating temperature - so if there's a temperature gauge - the needle should quickly get to the middle and then stay there!

OK - so your new car is NOT showing an ideal temperature reading. Does the needle move at all? If NOT - then the coolant temperature sensor [near the thermostat, at the front of the engine-block] is 'dead' and must be replaced - ideally with a new sensor but s/h will do - 'cos it's NOT a part that is subject to wear. Alternatively, it could be fine - but the dashboard GAUGE has an electrical fault......!

If it DOES move - but stays reading 'cool' until you've travelled beyond 15 km - then it's a STUCK Thermostat that's the problem [it's under a housing at the engine-end of the upper Rad-hose]. It should only open when the engine reaches the 'ideal' temp [about 5 km] - if it's stuck open, it takes ages to heat up the engine.
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2002 LWB Trooper 3.0L
I've done some major repairs, including replacing half-shaft, replacing fuel-injectors etc.

NZ Trooper 87 · Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 3:01 Post subject:

OK great thanks. Thats all I need to know for now. Our gauge stays at zero almost all the time. It apparently did move off of zero once but I didnt see that so I cant confirm. I'm going to try replacing the sender unit first since that seems easy/cheap and see what happens. Thanks Browndoff.