Just took a five hour drive (vacation) in our 1992 245. The temperature gauge will go from normal to next to the bottom of the temperature gauge after a while, back to normal and than sometimes it will go higher than normal, back down to the bottom of gauge.

We have to make the five hour drive again on Friday. Will it be okay to make this drive? I have a new thermostat ordered from eeuroparts that will probably have arrived by the time we arrive back home.

Thanks.

I tried sending you some Pics on how to put the jumper on teh Back of the Cluster. Makes soldering a breeze.

This Encrypted E-mail thing that Jarrod has here is a great idea for keeping the spammers at bay BUT for some reason works sometimes and doesn't other times.
--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony's%20cars.htm

I agree with Paul. Nothing worth agonizing about on vacation, if it does respond to the smack on the dash. Here's another link with info on your repair options: http://cleanflametrap.com/tempFaker.html
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

I would recommend making a stop by harbor freight or Radio Shack and pick up a non-contact infrared digital thermometer. Once the car is hot, and the gauge goes high, point the thermometer at the upper radiator hose and pull the trigger. That will tell you for certain how hot or cool the engine is.

That being said, you have a compensation board problem, truly classic symptoms.

jorrell
--
92 245 278K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

Comp board almost certainly. I did mine the other weekend. Wandering temp gauge now solidly right in the middle where it belongs.

I agree with Paul.
It sounds very typical of the Compensation Board Failure.
--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony's%20cars.htm

I would suspect your temperature compensator board before anything else. That will scare the heck out of you, the contacts get loose over time and vibration will cause the needle to start wondering around (most of the time up). Used to have the same sort of issue with hovering right below the red mark when you slowed down or in traffic.

The test for that is to make a fist and give the area right over the top of the gauge on the dash top a couple of good thumps. A wild eyed look while you are doing it will enhance the effect for any onlookers. The gauge eases down into a more normal area of the center and that is a sure sign of the problem. You could also take the back of a knuckle and give the face a few good thumps.

You can find the fix at this link. You only need a 24 gauge wire, some solder, and a Phillips screwdriver to complete the task. That and remember what goes where on the back of the cluster.

On driving home, if you have not bypassed the board, check the coolant level and condition of all the hoses. If they look good and you can jar the gauge back to normal, you should be good to go. Make sure that it's the gauge, take for a drive and when it heads to red, try the thump test.

Good Luck,

Paul

We went for a drive last night and the needle rested at the very bottom of the temperature gauge-where it is positioned when the car is turned off. I gave it a smack on the dash above the gauge and it started moving up. It hovered around the 7/8 o'clock position.

I will be bypassing the temperature compensation board ASAP.

Thanks again!