A week or so ago in this locale there was a stretch of a few days of subfreezing weather. During those few days my temp and fuel gauges would not work at all upon starting the car. I attribute this to the cold since, after a few minutes, they would both start working again at the same time.
Now that it has warmed up a bit they work fine but I would swear that they are both reading a little low.
In the past, with my '79 242, I've had the experience of both gauges reading too high when the voltage stabilizer shot craps. But not too low. But since power for both instruments comes through the stabilizer and since both instruments start working again at the same time I want to think that this is also problem with the stabilizer. I guess it's moot since, as far as I know, there's no fix that can be done to it other than replacement. But has anyone run across this condition? Does cold weather affect this item in the way I have described?
I drove the '79 through several cold winters and never had anything like this happen.
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'80 DL 2 dr

Hasn't happened to me, but as you hear Click and Clack repeat ad infinitum, things shrink in the cold, including electrical connections. Seinfeld episode comes to mind. I think the stabilizer in my 79 is a mechanical one perhaps, seems like that's what I recall. Those used to work thermostatically with a bimetal switch, where the later stabilizers are solid state three-terminal regulators.

If it is mechanical you might have a better chance of fixing it as opposed to replacing it. If it is not a loose connection externally, you might be able to pry open the can and find a contact that could benefit from polishing if that is something you like to spend your time doing.

Either way, I'm sure I have a spare (of both types) if I dig a little, if it could help. There isn't that much other than the stabilizer I can imagine to affect just those two gauges. Email welcome!
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Thanks, Art.
I have a spare also. And I even think I know where it is. I really should have tried it before now.
But I was curious as to the repairability of this item. The spare that I have have, from a '79, is identical to the one in the '80. I will have a look inside the unit that seems to be faulty.
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'80 DL 2 dr

I found in my collection two of the old can type with 1/4" faston connections. One looked to be the bimetal version I mentioned; the other was a drop-in look alike but had a circuit board with a pattern to give me reason to suspect it has a three terminal solid state regulator just like the late model 240s have.

I'll just have to get in there and see what it is.
Mine looks like this one (I don't think Dylan will mind that I used his photo).

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'80 DL 2 dr