water temp gauge in my 72 is fluctuating

[Brian]

Hello folks. I just bought a great 72 convertible and it has a few odds and ends to be fixed up, but the one that concerns me is the water temp gauge. When the vette first starts up it appears to work fine for about 5-6 minutes (it registers the engine as being cold and shows an increase over that period of time). It then begins to flicker from what I am assuming is the engine temp.(around 210) to the far left (0-cold). As the drive continues the flickering gets worse and after a short while it rests on the far left as if it is not recieving power. I do not think it is the gauge fuse because all the other gauges are working. Is it a bad or crimped wire some where? Bad connection to the thermostat or a bad thermostat itself? Where would these items be? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for your time. Also if any of you have any suggestions on a good place to get a soft top that would be great too.

Brian

[Bill D.]

Re: water temp gauge in my 72 is fluctuating

Brian,

The temp sender is located on the left side of the engine between he two front spark plugs (#1&3). The wire that attaches to it sends the signal to the gauge. It is common for that wire to have a poor connection or be damaged. It is also possible that the sender is malfunctioning, but the wire is the typical problem.

In my shop I only use tops from Al Knoch Interiors. My opinion, they are the best! Their phone is 800-880-8080. Good luck with the "new" Corvette.

Wild Bill