DennisT

My, "new to me," '97, (127K) Dodge CTD 4WD factory temp gauge acts odd at times. Cresting Snoqualmie Pass in WA state for the first time I noticed it sweeping slowly from it's normal 11 O'Clock position down to 8 O'Clock on the dial, .. back and forth - from time-to-time. It would do a one-direction sweep in about 30 seconds. A while after the Pass it settled down to normal again.

I did search here but must have missed info. I thought I heard this was a Dodge oddity. I'm headed to Montana next week, (1500 mi round trip), and don't want to leave if something is at risk.

Common sense tells me it must be a thermostat that opens and closes a lot but I've never seen that kind of movement before in any other vehicle I've had.

Comments appreciated,
Dennis

kd460

Normal, don't worry about it. Tons of posts regarding the topic. KD

infidel

Totally normal


Cummins says,

THE COOLING SYSTEM USED ON THE CUMMINS DIESEL ENGINE EQUIPPED VEHICLES PROVIDES THE CAPACITY AND PROTECTION OF THE HIGHER GVWR AND GCWR RATINGS AVAILABLE ON THESE VEHICLES. OWNERS SHOULD BE ADVISED OF THE NORMAL SLOWER WARM UP AND LOWER ENGINE OPERATING TEMPERATURES ASSOCIATED WITH DIESEL ENGINES.

THE COOLANT TEMPERATURE GAUGE WILL FLUCTUATE ON DIESEL ENGINE EQUIPPED VEHICLES. IT IS INFLUENCED BY VEHICLE LOAD, OUTSIDE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AND EXTENDED IDLE TIME. THIS FUNCTION IS CONSIDERED NORMAL

DennisT

Thanks; it's nice to feel OK about such things.

I really try hard to keep my equipment in good shape and when something is new to me, I show up at places like this to learn from smarter folks and get my maintenance down right.

Dennis