Finally got off my butt and installed my tranny temp sender , and i get no reading , checked the gauge , have power and ground. How do i test the sender , and how do i test the gauge itself?

 

Trans is probably too cold to register.

 

You can test the sender by putting it into warm water, but I agree with Wannadiesel. You probably just haven't worked it enough to get it hot. Mine was that way too.

 

You could always put it in drive, set the e-brake, and see if it comes off of 100 degrees. As soon as it does, put it in neutral and let it cool down, then shut it off.

 

Oh , think it got PLENTY warm , it should have at least registered , i drove it in town for over an hour , and then it went for a 2 hour cruise on the highway , if that didn't warm it up above 100° then nothing will...

 

My tranny gauge installed in the hot output line to the cooler rarely goes above 100F in the winter. That's why I have a gauge that reads down to zero F.
Cruising on the highway with the TC locked generates very little heat.

 

Is there a way i can test the sender with my DMM hooked up instead of the gauge and see if it is working? What kind of resistance should i be looking for?

I would assume since a 1000 ohm resistor means 100 deg , that i should be looking for anything from say 0-1000 ohms? the hotter it gets the more resistance correct?

 

It all depends on what kind of gauge you have. Some use a thermistor where the resistance changes, some use a thermocouple where the voltage changes, others like the one I have use a heat sensing transistor.
Just drop it down into 1st or 2nd gear and drive for a half hour, the temp should come up.

 

I'd check the ohms cold, drive it, then check the ohm's warm to make sure that it was not the gauge...

2 dumb questions:

You must be using a mag pan, or something after market, right?

Did you seal the sender's threads with some type of compound?

You might have had a plug in there a while before you put the sender in... Aluminum is a fussy metal and will corrode if dissimilar metals touch it. You could have oxidation between the sending unit and the pan caused by the plug that was used prior to the sending unit. Try backing out the sending unit and tightening it back in to get the threads in contact with the metal.

 

Nope , no Mag pan , removed the stock sender and put the aftermarket one in there , for now , once i get my custom tranny lines made i will have both senders inline again.

I did seal the threads with neverseize , instead of teflon.

Bill , i'm trying to think of a place where i can drive around in second gear for that long and not get in the way I think i need to hook up to a trailer and drag it around town.

Oh , and the gauges are Di Pricols , only one wire going to the sender.

 

I have autometer ultra lites and the only time mine moves off 100* is when I'm towing a trailer. Even with my 38's lugging around town I never see that thing move.



~Nick

 

J, test the resistance between the metal body of the sender and the output tube, then the output tube to the frame to see if you have a good ground. Should get zero.
If you want to heat it up without driving put some cardboard in front of the cooler and idle it in N. Should break 100° within five minutes if the truck has been recently driven.