no power till 4 grand FTW?

[wannaS13]

so recently i had to change my coolant temp sensor as it went bad so i got one for a 300zx....kinda worked but but not much the needle doesnt move until my autometer gauge reads 180. so i got one for a 97 sentra same thing with this one as well. my question is could it be possible that my timing is messed up before any of this it ran great then all the sudden my gas mileage sucks (like half a tank in 54 miles) also i did search but no similar post please help me as this is my DD

[wannaS13]

bump

[Rosco]

I used one from a 93 s13...I dunno why your using ones from other cars...Check the parts guide up top(the stucky).

[wannaS13]

i am guessing that yours is a square plug....i wish mine was as well but it isnt it an oval shape......

[Luke]

Ok, there are TWO coolant temp sensors. One for the water temp gauge and the other for the ECU. I've found that you NEED an S13 when getting the one for the gauge reading. The ECU's sensor can also be sourced from any KA I think, but not sure.

gauge sensor: round shaped with flat connector and only one wireECU sensor: square with two wires, mine is red

Hope this helps find what you need. If you replaced just the round one, you're only affecting the temp reading inside the car. I'll also put my money on the 300ZX one being completely wrong. I used an S14 on my S13 SR20DET and the needle wouldn't move until warmed up. And it never went past the first mark where it should be sitting in the middle.

[wannaS13]

ok well the connector on my harness is a two pin oval shaped one. so i need a sensor the same any suggestions? also do you know what temps coincide with the marks on the dash cluster so i can compare them to my autometer?

[rkreimer10]

ok so your post title says no power til 4 grand. then in your post you start talking about a bad coolant temp sensor, then it goes to could it be bad timing and bad gas mileage. if you were a little more specific on symptoms and a timeline in which you started have in problems we might be able to help you. ill try to help though.

coolant sensor i bought mine from a 93kade works just fine.

as for your timing you need to check it in order to find out if its bad. thats the only way to know.

as far as gas mileage: check your plugs heck buy new ones ngk's bkr7e11 and gap them to .028-.032. check your o2 sensor, coilpacks, fuel injectors, make sure you dont have a fuel leak, change your fuel filter. basically test or check anything that has anything to do with fuel,spark, or airflow.

hope this info helps.

[240TweakerNewbee]

Ok, there are TWO coolant temp sensors. One for the water temp gauge and the other for the ECU. I've found that you NEED an S13 when getting the one for the gauge reading. The ECU's sensor can also be sourced from any KA I think, but not sure.

gauge sensor: round shaped with flat connector and only one wireECU sensor: square with two wires, mine is red

Hope this helps find what you need. If you replaced just the round one, you're only affecting the temp reading inside the car. I'll also put my money on the 300ZX one being completely wrong. I used an S14 on my S13 SR20DET and the needle wouldn't move until warmed up. And it never went past the first mark where it should be sitting in the middle.

Or you could find out what the required voltage range is for the gauge then what the voltage range for the sensor is, do some math, hit up a radio shack and adjust the voltages coming from the sensor to match the gauge. Just a thought. (my Computer Science degree has to be good for something)

[Luke]

Yeah but someone without electrical knowledge wouldn't know how to solder in-line resistors or whatever else needed to adjust the voltage. Too much research when you can just drive up to a Nissan parts dept. and ask for the coolant temp sensor for your chassis (S13, S14). It's just a 1-wire sensor and it costs like $5.00. The ECU temp sensor is a little more, $20-25.

[srdrifter]

I'm gonna chime in on this one but don't know if this will help or not. I just got done dropping my KA24DE back in after building it to handle 600+ HP. That makes me no expert, but I will say that before I took it out I couldn't pass smog (CA). The code it threw when tested was for a "coolant temp sensor" - don't know which one (i am replacing both this weekend for the heck of it). BUT on the KA24DE there is what looks to be a ground wire that has a ridiculous mounting bracket on it that is almost impossible to reconnect if it comes off. I found that mine didn't come off completely but it was hanging by a thread. One day my temp gauge went all the way up to the top, and then dropped back down to nothing in like 2 seconds. Upon inspection I found that this "ground wire" (not sure if that's what it is) was hanging by a thread. When my buddy wiggled it around my temp gauge was all over the place. We "rigged it" back on using a paperclip (yeah yeah it's ghetto) and now the temp gauge works perfect. The coolant temp sensor still has not been replaced and the only thing I've noticed is that the check engine light is on and the electric fan doesn't turn on automatically (if it's hot i turn on the A/C - compressor not hooked up - and that turns the fan on). Any how, hope this helps or at least eliminates one possible problem.