Thermostat not working?

[lilskyline240]

Well i finally got my FMIC on my car today and got to drive it for the first time. Drove it around awhile but the temp gauge never went up at all. came home and poped the hood and the motor is definitely hot. The raditor and upper radiator hose are hot but the lower hose is still cold. Like no coolant is going through it. So could my thermostat be not opening? or is the motor not hot enough to open? i cant tell cuz my temp gauge on my cluster isnt working. IM running a Mishimoto raditor with twin 10inch fans.

any imput would help

[Shocker]

you using a KA temp sensor for the KA gauge? Or is it an AM gauge?

[lilskyline240]

no im using the RB sensor for the KA gauge. Do i need a KA sensor? i was under the impression the RB sensor would work

[rb25drag]

I wouldn't trust the Cluster at all. Mine read normal and it was actually boiling back in the day. Buy an aftermarket electronic gauge from a parts store and get a correct temp reading. It should workk fine off the sensor you have.

[lilskyline240]

thats what ima do tomorrow hopefully because i would like to know exactly what temp im at.

Whats the best way to burp the coolant because i think i have a huge bubble in my lower radiator hose

[rb25drag]

Jack the car up. Crank it, turn the heater WideOpen, and crack the valve next to the Throttle body till all the air comes out.

[lilskyline240]

i have a greddy intake manifold so i dont have that bleeder valve

[rb25drag]

I would think jacking the car up and taking the radiator cap off and letting it sit for a while would do the trick then.

[Shocker]

no im using the RB sensor for the KA gauge. Do i need a KA sensor? i was under the impression the RB sensor would work

nope it needs to be KA sensor KA gauge, change it out see what happens.

[PorkChopExpress]

knowing your accurate temp and oil pressure are soooo important. get some gauges. see if its just your cluster thats wrong, if not

pull your thermostat, put it in a pot of water and stick it on the stove. see what if any temp it opens at. if its working,,,

make sure there are no leaks in your cooling system. make sure its keeping its pressure,

if all that looks ok pull the water pump and make sure its in working order.

[Joe]

dont bother pulling the thermostat. your gauge isnt reading because your using the wrong sender.

[lilskyline240]

thats the reason its not working? shouldnt it register something tho? the needle never moves. Im pretty sure that my thermostat is good, i think i just have a big air bubble in the lower hose that i cant get out because the stupid greddy plenum doesnt have a bleeder valve to bleed the coolant system

[Shocker]

thats the reason its not working? shouldnt it register something tho? the needle never moves. Im pretty sure that my thermostat is good, i think i just have a big air bubble in the lower hose that i cant get out because the stupid greddy plenum doesnt have a bleeder valve to bleed the coolant system

no it doesn't, change out that sensor to the KA temp sensor, you should be fine after that.

My RB sensor to KA gauge back in the day never moved until the motor almost started over heating, which took forever since I was driving in 20 degree weather.

[lilskyline240]

Do you just run the stock gauge cluster temp gauge? or do you recomend a aftermarket one? I figured the stock one would be fine. I just want it to let me know if im overheating really. Im not 100% concerned with the exact temp of the engine.

ANyone have a good way to bleed the coolant system with a greddy plenum?

[Shocker]

I run an autometer now.

Jack up front of car a little bit, remove rad cap, turn on car, heater full blast, fill as needed. Once coolant starts burping out/boiling out of the rad cap it.

You should see the fluid moving in the rad towards the upper hose, if it is your t-stat is opened.

[lilskyline240]

i can see the coolant moving in the radiator. I tried burping it today and got a ton of air out of it but ran out of time and had to go to work so i filled all the excess space in the radiator and capped it. Tomorrow ill burp it again and hopefully it will all come out. Ima get a KA temp sensor too and hopefully that works cuz i dont really want to run a Autometer gauge right now yet. Just want to keep the stock gauges

[daveh93s13]

what wires did you splice your gauge into? i used the blu/blk and spliced it into an autometer gauge, it reads but reads high, around 225 im going to try re-bleeding. im getting gd heat, it just runs hot. but make sure the wires you splice into are correct.

[Shocker]

what wires did you splice your gauge into? i used the blu/blk and spliced it into an autometer gauge, it reads but reads high, around 225 im going to try re-bleeding. im getting gd heat, it just runs hot. but make sure the wires you splice into are correct.

I didn't splice anything, I used the gauge they provided and the sensor the provided. The sensors are meant the register with the proper gauge.....

[rb25drag]

what wires did you splice your gauge into? i used the blu/blk and spliced it into an autometer gauge, it reads but reads high, around 225 im going to try re-bleeding. im getting gd heat, it just runs hot. but make sure the wires you splice into are correct.

You can't splice an Autometer gauge into the Harness and get a correct temp. There is a Sensor that comes with the Autometer gauge you need to use for the correct temp. But My first Gauge I bought (Cheap electronic) I spliced into the factory sensor signal and it worked ok for a while then the gauge took a dump.

[lilskyline240]

well i got a KA temp sensor in the manifold and it works great. Temp holds steady at about 1/3rd of they way up the temp gauge.