Faulty '81 308 Water Temp Gauge Questions

Hello, F-Chatters.

My father has a 1981 308 GTSi, and is having an unusual problem with the water temperature gauge.

On a cold startup, it seems to be reading normally, but then the needle quickly pegs to very hot. The radiator seems fairly cool, although the coolant inside will hit around 180 degrees F. All electric fans are working.

Is there a thermostat near the engine that, when failed, would stop the flow to the radiator? If so, why would the radiator get operating-hot?

Is there perhaps an electrical problem, either with the water temp sender or the gauge? Is there a common failure?

I know that all kinds of things can go wrong with a car this old. I'm hoping that some of you, with similar cars, have had a similar experience, and that hopefully this is a known problem. I tried a search, but didn't come up with the right answers.

I look forward to your replies. Thanks in advance,

Matt

 

If water temps are pretty normal, then first thing I would do is replace the temp sender, as they are not particularly expensive, and often fail with a car this age.

I had a similar problem with the oil temp guage...out of the blue, it started reading very high; worked normally, starting out cool, then rising, but read about 50 degrees higher than normal, yet the car was otherwise operating normally.. New sender, all was well.

 

Thank you, Dave, for the reply. Is the sender a faily commonly available unit? Or, where should I get a new one? Thanks again.

 

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