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heat sensor problem

4K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Starship 
#1 ·
My dad has a 2001 malibu ls and he changed the heat sensor and tha heat gauge doesn't work. Does anyone know what it could be?

He also wanted me to ask if he got an instrument cluster does chevy have to program it?
 
#4 ·
Welcome to the forum.:) The instrument cluster gets the tachometer, speedometer, and malfunction indicator signal from the PCM over individual wires and the rest, from the BCM over the serial data interface. The coolant temperature gauge may be bad but it's much more likely that there is some wiring problem at the ECT sensor. Often the discontinuity is inside the electrical connector. You didn't say but the malfunction indicator is probably lit in which case you may want to ask your dad to get it scanned.
 
#6 ·
I'll assume the other gauges are working on the instrument cluster. Then, if he hooks up an OBD scanner and reads out the temperature, it'll either agree or disagree with the coolant temperature gauge on the instrument cluster. If they agree, i.e., both show cold all the time, the problem will be between the ECT sensor and the PCM. If they disagree, the problem is the instrument cluster.
 
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