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2001 nissan altima - bouncing temp gauge
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gibbsnm
New User
Dec 3, 2007, 8:48 AM
Post #1 of 7
(17058 views)
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2001 nissan altima - bouncing temp gauge
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I've been having issues with the temperature gauge on my 2001 Altima for about 3 or 4 months now. When it was working properly, the needle always stayed right in the middle of cold and hot. Then one day I noticed that the needle wasn't staying in one place. It bounces up and down between cold and the "normal" spot, but never goes above normal into the hot range. I took it to the shop and was told that my thermostat was sticking, so I had a new thermostat put on. I had them check the water pump as well and they said that was fine. But just a couple days after having the new thermostat installed, it was doing the same thing again. It has never run hot or overheated. I can't afford to take it back to the shop right now and I'm hoping that it's something as simple as maybe a bad sensor, but I am concerned that it may be something serious like a compression leak or a bad head gasket. Any help you can provide will be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Dec 3, 2007, 9:31 AM
Post #2 of 7
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Re: 2001 nissan altima - bouncing temp gauge
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Feel the air temp of your heater or measure it with a fast in/out household thermometer. It should be pretty steady. If the coolant is low it could fool the thing but anything that really runs too cold is almost always the thermostat. It is possible to have a bad new one but really unlikely to get the exact same problem with a new one.
Almost all vehicles should warm up and maintain the same temp on a guage whether it's hot or cold outside. Takes exceptional weather like above 100F and below ZeroF to be even slightly off the norms when all is working properly,
T
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gibbsnm
New User
Dec 3, 2007, 9:37 AM
Post #3 of 7
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Re: 2001 nissan altima - bouncing temp gauge
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Thanks Tom. I haven't had any problems with the heater temperature. Haven't measured it with a thermometer, but I have to use it every day on a 45 minute trip to and from work and it heats up just fine and doesn't fluctuate. I've also checked the coolant and it's not low. I've read that it could be an air bubble in the system, but it seems if that was the case it should've run hot by now. I'm about at the end of my rope with this thing.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Dec 3, 2007, 10:25 AM
Post #4 of 7
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Re: 2001 nissan altima - bouncing temp gauge
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This is not consistant with air in the system which would be lack of any heat and late to read an overheat perhaps but not cold. The sender for the gauge could be wrong or the dash gauge. If the car doesn't have automatic temp control then full heat should get to a fairly hot temp and would drop some when driving slower but it would be very predictable. I'm speaking of those WIRED el-cheapo deals for like $5 bucks but they are pretty fast. Clip the remote end right on a floor vent. If engine is really running cool the heat would stink. It takes engine to up to about 180F for decent heat but heater won't read quite that hot most of the time. Gauge may not go that high either. Those things are handy to have for the short bucks and just stick it or use it in your home and I even use them to test home refrigerator freezers and lots of things.
If the thermostat is one that's tricky to get at and mounted horizontally it's easy for them to get bent or slip from their perfect location in the hole and will be erratic, leak etc. If installed upside down which many can't they go nuts too.
Find the sending unit at the engine - usually near the thermostat or on it's housing. There may be others so it will be the one with proabably one wire and when unplugged the gauge wouldn't work at all so you know it's that one.
Does this read a steady temp when you are driving along at the same speed and load for a while? I'm still thinking of what could cause this. Of course it's important to find out as the last thing you need is an engine problem from not having the right info for this.
Keep making observations and let me know,
T
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Guest
Anonymous Poster
uanb24@yahoo.com
Dec 24, 2008, 3:28 PM
Post #5 of 7
(16920 views)
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Re: 2001 nissan altima - bouncing temp gauge
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Did you ever get this resolved? I'm having the exact same problem.
John
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Justine
Anonymous Poster
blackxeyelinerx@yahoo.com
Jun 21, 2009, 12:48 PM
Post #7 of 7
(16783 views)
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Re: 2001 nissan altima - bouncing temp gauge
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i'm having the same problem with my car too. i was just wondering if your car was driving a little weird or off while you were experiencing this problem. like, was it a little rough on the roads or hesitant to accelerate? anything at all?
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