Thread: Dancing temp needle (video)

Hey guys I got this part from Advanced Auto for 10 bucks:
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(actual photo)


Now I just went out and took a photo of the area where I think it goes, but I'm not sure, is this it? (the connection on the right to the left of the oil filter)
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I can't tell, its too dark outside

yes. thats the one. my 97 had a dancing needle twice in 220k miles.

Ok cool I will go change it tomorrow. I think its covered in oil and grease. Its funny, if advanced auto has it in *stock* and its $10.49 for an SR20 you know its a little piece of junk. ha

Whats wrong with a parts store having a part that spans multiple motors in stock?

Yep, almost all the earlier nissans used that sending unit for the coolant temp.

I've just used a long extension and a hammer to give the rivet a little bump to re-secure it. Did this on both se-rs and the problem never returned.

For a rare motor out of date i was a little surprised

March 7, 2013 UPDATE:

FIXED!!

Here is what you do.. first off, if your temp needle isn't working or being sporadic like mine was, with the engine running, try disconnecting the electrical connection and see if that effects the needle. The needle should dive down to C.

The new part is $10.49 at Advanced Auto Parts, my place had it in stock. It's part # WT707.
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Here is the new piece:


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Its a 12mm nut, you need to disconnect the sensor then maybe squirt some WD40 on it to get the nut moving, it's in a difficult spot, much harder to change if you have power steering and A/C.

Once removed, have a rag handy underneath because some coolant will spill out, or simply have the new sensor right there to screw in by hand.


Pic of the old sensor removed, hard to tell with the camera pic but it was pretty corroded:
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The new sensor installed, before reconnecting it:
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It's in the center, the shiny piece to the left of the oil filter. Just before I reconnected it.

I'd recommend changing this every maybe like couple years if your temp gauge needle moves when you hit a pothole or something, do it when you're changing the oil and oil filter, with the oil filter removed its much easier to access.

No more dancing temp needle in the gauge cluster. It's pain to reach, I suggest a long open ended 12mm wrench to get at it.

SR20's arent that rare...just a heads up. Low aftermarket support makes you see less built up, but there's still a ton of these engines and their variants around.



I'm just going to point out for anyone reading this for info (now or in the future) that you do not need to periodically change this sensor. You only need to change it if it goes bad. Additionally, not changing it if it goes bad will have no adverse effects other than the dash gauge not working properly. If your needle moves when you hit a pothole or something, there's other things to consider as well, many which are more likely than this sensor. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Not trying to go out of my way on Storm here, but just pointing out proper information.

Well here's how it started for me. Once in awhile, I'd notice if I hit a bad pothole the needle would dip a bit then go back up. Then it would dip more and more over time, until you see how it was in the video in the original post. After replacing it, I just drove around for a good hour and it didn't move once (now we also know that these stock gauges aren't very accurate and read in the middle anyway) but I'd suggest doing it if you've never done it and your needle moves here and there. The investment is small, it's $10 part, and easy to access when you do an oil change. My point being that by removing it to clean it and just replacing it, you might as well get a new one since it's inexpensive. And it may or may not fix it.

Oh and I believe SR20's are rare relative to other engines out there.. I went to a junkyard with something like 2,500 cars, and there were a total of six or seven B13's. And only 2 were SR20's. IDK. :numbness: