Causes of rapid temperature fluctuation?
Have a 1991 Dodge Daytona. Temperature gauge is all over the place–hot one second, and normal the next.
Important facts:
Car sat for two years. The "head" was replaced with a new one.
Oxygen sensor was recently replaced.
Has 210,000 miles.
Idles smoothly and accelerates fine.
Not sure if it could be a faulty mass air flow sensor, a thermostat, or something else.
What could cause this rapid temperature fluctuation?
Low Coolant, Bad Thermostat, Bad Hoses, Coolant needs to be Changed ( 50-50 Clean Water & Anti-Freeze)! System may need to be Flushed/Boiled Out? Belts Warn or Cracked? Replace! Check Wires at Sensor & Gauge!
lack of coolant or flow
References :
could be a faulty coolant temp sensor.
could also be a gauge problem.
i would want to know how the coolant flow actually is, and how the heat is in your vehicle. usually a "very rapid" change in the temp gauge indicates some type of electrical failure more so then a mechanical failure.
References :
Low Coolant, Bad Thermostat, Bad Hoses, Coolant needs to be Changed ( 50-50 Clean Water & Anti-Freeze)! System may need to be Flushed/Boiled Out? Belts Warn or Cracked? Replace! Check Wires at Sensor & Gauge!
References :
38 Years Exp.
I agree that the temp gauge could be at fault and its actually running o.k. I usually check the coolant temp on my scanner which reads from a different sensor to confirm it. If it is actually overheating it should be pushing a lot of coolant into the overflow bottle. If it is overheating, this sounds like either a thermostat installed backwards, a water pump impeller corroded away, or a hose or radiator partial restriction. What caused the head gasket to fail in the first place? Was that issue ever addressed?
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