Temp sender? - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Temp sender? (/showthread.php?tid=5447)

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Temp sender? - Nebster - 04-12-2020

Hey All,

Sometime in the last few weeks, the water temperature gauge on my dash has stopped reporting any value.  I'm pretty sure the problem is on the sender end, but I don't know how to find it on my Powertech (Kubota) PT20SI.

Does anyone know where to look?

I do know where the overtemp switch is on my unit, and it has two wires coming off of it for some reason.  But, I don't know if it doubles as the sender.  The way it's described online ("Kubota 03 Sender" is the name), I don't think it does.

Thanks!

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RE: Temp sender? - encantotom - 04-12-2020

at least on my powertech kubota engine it is right at the thermostat housing on top of the engine on the drivers side.

i had to replace mine.

tom

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RE: Temp sender? - Nebster - 04-12-2020

Okay, thanks, Tom! I have the PT sidemounted, so I'm not sure which way is "forward." I'm also not sure I know what the thermostat is, but I DO know where the little bleed petcock is, and I know that's supposed to be right next to the thermostat.

So, I'll get the camera out and poke around and see if I can find a wire connected to something up there.

The main thing is, I won't waste time messing around with the overtemp switch, which is definitely in a different (lower) place on my generator.

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RE: Temp sender? - encantotom - 04-13-2020

easy to tell where the thermostat it. it is in the housing that the radiator hose comes off on the top of the engine.

i will take a picture and post in a few minutes of mine.

tom

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RE: Temp sender? - encantotom - 04-13-2020

here is a few pictures of the temp sender.  the thermostat is under the housing that the radiator hose comes off of

tom

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RE: Temp sender? - Nebster - 04-13-2020

Ah, great, thanks!  Mine is "in the back", so I had to send a camera in to even find the thing.  I will admit, it does not exactly look healthy:

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RE: Temp sender? - encantotom - 04-13-2020

the temperature senders are cheap. 10-20 bucks. just buy one that is the same make as your gauge.

tom

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RE: Temp sender? - Nebster - 04-14-2020

Gotcha. Yeah, getting to that thing is going to be a bear. Fortunately, I think that gauge is pretty much just informational, and I no longer have any cooling issues after replacing all the dying blower fans a few years back. The safety shutdown sensor that actually protects the engine is totally separate.

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RE: Temp sender? - bestgenman - 04-14-2020

A little bit more help on the temp sender.   The gauge sender will have only one wire and be in the coolant flow somewhere before the thermostat.  You can determine if the sender of gauge is the culprit by taking the sender wire to ground.  Do this with a jumper since the engine will have to be running (ignition power to the gauge).  If the gauge goes fully to high temp reading, it is the sender at fault.  If the gauge doesn’t move, look for power at the gauge (marked with “I” ) or a broken “S” wire to the sender.  

The gauge will have three terminals l, S, & G,  ignition, sender , & ground.  With power on I, ground the S terminal and the gauge should move to full scale.

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RE: Temp sender? - Deper10 - 04-15-2020

I am also having a problem with the generator temp gauge malfunctioning. Yesterday while driving in hot, 90+ degree heat my gauge was reading around 180 for about 30 min. then jumped to 212 in less than 30 seconds, so I shut it off. When I got back to my driveway I started it up again and it did the same thing yet when trying to take measurements with my scanner thermometer I could only get readings around 170 on the radiator, thermostat housing, etc. This morning, I fired it up while it was still cool outside and under a load it took about five minutes to get to 155 degrees and held that for another 5 minutes then quickly started dropping to "Lo" warning in only seconds then started climbing to 156 and again dropping to "LO". After running a few more minutes it stayed at no reading so I assume I have a sensor problem too. My genset is a Kohler with Yanmar engine. Does anyone know where I can find a sensor for it, my manual does not list it

Thanks

Dario

#581 2001 45'8"

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