Snowmobile Fanatics banner

Installing temp gauge in a 500xc sp

1443 Views 9 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  jbjbjb4
Installing the gauge was simple. Got it wired without problems also. I changed the sensor and hooked up the wire to it. started it up and it just pegged out to the hot side. Not sure what to think now. I not sure if I am missing a harness or not, the old sensor for the idiot light had two wires comeing out of it and the sensor for the Temp gauge only has one connector. If there is anyone out there that has one on their sled or has installed one, I could use a little help. Thanks.
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
I installed a Polaris temp gauge into my triumph just a couple months ago. Mine works perfectly. What i am wondering is did you get a plastic fitting with your kit or not. The temp kit i bought for my sled came with plastic fittings that required me to cut my upper radiator hose and install the new temp sender at that point. The new sending unit should have 2 wires on it. One that goes to the gauge and one that needs to be bolted to an engine ground. On the back of the gauge there was a wiring harness that needed to plug into the "jumper harness" supplied in the kit. the harness required some wires in the factory harness to be moved so it would work properly. Is your gauge a polaris one or is it aftermarket?
hey triumph, 2 questions, 1) where did you mount the guage, and 2) think it would be a good idea to put one on my triple????
oh and what did it cost you
I mounted the gauge just to the left of the Speedo...there was room on my dash board there, but you can also purchase gauge pods from places like dennis kirk. Personally i dont like idiot lights...theres no way to tell how hot the engine is running until its almost too late. So i always like to run with a gauge. Like the name of the light says its for idiots...you would be surprised how many people dont look at or know what the gauges mean. The gauge i bought cost me $79.95 or something like that. It is an official polaris gauge. and could probably be converted to fit any sled...but i would have to look at the gauge to be sure about that. I "think" it just had a power wire, a ground wire, and the temp sending unit wire but i will have to check to be sure. The way i figure it is if i spend $80 and it saves me the cost of a new engine its well worth the money.
The gauge i got is a white face gauge for the Gen II chassis the instructions had me take the sensor out of the head and replace it with the one that came in the kit. I don't know if the difference is the motors mine is one of the new domestic twins i think yours is still the fuji. Thanks for the info though.
One more thing if any one has seen one istalled on the domestic twin or knows anyone with one on their machine, please help. called my dealer and the guy in the shop hasn't installed one himself yet. Geuse not many people out there have them put in.
2
Sorry, can't help you there. All I have are EGTs and the idiot light.


My guess would have been the one lead from sender to gauge would have been fine but perhaps the sender needs to be ground to that other lead the old one had. Can you just try to patch and hold it against the new sender and see if that does it?


-------------------------------------------

Lest we forget...... 09/11/01
See less See more
One last idea that i have thought of...did you wrap the sending unit with teflon tape or the like...if so you may not be getting a good ground to the engine block. I think that too much resistance or an open circut and the gauge will go to the hot side. And if the gauge wire is put straight to ground with no resistance it will always read cold. The sending unit you put into the block is a Thermistor (a resistor that varies resistance depending on temperature). I guess i would take a spare wire you have laying around and touch the brass part of the resistor with one end and the other straight to ground to check to see if your getting too much resistance...If that doesnt change anything simply unplug the wire from the sending unit, and that should change it. If neither of those work i would check to make sure you have the power or "hot" wire in the right spot on the gauge (make sure you dont have the wires mixed up between hot and ground). If this doesnt change anything i'll look at my gauge when i get back up north this coming weekend and see what i can figure out.
See less See more
TriumpoverU I think you are on to something there. Looks like you took some electronics courses too. I did use teflon tape to seal it because I didn't have any other sealent around I will try to ground the thread side of the sending unit. Thanks. I am hopeing that the mechanic at my dealer can give some ideas as well.
Got some info from the dealer on my temp gauge. I found out that I got the wrong kit. I bought the kit from someone on the internet. The kit was for the 99-00 Gen II liquid cooled engine but not mine, I found out that the Valve engines on the XC's have a temp sensor that controls the ignition on the premium setting and that is what the two wire sensor in the head is for. The gauge kits now have a plastic T that goes in the hose like TriumphoverU said. I had to order the new sensor with the ground allready attached and a lead that goes to the gauge. Thought I was getting a deal at $40, but paid in full in the long run.

Thanks for the ideas everyone.
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top