What would you trust more

[mduenas]

Hey guys,

What would you trust more, a Dakota digital temp sender, or the fitech temp reading?

Dakota digital is in my thermostat housing, and fitech is in the front driver side threaded port close to the thermostat housing. The Dakota needs an adapter to fit, so it sits slightly higher.

I have sunken both in as far as I can go, pictures attached.

The Dakota digital reads about 20 degrees warmer than the fitech no matter what.

I did put a flex a lite fan controller in, that is adjustable from 160-220 degrees for fan turn on. I set it to the lowest setting to try and gauge what sensor was correct, and it turned on when Dakota read 157 and fitech read 134. The flex a lite sensor is in the upper radiator hose by the top inlet of the radiator.

 

[DirtDonk]

Neither one. I don't trust anything these days.
Either one could be skewed in a slightly different direction from the other, and stacking tolerances could easily net you 20 degrees.
But add to that the fact that they are most likely going to read slightly different just based on the location, they could both be exactly correct.

Though I would have thought the one in the thermo housing would read slightly cooler, I may have been wrong on that. Seems like it is a bout 10-20 degrees expected difference between the two areas?

There were some discussions on the variations based on location here recently. Maybe someone remembers the results.

Paul

 

[Attac]

Mduenas
Did you happen to install or have both out at the same time. The sending units are not universal. I already had Dakota in my sons Bronco when I installed my sniper. Sending units have the same plug and I was antsy to get it started so I just unplugged the Dakota and plugged in the sniper. I let it idle so it could get to temp so I could set the IAC to between 2 and 8 percent and it would not get over 150. After searching online I saw that the units are specific to the units. Changed the sensor and it started reading correctly. I now have both like you and they are usually within about 5 of each other.
So if you happened to mix them up on install they will both be reading incorrectly. I'm sure the fitech is specific to it and not the same as Dakota.
Just throwing that out there.
Chuck

 

[bax]

I see teflon tape. So both of them are in question.

 

[mduenas]

Attac,

They are hooked up properly, just switched to make sure and the readings where way off.

Paul,

Would each location cause 20 degree different? Could the water heat up that fast in a few inches in the head?

Bax,

The Teflon tape is only on the adapter for the Dakota digital, on the last few threads, would that affect it?

 

[bax]

The sender is grounded by what its screwed into. Teflon tape will / can affect the ground. so yes.

 

[mduenas]

The sender is grounded by what its screwed into. Teflon tape will / can affect the ground. so yes.

Well that is a valid point! Too bad I stripped the head on the adapter putting it in, trying to get it to sit deep. I’ll get a new thermostat housing and adapter and nix the Teflon tape.

I didn’t know that would affect the grounding and our temp reading!

 

[garberz]

The FiTech sending units are well known to read 20-30* colder. Your Dakota unit is more accurate. Get yourself a Delco/GM replacement for the FiTech sender. It should match up to your Dakota gauge then.

Mark

 

[garberz]

The temp sender is, ACDelco part #213928
Mark

 

[mduenas]

The temp sender is, ACDelco part #213928
Mark

Can I plug the fitech into that? Or do I have to re wire the fitech? When I plugged the fitech into the Dakota it read 75 degrees colder than it was reading in its own

 

[ChrisC74]

The FiTech sending units are well known to read 20-30* colder. Your Dakota unit is more accurate. Get yourself a Delco/GM replacement for the FiTech sender. It should match up to your Dakota gauge then.

Mark

^^^This. Very common problem.

Sent from my Pixel C using Tapatalk

 

[garberz]

Can I plug the fitech into that? Or do I have to re wire the fitech? When I plugged the fitech into the Dakota it read 75 degrees colder than it was reading in its own

That Delco # is a direct replacement. Amazon or Rock Auto.

Mark

 

[mduenas]

Just ordered it. Just out of curiosity, if the fitech is reading colder than the motor is, would it cause it to run lean, and in turn make it hotter?

Secondly, if I replace the Dakota digital sensor, is there a generic I can use? I’m wanting to get 3/8 thread over the 1/8 is has, so I don’t need an adapter and can sink the sensor further into my coolant to ensure proper readings.

 

[garberz]

Just ordered it. Just out of curiosity, if the fitech is reading colder than the motor is, would it cause it to run lean, and in turn make it hotter?

My understanding has been it starts learning at 130*. I don't think you'll get any different results changing the temp sender. Some may argue the actual temp of when the ECU starts adjusting.

Mark

 

[Crush]

I agree with bax. Teflon tape makes for an insulated sensor. Unless it has a probe that goes through th middle of it and protrudes into the actual water

Chuck

 

[nickgp]

Im experiencing a similar issue. Fi tech reading apprx 8-15 degrees cooler than auto meter gauge. Thinking about getting a hand held infra red thermometer to try and establish a bench mark.

 

[Mikesimp70]

New Delco sensor for the Fitech will square them up. Did mine. Few bucks at Oreillys.

 

[ptwist]

Do you know what type of sensors they are thermocouple or RTD? I looked quickly and couldn't tell from google. If its an Thermister the quality can very significantly based on the materials used inside of the sensor. Im guessing its not a thermocouple because of the input cord but figuring out what type of sensor you have will tell you how good it is.

 

[g-71]

If it's the Temp Sensor that came with the FI Tech unit, do not trust it. Ask me how i know....

 

[mduenas]

Thank you guys! New ac Delco sensor fixed it. I put a 3rd gauge in just to test the 2 today, all 3 gauges read the same. I thought I was going insane.