# '01 Altima water temp gauge fluctuating



## jamin690 (Aug 21, 2006)

Hello, this is now my second altima, '00 now '01, I have always noticed that the water temp gauge is very stable just below half. Today in traffic it started to over heat but it was bouncing while doing so. I was on a long drive, when I arrived and engine cooled, the radiator acccepted about 1/4 gallon water. I also changed the thermostat to see if it needed a new one. Currently the water tmp needle bounces between c and half way from second to second and it seems when I get on the gas that the wter temp needle goes down...sometimes all the way to cold. I checked the oil...doesn;t seem to have any anti freeze in it. Any thoughts???


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## Darktide (Jul 29, 2004)

sounds to me like your actual coolant temp sensor has gone on the fritz. They're cheap enough to fix but a pain in the arse to get to. I forgot where exactly it was (since I chose not to do it since my car hasn't been giving me any issues) but I remember it was a pain. Good luck


Darktide


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

its actually pretty easy to get to. its basically behind the belts right where the idle air control valve is. what ive noticed is, if the engine isnt overheating and your fans arent staying on and your gas mileage doesnt suck - the connection is bad. remove the connector, clean it, then slightly crimp the connector inside. just barely though or it wont go back on. that usually solves the problem. good luck!


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