Bought a 97 dodge ram b2500 5.2 Von y. Coolant gouge won't work. Changed sensor, changed thermostat, even changed gauge in dash. Still won't move but fluctuates if I disconnect battery fuse. Any suggestions please. Need truck working ASAP. Possibly 2 thermostat sensors?

 

if yours is hidden behind the alternator which has to be pivoted over like mine you you may as well have another temp sensor handy just incase the new one came bad out of the box and if I recall it right, don't use teflon tape or the like, it's brass so just install it.
One simple test I read in haynes manual to try is if you have some one to turn the key to on -not start/run- and watch if the needle jumps while you have the harness wire disconnected and ground it with a test lead. if it's a 2 wire harness jumper between the 2 on the plug and key on.

The sensor is pretty low cost so me I'd try out a different brand. If it works great! Hope that helps , If not hopefully someone with a little more expertise will help out

 

There are two sensors.

One has a plug and it is for the computer. I do not recall how many wires is on it.

The other one is a single wire and as noted it needs to be grounded in the engine to complete the circuit so do not tape it. There are also two varieties of this sensor. One is for a "gauge" and it is variable. There is also a version for a dummy light. The dummy light version obviously won't work well with a gauge as your gauge will only be off/on after you install it.

Steve

 

Was hoping for someone to shed a bit more light here, I'm trying to lear to be of some kind of help, thanks Steve

Found this one other article in 2nd gen trucks that should apply too, helps clear some things up and hope it helps along with what Steve says

https://dodgeforum.com/how-tos/a/dod...-sensor-394089

 

JFloors, I really like that test you mentioned. I have never been able to get my gas gauge up past 3/4 so I am going to try it on the fuel sending wires.
Cheers, Steve