Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

1991 L300 Chamonix. Temp gauge (stock on the gauge cluster) doesn't move. Always low. Where do I start with getting that to work? I'm a bit of a newb when it comes to working on cars, but can follow directions really well!

Your temperature gauge doesn't move at all? It's likely a bad connection to the temperature sender on the engine:
The connector gets really brittle, so take care when unplugging it. You're interested in the wire to terminal (A)- that's the one that drives your temperature gauge. Sometimes the connectors corrode and just need a bit of a clean, sometimes the wires snap off and you have to fit a new spade terminal.

The temperature sensor is actually two sensors in one package- Terminal (A) drives the temperature gauge, terminal (B) goes to the glow plug controller. The workshop manual only shows how to test terminal (B) (typical, huh). If your temperature gauge moves a bit, but is always low, then it might be time for a new sender- part number MD050214, about $30.

If all is well at the engine end, then it's time to pull the instrument cluster and start looking for loose connections there.

Thanks! Very helpful. Will take a look later on.

One other question. What is the plug that's right in front of the temp probe (is blocked in the picture by the doohickey that would be used when pulling the engine)? And why does it have two connector options for it? What's the difference plugging one in as opposed to the other? Ok a couple questions I guess..but I'm curious!

There are multiple temperature probes on a 4D56. The one with two terminals (in the picture above) is screwed into the head, and drives the temperature gauge and the glow plug ECU.

The other temperature probe(s) are screwed into the radiator hose outlet (which is itself bolted to the head, near the lifting eye). Those probes usually only have one terminal each. One of them turns on the AC radiator fan when coolant temperatures exceed 95C to provide additional cooling to the engine. The other probe disables AC when coolant temperature exceeds 110C- again, to help engine cooling.

Interesting. It goes with the spirit of the Delica in the fact that there are so many options to choose and tinker with. Do you know which is which? And what is yours setup to?

In your photo, the black terminal you're holding (blue/yellow stripe wire) is the AC cutout. The brown terminal in the background turns on the radiator fan.

There should be another sensor on the radiator hose outlet- in your photo I think it's hidden by the #1 fuel injector. Connect your black plug to that, and see if your AC works. If your AC doesn't work, swap the positions of the black and brown plugs.

This one actually came up recently here: http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17568

On my van I cheated- one of the sensors failed and I couldn't find a replacement at the time, so I just earthed the black terminal (blue/yellow stripe wire) to the firewall and left the brown connector dangling. That means that if my engine overheats the AC will not automatically shut off, nor will the radiator fan come on to aid cooling, but I'm pretty good at not overheating the engine so I'm not too concerned. One day I'll get around to fixing it properly. Maybe.

Growlerbearnz wrote:Your temperature gauge doesn't move at all? It's likely a bad connection to the temperature sender on the engine:

2016-05-21 10.25.48.jpg (121.68 KiB) Viewed 8364 times

The connector gets really brittle, so take care when unplugging it. You're interested in the wire to terminal (A)- that's the one that drives your temperature gauge. Sometimes the connectors corrode and just need a bit of a clean, sometimes the wires snap off and you have to fit a new spade terminal.

OK, super newb dumb question. How do I remove it?

And to confirm, this is what I'm looking for? The yellow arrows? And I don't see a way to disconnect the wire anywhere on the red either...

TIA!

The black rectangular part is the plug- pull it straight up while wiggling it a bit. I don't think there's any kind of locking mechanism, but I repaired mine ages ago so I might be misremembering.

OK, I was able to pull the sensor and get some resistance readings off of it. I don't think they were spec to the model above, but I also just did a quick check. It changed when I warmed it up, so at least it's doing that.

So... Now... Assuming it's OK, how would I check the connector itself? Anyone got a part number for the connector? I was behind the instrument panel before and didn't find any loose wires, but is there a way to check with a multimeter either at 1) the wire coming out of the connector (at the engine) and 2) the gauge to see if it's going haywire somewhere in between.

Alternatively, would this problem be solved by getting some aftermarket gauges? In other words, can I hook something up to this temperature sender and get a more accurate reading or would I be messing with the system somehow?

To test the connector, I'd find a male spade terminal and plug it into the yellow/red stripe side of the connector. Connect it to engine earth, and turn the ignition on- the gauge should move pretty quickly towards the hot side. Turn the ignition off before the needle reaches the top of the range. That'll confirm if the gauge and wiring are good at least.

The connector is just a couple of female spade terminals in a fancy block- you can replace the block with two separate spade terminals if necessary.

I'm not a fan of aftermarket gauges- in most cases the stock gauge is reliable and accurate, and yours should be too once you've figured out what's at fault. Of course, if the gauge itself is stuffed it might be tricky to find a replacement.

@Growlerbearnz. Thanks so much for the help!!! I'll try that.

Is it NOT moving at all or very slowly moving ? Mine is working but will take a few minutes even in warn weather, to slowly start moving up. When driving, will stay low (lower 1/4 to 1/5) and rarely go higher. THAT IS WHY, we also need a EGT Gauge for driving theses Vans Safely using Temperature as input information

Lapprentis

Not moving at all. I just did the ground test with a spade terminal and was able to get the gauge to move. I'll order a new temp sensor and see where we get. Anyone know offhand if the temp sensor from the US spec wagon van is the same?

Otherwise, any suggestions on a place to order from?

You'll at least need the sensor from a diesel, since half of the sensor drives the glow plug ECU. I strongly recommend looking up the part number that suits your vehicle and ordering that- Mitsubishi have an annoying habit of changing specifications without documenting the changes except to change the part number.

Edit: since yours is a '91 diesel, the part number is MD050214. Yoyopart have a list of equivalent part numbers and vehicle applications, but I'm not sure how much I trust them: http://www.yoyopart.com/oem/631521/mits ... 50214.html