Alfa Romeo 164 Coolant Temperature Gauge Correction

by John Stewart, aka Roadtrip AlfaBB.com

August 2014

General Background
The 164 coolant temperature instrument panel gauge is notorious for giving inaccurate
indications. For a few minutes work and about two dollars in materials, you can make your dash
indications accurate, instead of guessing that the coolant temperature is ok. The common
misconception is that the Alfa V6 engine runs hotter than other cars, which is not true. If
anything, they run cooler. The reason for this misconception is that the dash gauge typically
reads half-way between the 175F and 250F index lines during normal running, which would
make one think the coolant temperature is about 215-220F. In reality, there is a mismatch
between the ohm value of the sending unit (located on the hot side of the coolant beneath the
thermostat) and the dash gauge itself. This error is typically reading 15-20F higher than actual.
If the cooling system is healthy and doing its job, the temperature of the coolant during normal
running at speed should stay about 185-195F, the opening value of the thermostat (depending on
brand, etc.) It is important that the engine fully warm-up in order to send the correct signal to the
engine ECU to ensure that cold run enrichment is completely taken out. This increases
performance and enhances fuel efficiency.
That said, it should be noted that coolant temperature does not stay constant throughout the
system and depending on where you measure it, it changes. The Coolant Temp Gauge Sending
Unit is located on the hot side of the thermostat. The Radiator Fan Switch is located on the upper
left (cool side) tank of the radiator. The factory spec for tripping on the radiator fan is Low
Speed , 198F and High Speed, 206F. The OEM factory value for the thermostat is opening starts
at 188F (+/- 4F) and is completely open by 210F. And keep in mind that the thermostat only
moves a third of an inch from full closed to full open. Aftermarket replacement thermostats may
have slightly different values from OEM, but typically open at about 190-195F.
Methodology
The ohm value of the instrument panel gauge was ascertained using a variable potentiometer
with a range of 0-1000 ohms. The brown wire from the instrument panel gauge to the sender was
disconnected and the Potentiometer connected to it and a ground.
The ohm values at the various indicated temperatures were as follows:
Instr Panel indication
Measured Ohms Factory Repair Manual
120F ...1000 ohms .900-1400 ohms
140F 450 ohms 470 - 600 ohms
160F .330 ohms..235 300 ohms
175F .260 ohms .175 215 ohms
190F .210 ohms ..not published
215F .150 ohms 135 165 ohms
230F .120 ohms not published
250F . 90 ohms. 80 100 ohms

Max Temperature
Warning Light on
at 239F

Fig 1. Ohm values of various gauge indications. Needle position at normal running temperature.
The potentiometer was then set to the various gauge index marks and the resistance measured.
As you can see, the ohm values are not linear. At very low values, the range is large, while in the
normal working temperature range of the engine (about 175-215F), the values settle out at about
30 ohms per 10 deg change. This is the range, and specifically about 195F, that were most
concerned with getting accurate indications.
The sending unit values were measured with an ohmmeter attached to the sending unit, the
engine started, then as it warmed-up, IR readings were taken along with the resistance values for
those temperatures. These are the results:
Sending unit measured ohm values correlated with temp and instrument panel gauge

Temp
Sender
Gauge
Delta
80F 1900 ohms . none .
100F 450 ohms . 980 ohms . 530 ohms
140F 420 ohms . 250 ohms . 170 ohms
160F 330 ohms . 210 ohms . 120 ohms
175F 180 ohms . 270 ohms . 90 ohms
190F 140 ohms . 210 ohms . 70 ohms
215F 100 ohms . 160 ohms . 60 ohms
230F not taken . 140 ohms .
250F not taken . 90 ohms

Conclusion
The Alfa 164 Water Temperature Gauge and Sending unit are mismatched causing the gauge to
read about 15-20F higher than the actual coolant temperature at normal running temperature.
Further, the mismatch is not linear. It should be remembered that the coolant temperature
readings were taken with an IR temp gun on the outside metal of the lower thermostat housing.
While maybe not exactly matching the inside coolant temperature, it should be very close.

Accurizing the Instrument Panel Coolant Temperature Indications

Since the mismatch between the gauge and sender is not linear, we have to decide on what range
we want the indications to be the most accurate. This should be the normal running temperature
range, i.e. about 190F. The ohm delta between the gauge and sender is 70 ohms, so theoretically
a 70 ohm resistor in the line should correct the gauge.
As a practical test, I made up resistor inserts of 27 ohms, 47 ohms, and 62 ohms and installed
them with the engine at about 180-190F (as measured with the IR gun).
The 27 ohm resistor made the instrument panel gauge read 7 degrees hotter than actual.
The 47 ohm resistor insert made the panel gauge read dead-on at 185F
The 62 ohm resistor insert made the panel gauge read about 5 degrees cooler than actual.
Keep in mind that interpolating the index marks on the instrument panel gauge is pretty difficult
anyway, so dont try and split hairs on the accuracy issue here. All three resistors did a pretty
good job making the indications accurate enough to trust. I chose to use the 47 ohm resistor as
being the most accurate overall.
Making the Resistor Insert
The Resistor Insert is simply a wire made up of a female spade terminal and a male spade
terminal at the ends, with a line resistor in the middle. The female end connects to the sender and
the male end into the cars wire harness. A stiff piece of paperclip wire makes a nice stiffener to
prevent wire breakage. Solder the resistor between the terminals, wrap with bit of electrical tape,
then a piece of shrink wrap with the stiffener underneath. Resistors are about a dollar for a pack
of six at Radio Shack.

END