Coolant temperature wire ( gauge)

[Slyclone]

Is there any way I can intercept the coolant signal wire to the dash gauge within the cabin of the truck? Specifically a place to look for the wire ?

What I am trying to do is temporarily install a auto meter temp gauge I have laying around in a box, and see if it responds different in the readout. I do know my current gauge works. When I put the key ON it budges ever so slightly. When I turn the key off it rests back where it wants to go. Only maybe 1/8 of a inch it goes up. Gauge never reads out correctly when it's up to running temp.

I'm just curious if it's something with the factory gauge that's messed up that's why I'm trying to see if it's even possible to send the signal to the surplus autometer gauge.

 

[corsair231]

My needle barely moves at all. I do have a 160 thermostat but on hot days with the a/c on, the temps get close to 200 and the gauge still doesn't move far. I monitor my temp with a ScanmasterG which displays what the computer sees. I have tried a couple of different stock senders for the gauge, and they read about the same. I have thought about trying to find one for a cooler heat range that may have a different resistance value to make it read higher but IMO not really that big of a deal. IIRC the stock gauge sender is just basically a ground circuit. If you are concerned if the gauge works or not and just want to test it, you can ground the sender wire where it goes into the block and it should go to full hot with the key on.