John Deere 4400 temperature gauge

[WVAhills]

I have a John Deere 4400 tractor and the temperature gauge is not working right. It will jump from about a 1/4 of the way to 1/2 way on the gauge in a split second and sometimes it will immediately do it a couple of times back and forth and then stay at the 1/2 way point. I have flushed the radiator by myself but have not had it professionally cleaned . I have used the purple power cleaner on the radiator fins and tried 2 different new thermostats and checked them in a pan of hot water to make sure they are both working the same. I have installed a new temperature sending unit at the thermostat. I have put a new air filter in the tractor to make sure the engine is not having to work extra hard to induct air into the engine. I have replenished the radiator with John Deere brand engine coolant. I have had this tractor for about 11 years and the temperature gauge just started doing this in the past year. When I drive the tractor after while brush hogging the temp gauge will eventually go all the way to the red. With out using an implement the gauge still jumps around and will settle about 1/2 way on the gauge when the temps are in the 60 degree range. The new instrument cluster from John Deere is a little over $421 dollars. I am thinking that it must be the temperature gauge itself. Is there a stand alone after market gauge I can use instead of having to buy a whole new instrument cluster ?

Thanks

 

[samhudson3]

Hey Ognir rrats,

Contact dfkrug, he'll get you pointed in the right direction and he's nice as pie.

See his rebuild of a 4300 here: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/146974-john-deere-4300-complete-rebuild.html

Cheers,
Sam

 

[WVAhills]

Thanks Sam

 

[dfkrug]

Why, thank you, Sam!

Jeff:

I responded to your PM.

Yeah, don't buy an instrument cluster. I added an external hour meter to one of my 4300s when the LCD gauge
quit.

My bet is that your connector on the back of the panel is full of dirt. Did you take it off and clean it out? You also
need a good ground and key switch. Electrical gremlins are many as these units get older (4200/4300/4400).

As for an external temp gauge, I would definitely add one before a new panel, if you can not get the existing
one working. You can put it in the same place as I put the hour meter.

 

[WVAhills]

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it much.

 

[BRBurns]

If it shows half way up when cold, then I bet the needle has slipped on the stepper motor. Same thing happens on my fuel gauge on my 4300. I have taken the cluster appart and fixed it, but it eventually did the same thing.

 

[samhudson3]

You're welcome dfkrug!

Ognir rrats, let us know how it goes? What the heck does your user name mean?

 

[dfkrug]

What the heck does your user name mean?

Hint: he seems to be a Beatles fan.

 

[samhudson3]

Hint: he seems to be a Beatles fan.

Bingo! Er, Ringo!

 

[WVAhills]

You're welcome dfkrug!

Ognir rrats, let us know how it goes? What the heck does your user name mean?

I installed an external gauge , flushed the system with commercial grade vinegar and installed a new thermostat. Works fine...

 

[WVAhills]

Fixed the overheating problem a few years back. LOL

 

[crhunts]

Dfkrug,
I can't seem to find an external temp gauge that fits a 1999 John Deere 4400...???

 

[dfkrug]

I see plenty of 2" round temp gauges for under $10 on eBay. Amazon or your local parts store would have them, too. If you eliminate the turnsignal switch, you can widen the hole to mount it.

 

[crhunts]

Thx so much dfkrug. I ordered one, but the sensor/probe is too long(it hits the thermostat). Every one I have looked at online is too long also. So I ordered just the sensor, even though it cost 3 times as much, but now I have a 2" hole in my dash...oh well.

 

[crhunts]

dfkrug, Did you see the attached image for the temp sensor probe? All of the aftermarket probes are too long to fit...? Thx

 

[dfkrug]

dfkrug, Did you see the attached image for the temp sensor probe? All of the aftermarket probes are too long to fit...?

Did your sender test bad? In my cases, I needed a new meter and wire, but I kept the sender.

 

[crhunts]

Did not test the sender, but cleaned the connections and it still didn't work properly; so I bought another one and haven't installed yet. I still want the temp gauge I bought to work, so I'm going to try to find a npt(sp) fitting to fit, cause I already cut a 2" hole for it on the dash. Thx for the info!!