Mazda Miata water temp gauge not working

[Justin]

Hello I have a 96 Miata with a non functioning water temp gauge. When I bought the car I did not pay attention to this and when I was driving home I saw the gauge needle pointing far left toward the cold side. The car was definitely warmed up and did not over heat after 40 mins for high way drive home. What should I look into to fix this problem? I am worried since the car is new to me.

Another thing I noticed was some odd oil (maybe?) smell going into the cabin. It gets slightly worse during harder acceleration. What should I look at to fix this problem?

Topic

[David]

Check to see if there is any power going to your temp sender unit.

[Justin]

Do I check that with a test light? if so where do I stab at?

[David]

Best way is to disconnect the plug on the temp sender unit and turn ignition to on position and use your test light to see if there is power coming out of the plug.

[Author]

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