Hi everyone,
I recently purchased a 06 Mazda 6i as second vehicle to commute with and have been having weird issues specifically with the engine coolant gauge and fuel gauge in the instrument cluster. I noticed that when the engine shut off, the needles for both gauges sit well below what I perceived was the regular starting point (see pics). I am new to Mazda's so I was not sure if this was normal behavior or was a legit issue.
Close up of the coolant gauge on a cold start (notice how it sits well below 0)
The entire cluster during the cluster test mode. I performed the test twice. 1st time the needles swept up and down the entire range normally but still settled below 0. Second test the needles only moved half way. Again this is only affecting coolant and fuel gauges.
It appears that both gauges do work but seem misaligned or maybe not calibrated because this is causing my fuel gauge to read only 3/4 or so full when in reality it's a full tank. And the temp gauge reads cool when in reality it should be at midway point
I have been doing a bit of reading and searching and was getting ready to replace the fuel sender unit thinking this would clear up the fuel gauge issue but started wondering if these are both related somehow. When I first purchased the vehicle a few weeks ago, both gauges were working normally. I only noticed this issue about 2 weeks ago at the time I replaced the stock cd deck with a double din unit (using the metra kit), which also leads me to think.. did I somehow blow a fuse or caused another electrical issue when installing the deck? Or is this a common issue? Do I have to open up the instrument cluster and move the needles to their starting points, etc.
Thanks you all for any advice you can provide.
I recently purchased a 06 Mazda 6i as second vehicle to commute with and have been having weird issues specifically with the engine coolant gauge and fuel gauge in the instrument cluster. I noticed that when the engine shut off, the needles for both gauges sit well below what I perceived was the regular starting point (see pics). I am new to Mazda's so I was not sure if this was normal behavior or was a legit issue.
Close up of the coolant gauge on a cold start (notice how it sits well below 0)
The entire cluster during the cluster test mode. I performed the test twice. 1st time the needles swept up and down the entire range normally but still settled below 0. Second test the needles only moved half way. Again this is only affecting coolant and fuel gauges.
It appears that both gauges do work but seem misaligned or maybe not calibrated because this is causing my fuel gauge to read only 3/4 or so full when in reality it's a full tank. And the temp gauge reads cool when in reality it should be at midway point
I have been doing a bit of reading and searching and was getting ready to replace the fuel sender unit thinking this would clear up the fuel gauge issue but started wondering if these are both related somehow. When I first purchased the vehicle a few weeks ago, both gauges were working normally. I only noticed this issue about 2 weeks ago at the time I replaced the stock cd deck with a double din unit (using the metra kit), which also leads me to think.. did I somehow blow a fuse or caused another electrical issue when installing the deck? Or is this a common issue? Do I have to open up the instrument cluster and move the needles to their starting points, etc.
Thanks you all for any advice you can provide.
