Digital read on compass says OC

[udfxrookie]

On my digital compass it says OC where the temp. should be and then it shows direction... why doesn't it show the temp... sometimes it does, other times it just goes back to 'OC'

[goser]

Check the owner's manual. I was driving along once and something popped up there, so my passenger checked the manual and told me i had to drive in a circle three times to recalibrate the compass. I thought she was pulling my leg until I pulled over and checked it myself...

[udfxrookie]

I tried that because that's what I thought it was but it isn't that... that would say something different...

[ponchonutty]

It's broke then. OC means it needs to be calibrated but if it suddenly shows it now without messing with it, it's broken.

[udfxrookie]

It show direction, this is the temp. part, not the compass...
On the digital readout it shows temp then compass right next to it. It's always shown the direction... but the temp shows in the mornings when I start my car and after a while it changes back to OC....

[udfxrookie]

Any other ideas guys?

[thadrawr]

Its gone man....mine says C also or it tells me it is 150. Its not worth the time or money to fix it.

[ponchonutty]

The only thing you could try is to just order the sensor itself or check that the plug isn't corroded. Usually the sensor with a small plug is under $25 from the dealer.

[95ragtop]

OC means Open Circuit. The wires or temperature probe has an open somewhere. Also, SC means Short Circuit on the temperature wire/probe. You can unplug the probe (behind the grill) and put a short across the connector. If the display reads SC, its the probe. If it still reads OC, its the wires. Easy fix when you know what to look for.

[ponchonutty]

That's a great tip. I just found out about that too to help find a problem with a customer's mirror I installed. It ended up being the main harness connector on the back of the mirror itself.

[95GMCJimmySLE]

my girls 93 Jimmy also reads OC on the temp. How do I test if it's the wires or the sensor? Where is the sensor even located?

[ponchonutty]

It's in the front grill. It's black so you'll have to look for it carefully. It will have 2 wires inside one plug. Take out the sensor and use a paper clip into the 2 wires in the car and see if the display changes.

[95GMCJimmySLE]

ok, I'll give that a try.

I assume if the display changes then it's not a break in the wires and it's a bad sensor? Any idea of what the display should change to? Or is any change what I'm looking for?

Thanks

[ponchonutty]

the change is what you want to see. If it changes, the sensor is bad. If it doesn't you have something else wrong.