rockyrunner99 Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 my girlfriends 90 grand prix with a 3.1 will not warm up. I put a new thermostat in it yesterday, but it didn't make a difference. so today after buying a new one. i checked the old one to make sure that i didn't get a bad one. The old one was ok. I need to know how to check the temperature sensor. Is there one or two. it seems to me that the sensor is ok, because the fans still turn on at when it gets warm though a little too warm. when i let it idle, they didn't turn on till about 230. i have no way of checking the actual temperature of the engine to compare with the gauge, and the fans turning on and off. I am hoping there is a way to check the sensor with a ohmeter. posibly checking the resistance at set temperatures. thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 The first fan turns on at 227* and the second a little higher (I cant remember the number). There are two coolant sensors, but if your fans are turning on at about 230, I'd say they are fine. One tells the fans to turn on and the other works the gauge. EDIT: What do you mean "not warming up"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockyrunner99 Posted November 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 yesterday, it was about 40 degrees out. the only time the car would get over about 150 is if we were idling. if i coasted or drove about 45 on flat ground it would go down to 140. then i put a new thermostat in it. my GF said this morning it wouldn't even get to 140, and she didn't have any heat. that really made her mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 fans on at = 220*, 227*, respectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luminator94 Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 Did you ever think that maybe the guage is inaccurate? I went through that crap on my 94 Euro. Only it was reading WAY to hot, when it really was running at normal temp. Same thing on my 94 Prix. Hell, half the time the thermostat was pegged at 260 and it was running at normal temp. Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockyrunner99 Posted November 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 thanks for all your replies. I think i have found the answer. i haven't tried it yet i am waiting for my gf to get home from work. the problem is, there is air in the system. since the radiator cap is lower than other points in the cooling system it will not get the air out on its own like most cars. this summer i rplaced the coolant with just water, after fixing a leak. so a couple weeks ago, when it started getting cold. i drained some of the water to add a gallon of anti freeze. thats when it started. it wasn't very noticable at first because it wasn't as cold. then when i realized there was a problem i put the thermostat in. That added more air to the system, and made the problem worse. thanks for your help though i will try to get back here to let you know for sure if that is it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 yeah, just run the car and open the bleeder on the T-stat housing to let the air out. If that doesnt fix it, I bet the gauge sensor is acting up. The guage sensor is the one on the back of the rear head on the driver's side, it has a green wire coming out of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal_GS_1989 Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 When you bleed the system, make sure that there is no air in the reservoire. There may be a little bit while you bleed it,but it will quickly go away. If you see bubbles a little while after, get ready to pull apart your motor. I don't want to get into details about this, but I had experience with running a 3.1L with air in the cooling system. Ended up cracking the heads. But mine ended up loosing a bit of coolant at a stop light. The temp guage was still reading normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyman87 Posted November 30, 2004 Report Share Posted November 30, 2004 you do have coolant in there right? might be some air bubbles in your system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockyrunner99 Posted December 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 it had been a couple more weeks, and it is still not warming up, i even blocked off 2/3 of the radiator! I have been bleeding the system all the time. I won't get air out for a couple days, then all of a sudden i will get some more. someone here said that i i can do this with the car is running? i have a freind who is a mechanic and works on these all the time, he said that it will suck more air in if i do that. is that true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no1kicker Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 I was under the impression that if there was air in the cooling system, it would run hot not vise versa. I had a similar problem in my first car, it was a temperature sensor. I couldn't tell you which one cause at the time I was pretty much clueless... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockyrunner99 Posted December 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 well it depends on where the air pocket is. The air in the air pocket gets hotter then the water that would be cooling the engine. if there was an air pocket at the bottom of the thermostat, or all around the thermostat, it would, make it open. right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 The radiator cap is the highest point in your cooling system. Take it off and start the car. Every time the level goes down, fill it back up. Do this until the t-stat opens and the radiator stays full. I don't care what anyone says. This is how I've always done it. I've never had to add coolant later on either and I've also never even opened any of the bleeder valves. Temp. gauge always reads good and heat is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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