karrkrazzie Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 So, i took my car up north and i noticed that the engine temp gauge never got past the 1/4 way point.... I thought they were suposed to go to about half? Is this normal, or any ideas what is wrong? Can a thermostat get stuck partially opened? Quote
Regal_GS_1989 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 Yup. Mine was the same way this year. Its not so much that the thermostat is stuck partially open, its that it is opening way to early, and allowing the engine to cool too much. If it were stuck half open, then you would have a much harder time getting any heat at all. Quote
karrkrazzie Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Posted March 10, 2009 So replace the thermostat and I am good to go? Kinda what i figured Quote
Regal_GS_1989 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 Yes, just be sure to properly bleed the cooling system once you are complete. On another note, the example above is more than likely a thermostat that is stuck open. That car should be running around the 4th bar on the gauge, and not much lower than that, regardless of the outside temperature. At -40 on the highway, my car maybe runs a few degrees cooler than it does on a warmer day. I don't run any kind of Winter front/grill/rad cover on my car either. Quote
oldscsc Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 Mine ran at 130 with a stuck thermostat. With the new one, she runs at 180 all day long. Quote
Night Fury Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 I also had to replace my thermo, cause he never got above 1/4. Replaced it and I'm good to go! Quote
karrkrazzie Posted March 11, 2009 Author Report Posted March 11, 2009 So I replaced mine and no change, heat blows fireballs.... i just dont get it.... could the temp gauge be broke, could i be doing any serious damage? Quote
carkhz316 Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 Doubtful. The only way to really verify engine coolant temp, is via a scantool data stream. Don't always take the gauge to heart. Quote
88red4cyl Posted March 11, 2009 Report Posted March 11, 2009 So I replaced mine and no change, heat blows fireballs.... i just dont get it.... could the temp gauge be broke, could i be doing any serious damage? The temp gauge on my 3800 LTZ does the exact same thing... Never really gets over the 1/4 mark on the gauge... I also replaced my thermostat and got no change... The gauge is just way off... Quote
88red4cyl Posted March 12, 2009 Report Posted March 12, 2009 Good to know.... Thanx I suppose it could be that whatever sensor sends the reading to the cluster could be bad as well (if anyone knows which sensor is responsible for that function)... The LTZ has done it since purchase in 2004, and I always just figured it ran cool until I hooked it up to a scan tool last year and the temp was reading around 200... Dumb question for you (or any other 3800 Lumi/Monte owners)... When you start the car and the lights test on the cluster, does the HOT light come on? Mine doesn't (never has), and I was just wondering if it isn't supposed to or the light is burned out... Quote
carkhz316 Posted March 12, 2009 Report Posted March 12, 2009 It should, as there is a dedicated (or at least on older cars there used to be) spot between ignition on through start, known as bulb test, for just that function: to let you know all the dummy lights actually work. My 98 Z34 illuminates it upon key start. Quote
swift13 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Posted March 13, 2009 it think the sensor is called the cts coolant temp sensor my 95 has the same problem with the gauge, heats fine and the cts has been replaced, but occasionally it works fine (very rare tho) Quote
mra32 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Posted March 13, 2009 Doubtful. The only way to really verify engine coolant temp, is via a scantool data stream. Don't always take the gauge to heart. Or you could just actually measure the temperature of the coolant without going through the cars electronics. it would probably be more accurate anyway. Quote
carkhz316 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Posted March 13, 2009 ^True, though could be potentially dangerous when fully warmed. Unless you let it warm up with the cap off, but then theres always the person out there who could accidentally scald themself with boiling antifreeze because they were ignorant. Quote
mra32 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Posted March 13, 2009 yeah i suppose the logistics of actually doing that are a bit tough if you dont feel like modifying any parts or have use of a thermocouple and meter Quote
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