temp guage not reliable?

[Deezil]

Did a fair amount of idling the other day (crawling slow over bumpy field), it was alittle warm, trans temp never got above 180, engine temp guage always reads middle to just below middle, but when I turned it off I could hear it bubbling in the overflow, so I grabbed my temp gun and read the upper radiator hose to be about 212-220, what the heck?

 

[jgue467]

I suggest you use something like torque (for apple or android $5) and a bluetooth odb2 transponder (like a 327 elm model on ebay for just a few bucks) for acccurate readings. There are other apps, google or search on this site for those but this one is pretty content heavy, will display anything the odb2 port will. Beware though not all years of 3 gems display all the same data, naturally the newer ones since 99 or so display more.

On mine the engine temps don't vary much, low of 190 to high of 204, but the oem guage doesn't mover noticeably in that range, so yeah not terribly accurate. 212-220 would be pretty hot, but not sure that reading is representative of what the ecm would read. Luck!

 

[Deezil]

Yeah, I was toying with the idea of adding another aftermarket guage, but it is a PITA. But gotta do something to keep an eye on it.. either way, it shouldnt overheat at all in a flat field, right?

 

[jgue467]

Not overheat. But temps will rise a bit. Mine can sit in the same spot with A/C on in 100 outside temps (and high humidity) for about 30 mins before temps rise, but they won't get above 204, if i rev up to about 1200 then the temps drop back down to 194.

So IF the temps really got to 220 for you, it could be several things causing that. Poor airflow thru radiator, not so good fan clutch and/or radiator cap letting the pressure out at too low a pressure. So I'd check those first. But yeah the torque/elm setup is pretty cheap, pretty ez to install (almost plug/play). Luck!

 

[02SE]

The in-dash temperature gauge is really just a glorified idiot light. By about 160° F, it's reading "Normal".

It will stay in that "Normal" position, until coolant temps get high enough to actually be a concern.

 

[Ark03]

Did a fair amount of idling the other day (crawling slow over bumpy field), it was alittle warm, trans temp never got above 180, engine temp guage always reads middle to just below middle, but when I turned it off I could hear it bubbling in the overflow, so I grabbed my temp gun and read the upper radiator hose to be about 212-220, what the heck?

Did you check the coolant level? I believe the temp sensor is in contact with coolant in the engine. If the fluid level gets low enough, it can get out of the coolant and will appear to be cooler than it actually is.

 

[BlackCat914]

The in-dash temperature gauge is really just a glorified idiot light. By about 160° F, it's reading "Normal".

It will stay in that "Normal" position, until coolant temps get high enough to actually be a concern.

most manufacturers do that on purpose. It's got to do with peoples perception of normal. Even though temps might fluctuate a bit within what's considered a normal operating range, typically a factory gauge is designed to read right in the middle. Anything different, people might think theres a problem.

 

[02SE]

most manufacturers do that on purpose. It's got to do with peoples perception of normal. Even though temps might fluctuate a bit within what's considered a normal operating range, typically a factory gauge is designed to read right in the middle. Anything different, people might think theres a problem.

Yes, I know. I just didn't have the time to type a more thorough post at the moment.