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Temp gauge reads low. (I think)

7K views 13 replies 13 participants last post by  AstroWill 
#1 ·
This is as hot as it ever gets. In the summer, 30C heat and ac on full it obviously got hotter. Afte a 30 min drive at 100km/h, it never got higher.

Maybe thermostat stuck open? It's 6C (42F) right now. It's cold but not like numbingly cold.

Ideas? Suggestions? A smack upside the head?
 

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#2 ·
Thats where mine sits too.....but mine is not in C obviously. If 100C is about 210F then our gauges read about the same.
If you got good heat then no worries. :D
 
#5 ·
Watch your gauge when it starts to warm up. You can see when the thermostat on my van open, it runs up to the 210F mark and then drops back off to where yours sits...granted, not all thermostats and gauges will show the temp rise that high and then drop back down to normal temps, but if you see an initial spike in temp and then it drops to that point, you are good to go. A scanner will tell you if the engine is operating at the proper temp, and that's all you really need to worry about. More important is that the gauge and sender work so you do know if it's overheating.
 
#6 ·
I have a 180 degree stat in mind, and I sit at the quarter mark. Although I'm in Canada I got rid of the stupid metric gauges! When i had a 195 stat and the original metric gauge it sat a tick or two below the 100C mark. If your wondering if its warm enough only way to check is with a scan tool, see what the motor is really at. The gauges arent perfect so a tick or two off is no big deal.

If your warm you should be fine. Once heated up these vans will pump out the heat.

Scott
 
#7 ·
My gauge on my 94 sat one notch above the quarter mark with the 195 T-Stat in it. Live data said that was 195 degrees.
With the 180 degree stat it runs at the quarter mark. I never checked that on the live data. but it seems about right.
Put your hand on the radiator cap when it there without opening. It should take about 2 seconds before it real uncomfortable if the radiator is full.
******* diagnosing at its finest.
:banana:
 
#8 ·
Bread Van said:
Geez, they give you guys upside down dashes in Canadia...that's not nice :D
:whack: :lol:
 
#9 ·
Heat blows hot, could be hotter IMHO. Already tried the hand on the rad cap trick. Took 5 seconds. Working outside for 12 years has taken most of the feeling outta my hands though. Guess I'm worrying about nothing! Thanks guys!
 
#10 ·
I thought my van ran a bit cool when I first bought it, then realized the factory gauge is not the most accurate...I have an ultraguage that always shows the temp a bit warmer than the factory guage. I was almost ready to swap the thermostat...glad I got a 'second opinion' on the temp before I dug out my wrenches.
 
#11 ·
My 2000 Chevy astro has never had the temp gauge go higher than shown my the orignal poster.

Recently, when the temperature has dropped to the range of -7 degrees C, the gauge never gets higher than between the space between the second and third(thin) lines above the 40 degree(lowest) line on the gauge and the heater is now not working very well.

Normally here on the lower mainland of BC we don't go below freezing (0 degrees C) very often.

Even when the gauge rose only to approx. that shown by the original poster, the heater gave lots of heat.

Are there two temperature sensors on the van? i.e. one which is used by the computer and one just for the dash gauge?
The van starts and runs fine.
If the temperature sensor for the computer were faulty, wouldn't the van run in open loop all the time and set a check engine light? i.e. if only one sensor and the gauge is correct, wouldn't that cause a drivability problem?

Saw some other posts about a vacuum controlled valve for the heater. If this is by passed with a hose, do the dash controls even do anything?

There are approx. 427,000 km on the van. I put a new rad on maybe 2 years ago and of course flushed the coolant at that time.

Thks,
Dwight
 
#14 ·
If you haven't drained and filled your coolant(or don't know when it was done), I would pull and replace it anyway when you have the system drained. It's a cheap part and doing it when you are already draining the system makes it that much easier.

When you get a new one, make sure to get the factory rated temperature.
 
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