Coolant Temperature Gauge.

[nequamminor]

My monte isn't exactly warming up... I took it out and did a couple full throttle runs to 65 or so, and drove it about 8-10 miles, and the temp gauge just barely came off the cold mark. It just doesn't seem to want to warm up. I'm giving it a coolant flush and I'll be finding out sooner or later whether the LIM gasket is gone or not, but there's no signs of it that I can see. Are the signs of a bad LIM gasket different on a 3.4 TDC vs. a 3100? I'm just wondering what else it could be. The only thing I can think of is a bad coolant temp sensor gauge.

[dohcfiend]

maybe the sensor itself? do you have access to a scanner? check the temp reading on the ecu and see if it is different than the guage.

[nequamminor]

Well I don't really have a way to check the temp on the ecu itself, I have no tuner or anything. What would be the easiest and cheapest way to check that?

[dohcfiend]

i cannot remember 100% but i think the stock pcm will turn on the fan at 195 or 210. just let it idle until the fan turns on and compare to the guage.

either way just a fyi: the sender to the gauge is located in the front cylinder head below the upper engine mount

[pontiacdohc@gmail.com]

i think TEMP GAUGE wire broke off . the sensor is right next to the crossover pipe it has a green wire on it. only saying this because my gauge stoped working after a while and when i went to replace the sensor the wire was broken off the sensor and all burned. but im not sure if that is sensor that turns the fan on i think the sensor that turns the fan on is the one in the back of TB but im not too sure.

[pontiacdohc@gmail.com]

also if ur coolant temp gauge(the one in the back of the TB) was messed up ur car would pretty much be running rich all the time becasue its not sending the right information to the pcm,either that or it will make it run really lean when its cold and not allow it heat up as fast as it should, but all in all i still think its just the gague sensor(on the front head hiden by the crossover pipe) !

[dohcfiend]

sounds like you have it licked. if the green wire is broken, the guage will certainly not work. the sender for the pcm is located on the bottom right of your lower intake on the driver's side.

[pontiacdohc@gmail.com]

is the pcm coolant sensor on the LIM damn its been a min since i replaced that thing i just remebred doing it at night with no light and it sucked!

[3100 MPFI]

Have you tried turning on your heater to see if hot air comes out?

I was not getting any heat on my grandmothers Grand Am, but it was reading normal temps. Turns out that the last shop that worked on it, they bypassed the heater core.

Different thing, but same solution.

After a couple of 65 MPH runs, do you have hot air, or cold air blowing out of the heater. If it is hot, then the gauge sender is not correct. If it is cold, you have a different problem.

[nequamminor]

The car has had hot air since I've owned it... I did a lot of maintenence this weekend. I drained the radiator, replaced what coolant i got out, replaced the thermostat, and got it to raise the gauge once, to almost perfect level. Few hours later, I drove it again and it wouldnt heat back up and I have a SES light on now. Could this be related to air in the system?