Overheating..

[tbkustomz]

well ive been working on my malibu with the gn drivetrain...i hooked up a autometer guage that reads up to 250 and it taks out all the way..i changed the t stat to 160 changed radiotor and waterpump is new.....dnt no what else to do...car doesnt feel hot and doesnt seem like it wants to turn of .headgaskets are dam near fresh i havent really got on the car....what can it be....

 

[strikeeagle]

Gauge/sending unit?

 

[87gnguy]

X2

 

[DailyDrifter]

Is the guage electric???

 

[Red C5]

I'd start with getting another reading and take it from there.

 

[tbkustomz]

the guage came with its own sensor and i hooked it up....now do you need a special kind of wire becuase i used 14 or 16 wire i forgot..but my friend says some guages come defective..dont no if this is true.....now if i hook up my buddys scanmaster will it still be able to read becuase i put a new sensor that goes straight to the guage...

 

[aminga]

DId you put any sealant tape between the sender and the block. They need to be grounded via the threads to work.

 

[ALVAROG1983]

try the scanmaster see what reading that gives you if your saying 250 and it taks out all the way then its grounding out somewhere or even deffective. Have you put a thermometer in the raditor or infrared one and see what read out your getting.

 

[tbkustomz]

no i havent done ne of those things yet since my car is at my grandmas house about an hour away since i live in a apartment i can only go over their like once every 2 weeks and get so much done ...but i did use teflon tape between the sensor and the block.....would that be an issue why its doin that becuase as soon as i start the car it rises in a matter of a min..

 

[TurboMonte 2]

no i havent done ne of those things yet since my car is at my grandmas house about an hour away since i live in a apartment i can only go over their like once every 2 weeks and get so much done ...but i did use teflon tape between the sensor and the block.....would that be an issue why its doin that becuase as soon as i start the car it rises in a matter of a min..

Bad thermostat?
Thermostat in backwards?
Low water level in radiator?

What happens to temp guage if you just turn on ign & don't start engine?

 

[salvageV6]

If the car has the two wire Buick sensor in the intake that goes directly to the ECM then the scanmaster will report the accurate water temperature that the ECM is seeing.

I'd trust that as a check assuming the conversion/installation and wiring was done correctly to the Buick ECM.

 

[salvageV6]

I should clarify that the scanmaster will report the data correctly assuming the stock ALDL port is also installed properly in the car along with the factory 2-wire sensor.

If you don't think it's overheating the scanmaster would be a good check/double check for your gauge install.

 

[tbkustomz]

thanks all that responded to this ...well me and my friend came to a conclusion that my car was not overheating becuase my fan would kick on and off..also the water in the radiotor was not boiling like if it was 250 deg...so i went and bought another autometer temp sensor and i hooked it up and bam my car stayed at 160 the whole time ....drove it for about 15 min no problem....so i gues the actual gauge was bad....and about the teflon tape thing i think it doesnt matter if you put it on the sender really.....but once again thanks ....peace...

 

[aminga]

.and about the teflon tape thing i think it doesnt matter if you put it on the sender really.....but once again thanks ....peace...

A one wire electric sender varies it's resistance in proportion to temperature. The common reference point for both gauge and sender is the vehicle ground so yes it does matter.

 

[TurboMonte 2]

Those that think threads will NOT cut thru teflon tape enuf for an adequate ground--well yes, there's theoretical "insulation" via the tape then there's REALITY...

 

[salvageV6]

Some folks "in reality" use too much goop and tape.

It's real easy with an ohmeter to spend the 1 minute checking out the metal body of the thing once installed, to the battery ground for extremely low resistance.

 

[tbkustomz]

teflon

true i no some use a lot of that stuff .but then again threads should cut through that stuff regardless and if too much is in use i guess u would be able to tell......:biggrin: