temp gauge not working.

**chevy03** · 03-15-2013, 09:42 PM

i know there are threads on here concerning this issue. but my issue is slightly different.

i was out in the shop and was installing my new throttle body spacer. i had just finished and wanted to go and try it out. (not really expecting crazy noticeable difference.) anyways i was just pulling in the driveway, and i noticed my temp gauge was at 160. and i know it was at 210 not 15 minutes before that. anyways i stopped and looked under the hood. everything was normal. i went home and let it sit for quite a while. came back out and started it. it went up to about half way between 210 and 160. it stayed for maybe 5 sec.and went back to 160. i think it might be the ECS. but still confused as to why it what read correctly then quit and not work.
Any suggestions?

i read up on similar situations but nothing quite like this. truck runs fine, its not shutting me down, AC works.

**Pikey** · 03-15-2013, 09:58 PM

It could be a few things. The stepper motor that moves the temp needle could be going bad, but usually they get stuck in one spot or go all the way left or right. It could be a computer issue. Did you disconnect you battery when installing the spacer? On my 05 I have disconnected the battery a few times to do work and a couple times after reconnecting the battery I had some weird issues with the temp gauge. It would read cold all the time or it would read normal then go to zero. I disconnected the battery for an hour each time this happened and it is working fine now. It could also be the temp sending unit. If you search the forum I think that there may be some posts about how to test the unit. On a side note, why did you install a spacer? They have no proven benefits. They can actually cause turbulent air flow rather than the laminar air flow that GM designed the system to produce.