vs temp gauge

[DONHOMER]

Vs V6 1995 temp gauge goes up to 80% when stopped in traffic.when car is moving(ie cruzing at 60-80 kays no stopping) temp gauge goes back to 30% and stays at 30%.I replaced thermostat and put new radiator in no difference. car runs ok ,fan kicks in at about 80% temp, i think fan should kick in earlier.what is cause of this problem?cheers DONHOMER

[SweetWagon]

I'd be looking at the water temp sensor (located under the thermostat)

[aussiebluVR]

This appears to be the norm ..... I've changed everything to do with my cooling system as I had the same problem..... Assuming you have water in you system change it out for a good coolant ...... This helped mine a lot ....... Also as for you fans not kicking in earlier mine does the same and I've had no dramas with it ......... However if it stays up the top for more than thirty seconds ....... You will find that you won't have much coolant left and most probably a leak some where ...... Lastly as another option you can add another fan that you can switch on from within the cabin when ever you like I think they are around $80 from super cheap it has everything you need to install them.

Hope this helps

[hako]

Completely normal as above. There is no airflow thru the radiator when the car is stopped in traffic so the temperature must go up.....seeing as it comes down rapidly when fan kicks in means your cooling system is in good condition. If you are really worried about it, you can add a switch to turn the fan on manually, or the memcal or ECU can be modified to switch the fan on earlier. However, it is designed to run at what would appear to be hot and if you have the fan coming on earlier you will be altering the factory setting which GM spent millions on perfecting.

[DONHOMER]

I want to replace WATER TEMP SENSOR,but there seems to be 2 of them (located under the thermostat)one is facing towards the front with a simple connection ,the other is on the right side ,with a multipin plug ,which one controls the fan?cheers

[Brett_jjj]

The multipin one is the one you want,its the one the ECU uses to control the cooling fan..The other single wire one is just for the temp gauge..Its also worth swapping over the low speed cooling fan relay for one thats the same, to test that its working ok,its one of the small sized relays,these can fail and cause the cooling fan to stop working..This relay is located under the bonnet in the fuse box....

[BlackVXGTS]

Temperature sender unit - The temperature sender unit used in VS V6's was carried over from VR's, but the location was changed to a hotter part of the engine. This may cause higher temperature readings on the gauge before the thermo fan cuts in. In mid 1997, the sender unit was revised to suit the new engine position and engine temperatures, which show a lower reading on the gauge before thermo fan activation.

[DONHOMER]

Hi thanks for all the replies, the fog is starting to clear regarding temp gauge.Why do VS v6 and other v6 commodores have a 195 degree thermostat,while most other commodore models have a 180 degree thermostat? apparently boiling point is 220 degrees,dos'nt leave much tolerance? cheers.

[delcowizzid]

hotter engine makes for better economy and emissions.you can get above 220 before the water boils thats why the cooling system is under pressure it raises the boiling point

[IBLOWN]

I have to disagree. The gauge shouldnt get above 2/3. Fan should come on a fanny hair above half and hold that temp. If anything the fan should bring the gauge down. The stock fan is very good.

I would be looking at replacing the waterpump.

[m1lky]

I'd look at the waterpump and thermostat. My vs would sit at just over a quarter at speed. Fan kicked in just under half and bought it down a little then turned off again in traffic. I never liked seeing this oscillation so used to just turn on the heater (pointing out the window) and it would sit under half without the fan idling in traffic

[BlackVXGTS]

Why do VS v6 and other v6 commodores have a 195 degree thermostat,while most other commodore models have a 180 degree thermostat? apparently boiling point is 220 degrees,dos'nt leave much tolerance? cheers.

Standard V8 thermostat is 192 degrees F which is not much different to the V6. The boiling point of water is normally 212 degrees F (or 100 degrees C) but is a lot higher when the cooling system is under pressure.

[aussiebluVR]

You could try getting a new heater tap mine had a leak that would only leak when the car was driving and by the time you stopped to check all the water would be gone due to the heat. And since changing this my temp gauge hasn't gone over half and that's sitting in banked up traffic on the m4 in peak hour. I do however say it could be a number of things for example since I've had my car this past year i have had to replace the:

Radiator
Radiator hoses
Thermostat
Thermostat housing
Valley cover intake gasket
And the temp sensor

All this and it's just starting to run like it should..... All for the love of a Holden

[DONHOMER]

I'm still mystified by my VS v6 cooling system, i have put a new radiator and thermostat in it, the gauge still goes up to 80% in traffic until fan kicks in and it seems to be loosing coolant from under the radiator cap which is new.but doesn't fill reservoir bottle?whats going on?cheers

[m1lky]

So your loosing coolant?

Could be leaking out of the water pump. If not check for water in oil and visversa

You could try bypassing the fan thermostat temporarily to keep it cools whole you sort it.

[DONHOMER]

There seems to be a little oil residue in the coolant if I wipe my finger inside radiator cap opening I get a little black oil residue on my finger (although i've been told this is normal for VS V6)there is no yellow baby shit coloured gunk in oil,the coolant seems to be under too much pressure its pushing coolant out from under radiator cap when hot,cap is on tight but it drips out after driving car for a while.RE= I'm still mystified by my VS v6 cooling system, i have put a new radiator and thermostat in it, the gauge still goes up to 80% in traffic until fan kicks in and it seems to be loosing coolant from under the radiator cap which is new.but doesn't fill reservoir bottle?whats going on?cheers

[BlackVXGTS]

I'm still mystified by my VS v6 cooling system, i have put a new radiator and thermostat in it, the gauge still goes up to 80% in traffic until fan kicks in and it seems to be loosing coolant from under the radiator cap which is new.but doesn't fill reservoir bottle?whats going on?cheers

You shouldn't be losing coolant from under the radiator cap. You either haven't secured the radiator cap correctly, have a faulty radiator cap, or there is a blockage in the hose that goes from the radiator to the coolant reservoir bottle. Some other posts have talked about faulty radiator caps that allowed their rubber to block off the coolant passage to the reservoir bottle.

[Mattrob]

I have the same readings on my temp gauge, I've replaced everything, tho not always for that. Pump, both sensors, cap, coolant, hoses. I lose no coolant. Had the flow checked etc. I read somewhere here that the temperature difference between mid & 3/4 is bugger all, have done nearly 500,000ks with no probs. also , some times the pills holden uses to help stop leaks leaves a residue that is slimey looking.

[Brett_jjj]

I have the same readings on my temp gauge, I've replaced everything, tho not always for that. Pump, both sensors, cap, coolant, hoses. I lose no coolant. Had the flow checked etc. I read somewhere here that the temperature difference between mid & 3/4 is bugger all, have done nearly 500,000ks with no probs. also , some times the pills holden uses to help stop leaks leaves a residue that is slimey looking.

Id try the revised coolant temp sensor mentioned above by Blackvxgts.3/4 on the temp gauge doesnt leave much room for error .Id be worried I wouldnt notice it in time..My VSV6 temp gauge sits at around a quarter out on the highway,even lower on a cool night,and once its sitting idling in traffic,it will go up to half way on the temp gauge,this is when the cooling fan kicks in and drops it back down to a quarter again where the cooling fan then shuts off..Whilst sitting idling it will just keep repeating this process.If Im sitting idling with the A/C on,the temp never goes over a quarter as the cooling fan is always running with the A/C on.

[DONHOMER]

Thanks every one for the posts ,put a REPCO 'cpc' radiator cap on it ,not loosing water under cap anymore,all seems to be ok .may get the later model sensor for it,does exactly the same as what Brett_jjj car does except my gauge goes up to 3/4 till fan comes on then goes back down again to below half when stopped, then back to 1/3 when cruzing.cheers Donhomer

[Brett_jjj]

The old cap wasnt a Trident brand was it.Theres been a number of people who have had problems with trident brand radiator caps not holding pressure properly.Most people who have complained about these faulty trident caps,have ended up fitting a CPC brand cap and the problem has been fixed..

[DONHOMER]

the old cap had no brand name on it but looked new,the CPC cap has more spring pressure.cheers

[Hangman]

+1 for Trident brand problems. I replaced the cap on my old VR cause the rubber on it was worse for wear. The Trident cap I put on shat itself the first day it was on there. I put the old CPC one back on and ended up leaving it on there. Never had an issue.

Though your mention of spring pressure makes me wonder, was it the correct pressure cap you bought?

[DONHOMER]

The old radiator cap came with the car(VS V6), it (THE CAP)looks new but has no brand name on it ,I bought the car just before I started this post.Thats why I was worried about the temp gauge moving all over the place.not used to that in my old VH commy. cheers

[DONHOMER]

OK. I'VE SOLVED MY ENGINE FAN NOT COMING ON UNTIL TILL 3/4 ON GAUGE PROBLEM. It was the low speed fan relay in the fuse box it has a green stripe on it and has 5 pins.The fan was not coming on at low speed or when I turned on the air conditioning .I replaced relay now fan comes on (low speed) when temp gauge is at 1/2 and also any time I turn on air conditioner.LOW SPEED IS PRETTY FAST HIGH SPEED IS EVEN FASTER.so it seems I only had high speed working all along.thanks for the help everyone especially Brett_jjj.cheers Donhomer