Coolant Temp Gauge is running cooler than stock?

[Grease Bunny]

Around 2 months ago I noticed my fans were constantly running on high due to my coolant temp gauge failing. When I lifted the hood, I was out of coolant as well. I filled up with coolant and changed the gauge out. I noticed it ran cooler and figured it was due to the steady leak I had in the coolant reservoir. Yesterday I had my coolant reservoir replaced, and system flushed. I’ve burped all of the air out of my system but it’s still running cooler than expected. When I bought it, it ran around 210 consistently. Now I’m consistently at the big tick mark before it which I’m assuming is around 195. She runs smoothly and doesn’t have issues but I’m wondering if this is going to cause an issue down the road?

[mikeyk101]

My guess would be the thermostat. Not real expensive or hard to replace yourself. If coolant had been low for a while, maybe corrosion built up on thermostat and now it's stuck open???

 

I have never heard of the gauge failing. Normally it will be the coolant temp sensor or the thermostat. Since gauge is integral to the dash gauges, did you have to replace the entire dash panel of gauges?

 

But many owners don't understand the dash gauge for coolant. when it settles at 210⁰, it doesn't mean that's the coolant temperature. It is fairly inaccurate. Actual temp will be somewhere between 185⁰ and 225⁰. As soon as it ticks lower than the indicated 210⁰, it is already under 185⁰. If it ticks higher, it is already above 225⁰.

Edited January 27, 2024 by mikeyk101

[Grease Bunny]

Mikeyk101 that was a wording error on my end. I replaced the coolant temp gauge when I realized the gauge wasn’t working. Not the gauge itself.