engine temp guage
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,519
Likes: 1
From: Central Cal - Merced County
engine temp guage My brother just bought a '99 SS with 16,500 miles on it. I noticed when we were testing the car out that the engine temp stays at or around 210 degrees. This happens even when the car just gets turned on in the morning and the car has been sitting the entire night. It just had a new battery put in. It woudn't pass smog because of the new battery. The guy at the smog place said it can take up to 3 days for the systems to come back on and get good readings. Could the new battery be causing the abnormal engine temp reading? Any suggestions.
Its not abnormal, the 99-02 F-bodies have dummy gauges. meaning it doesnt really work it, its only there to tell you if your car overheats. the 98s are the only year with the accurate reading gauge, so nothing to worry about its like that on every 99 and up F-Body.
not really but if you go to the sticky and read about the different years it will tell you, but i can break it down for you, the guage in the 99s and up only read at 210 b/c they didnt use the 98 gauge that actually works and reads the actual temp of the engine. the gauge in your brothers 99 SS is a dummy gauge just like it is in every other 99 and up F-body and it will only really move if the engine is overheating, its basic use is to tell you if your car is overheating or not. So there is nothing to worry about and its working like it should but wont read like your 98 gauge does.
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 5,399
Likes: 3
From: Jacksonville, FL
After sitting all night the gauge should slowly climb to the "dummy" temp. If it happens immediately after turning the key on something's wrong - check the ECT sensor/wiring. Do some obd driving cycles and put some miles on it before going back for emissions testing. www.obdii.com/drivecycle.html Note what it says in 7. about the battery being disconnected.
