CandiMan

iTrader: (1)

Is it safe to say if the needle never goes past the middle even under hard extreme driving conditions it's not running hot?

wicked1044

yes and no.. no if the thermostat is not wroking right..
i need a new one..

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

if memory serves me right i believe it's not that accurate. there's a big range of temp when the needle is in the middle...but when it's HOT it will go to the red.

Nismo87SE

I guess the way to check the gauge is to reference it with CONSULT or an aftermarket temp gauge. If anything you can splice a voltage meter into the coolant temp sensor and check its readings vs the temp gauge on the dash. I hope its not miscalibrated like the speedo or tach is. All I know is my headgasket in my maxima let go when my temp gauge was reading about 212*F (when my 2nd fan turns on) .

Eric L.

Basically, unless it breaks that line near the top and gets into the hot range, you are just fine. The owners manual says that the needle will fluctuate during normal driving and it is nothing to worry about unless the needle breaks into the "hot" region above the line. For my car, the needle is right around the middle during normal driving. I've never seen it rise above that though.

CandiMan

iTrader: (1)

Wouldn't the head/intake manifold temp rise and since the sender located in that area hopefully the gauge will rise. Maybe I'll ground the wire (single and double wire) and hope the needle max out.

pmar

I think they're are 2 aspects of your question. First, the sending unit may not be that accurate. Second, it is reliable. Meaning, you should absolutely not see your needle going up and down depending on the outside temp or if you're idling. If so, you got a problem. But I'm willing to bet that if you installed 3 different senders, maybe the needle could be off a little each time due to the nature of the device.

The thermostat regulates the temp of the motor. If you take it out, your motor should operate below normal. If it doesn't, then your cooling system is not operating properly. Just think, how can a say 180 degree thermostat keep your car running at that temp? By opening everytime that temp is reached, and closing when it's below that temp. On older cars that I had the cars would run hot. Only replacing the radiator seemed to help. On those 2 cars I found that if I were stuck in traffic the needle got dangerously close to the red. If I drove 45 mph the temp backed down, and if I went 70 the needle was high again. That indicated the cooling system was not operating efficiently. Idling is the killer if the rad is clogged, but has no effect whatsoever on a normal car.