Water temp question... Please help

[Guest]

Is it normal for the water temp gauge to read higher than the normal operating teemperature as soon as you turn on your truck just a few minutes after turning it off when you've been running it normally? I don't have an overheating problem and it goes back to normal after a few seconds, but I've never had a car that the temp gauge moves like this. Is this a problem? Does this happen to anybody else?

[HenryJ]

Is it normal for the water temp gauge to read higher than the normal operating teemperature as soon as you turn on your truck just a few minutes after turning it off when you've been running it normally? I don't have an overheating problem and it goes back to normal after a few seconds, but I've never had a car that the temp gauge moves like this. Is this a problem? Does this happen to anybody else?

Yes that is normal.

When the coolant stops circulating it is still absorbing the heat fron the engine.
Cylinder heads normally run in the 300 degree range, so some of that heat causes the rise in temp. for the coolant that remains in the engine when stopped. As soon as you start it , the coolant in the radiator will cool things back down.

[Rusty]

Is it normal for the water temp gauge to read higher than the normal operating teemperature as soon as you turn on your truck just a few minutes after turning it off when you've been running it normally? I don't have an overheating problem and it goes back to normal after a few seconds, but I've never had a car that the temp gauge moves like this. Is this a problem? Does this happen to anybody else?

Yes that is normal.

When the coolant stops circulating it is still absorbing the heat fron the engine.
Cylinder heads normally run in the 300 degree range, so some of that heat causes the rise in temp. for the coolant that remains in the engine when stopped. As soon as you start it , the coolant in the radiator will cool things back down.

Ever seen a cylinder head temp gauge on a VW? Scary to watch!

[HenryJ]

Ever seen a cylinder head temp gauge on a VW? Scary to watch!

I hear that! 600+ made me consider alcohol (for the fuel , not me )

[Guest]

Thanks for your replies. I know the water temp will rise when it stops flowing through the radiator. I just never saw a gauge that showed this before on any other car. I owned a Tracker and a Neon before and the gauge never moved once it got warmed up no matter how hot it was outside. I never noticed it on any other car either. I guess the gauges on the s10 is accurate and all the others aren't. Anybody else notice this too? I wonder if all chevy trucks are like this. I'll ask my brother, he has an avalanche. Thanks again guys.

[HenryJ]

I just never saw a gauge that showed this before on any other car. I owned a Tracker and a Neon before and the gauge never moved once it got warmed up no matter how hot it was outside. I never noticed it on any other car either. I guess the gauges on the s10 is accurate and all the others aren't. Anybody else notice this too?

It is not that they are more acurate , it is the senders location. On our 4.3L it is on the top. My old S-10 with the 3.4L has it in the head which doesn't rise nearly as much when shut off.
So in summary, I guess location is important (location, location...location )

[Rusty]

Ever seen a cylinder head temp gauge on a VW? Scary to watch!

I hear that! 600+ made me consider alcohol (for the fuel , not me )

My VW Bus IDLES at around 350 degrees. The last time I drove it in the mountains on a warm summer day, I disconnected the temp guage. I didn't want to watch!

[a2b]

ya when its hot...when i was in pheonix one time when it was 120 degrees...which has to be the stupidest place to build a city.....the engine would overheat every single time i turned the truck off....and at stop lights i would rev the motor to 1100 rpms to keep the fan turning faster and you could watch the temp come down as it cooled off

[Rusty]

ya when its hot...when i was in pheonix one time when it was 120 degrees...which has to be the stupidest place to build a city.....the engine would overheat every single time i turned the truck off....and at stop lights i would rev the motor to 1100 rpms to keep the fan turning faster and you could watch the temp come down as it cooled off

Yeah, I was in Nevada once. It was something like 110 degrees, and that was after the sun had gone down. Way too hot for me! In the Washington DC area it doesn't get that hot. Just really humid in the summer. Almost as bad. At least in Nevada it was a dry heat.

[AZS10Crew]

ya when its hot...when i was in pheonix one time when it was 120 degrees...which has to be the stupidest place to build a city.....the engine would overheat every single time i turned the truck off....and at stop lights i would rev the motor to 1100 rpms to keep the fan turning faster and you could watch the temp come down as it cooled off

Welcome to my normal summer commute.

Most cars have temp gauges that are glorified idiot lights. They only go from low temp to normal temp to overheating (if necessary) with no changes for the normal engine temp changes. Most trucks I think reflect actual temps, so they fluctuate as the engine temp changes.

[Rusty]

ya when its hot...when i was in pheonix one time when it was 120 degrees...which has to be the stupidest place to build a city.....the engine would overheat every single time i turned the truck off....and at stop lights i would rev the motor to 1100 rpms to keep the fan turning faster and you could watch the temp come down as it cooled off

Welcome to my normal summer commute.

Most cars have temp gauges that are glorified idiot lights. They only go from low temp to normal temp to overheating (if necessary) with no changes for the normal engine temp changes. Most trucks I think reflect actual temps, so they fluctuate as the engine temp changes.

I'll bet I know why Volkswagen never put any real gauges in any of their air cooled cars. If people knew what was REALLY going on back there, they would never drive them! Besides the insane cylinder head temps, most of the ones I've seen with gauges don't have any oil pressure when hot either!