Is my car overheating?
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: Louisiana
Is my car overheating?
I drove my 95 Vette' to a McDonalds and had to wait behind 3 cars. It was too cool outside to have the A/C on so I had it off. The car got up to 230 on the LCD display, but the analog needle pegged out. Once I got out on the street again, the temp went back to 220 and the needle was still pegged to the max. I drove another block back to my work and it cooled down to 215 and the needle went back to midway. I don't remember seeing this before. Even thought the readout says 230, does the needle still indicate overheating. My car didn't boil when I shut it off.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 11,771
Likes: 177
From: Rolla Missouri
2021 C4 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist
St. Jude Donor '10 thru '25
Pretty much normal. Look real close again at the analog gauge, and you will see a very small "shaded" area that the high end. I'll bet instead of "pegged", your needle was not quite touching that shaded area.
When the digital gauge is reading around 230, the analog will be right up to (but not quite in) the shaded area.
Also, with the a/c not running your electric cooling fans won't come on until your temps reach approx. 227. This scares a lot of people, especially those used to the old school muscle cars.
Yes, 230 is warm, but the Corvette was designed to run this hot.
With a pressurized cooling system containing the correct coolant mix, it won't boil until close to 260 F.
As long as it does not go over 230-240 while sitting at a standstill I wouldn't worry too much. Even though you might not have needed the a/c, flip it on when sitting still to force your cooling fans to run and your car probably won't get much over 205.
When the digital gauge is reading around 230, the analog will be right up to (but not quite in) the shaded area.
Also, with the a/c not running your electric cooling fans won't come on until your temps reach approx. 227. This scares a lot of people, especially those used to the old school muscle cars.
Yes, 230 is warm, but the Corvette was designed to run this hot.
With a pressurized cooling system containing the correct coolant mix, it won't boil until close to 260 F.
As long as it does not go over 230-240 while sitting at a standstill I wouldn't worry too much. Even though you might not have needed the a/c, flip it on when sitting still to force your cooling fans to run and your car probably won't get much over 205.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: Louisiana
Thanks, it just spooked me out. I wasn't sure if I bleeded it enough, but I can't seem to get any more coolant in the system from the last few tries, unless I'm doing something wrong. I wait until the car cools down, open the radiator cap, open the bleed valve, and see if I can add any coolant. The last couple of tries though, it appears to be as full as it can get. The manual says it should hold 17.8 quarts but I think I'm a quart short, including the overflow.
