ISUringman

The needle on my coolant temp gauge is at 220 during driving. No matter if hot or cold outside (well, I'm in San Diego so it isn't extreme --- 50-90 degrees is normal range throughout the year). The point is...shouldn't the coolant temp be below 220? This is a 2014 Z51.

Dcasole

My C7 runs at 190 crusing down the hwy and rarely goes over 200 except in extreme traffic , I live in Atlanta so it's hot most of the year . Sounds like you have a stuck thermostat

Dave

RonC7

Normal. The "mechanical" analog gauge on 2014's stays at 220 once the car is warmed up unless it overheats. Not really accurate, does not indicate actual temperature.

(I believe this has been corrected 2015+ model years)

Look at tour mode / perf data for accurate digital temp or sport / track analog gauges / pocket gauges.

Ron (2014 M7 Z51)

f1reb1rd

my 2014 stingray is at 220 all year around and i have all 4 seasons. never goes up

JMII

Apparently 220 on the analog is normal... because that display is wrong. The digital readout shows the real temp which should run about 20-40 degrees cooler. The engine is warmed up and at proper operating temperature at around 170 which causes the yellow / orange warning zone on the tach display to disappear.

More info here: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c7-tech-performance/4205428-water-temp-high.html

KenHorse

Yup...my 2014 behaved the same way but my with my new 2019 GS, the analog gauge is actually useful!

TNSQUIRE

I am dealing with this issue now on my 2014. My vehicle overheated and the analog gauge actually climbed above 220. The dealer found a leaking water pump and replaced it. Now the digital temps are running upwards of 230-240 and the analog gauge stays at 220. The Corvette mechanic said the digital gauges are not accurate because they use a computer algorithm from various places in the engine while the analog gauge is a hard wired sensor.

I don't actually believe this is true but not much I can do about it.

JMII

I am going to see which one matches the OBD-II data since I assume that is correct. My experience with other cars is that the analog gauge is actually just a fancy idiot light. It has 3 ranges and just moves slowly between them depending on input. So the engine is either cold, normal or hot.

What I have observed so far: 1) the analog and digital temps do not match, 2) when the digital hits 170 the yellow/orange warning in the tach goes away, 3) the digital gauge fluctuates slightly with conditions (as expected) while the analog gauge parks itself at 220 and doesn't budge. #2 tells me the other systems in the car are reacting to the same data the digital gauge is displaying. I guess this could be further confirmed by idling the car and checking when the fan kicks on.

JMII

Just for the record Dash Command OBD-II data mirrors the digital readout exactly (no surprise there). While the analog gauge might be connected directly to the sensor its calibration is clearly off.
Also it appears operating temp starts 165 not 170 as that is when the yellow/orange warning went away during my observation last night. I think I picked up the 170 from the recommended engine temp for checking the oil level in the dry sump.

Lord_Mikey

madrob2020

Either thermostat was swapped to a 160* OR it failed & would be in the open (default) position allowing coolant to constantly circulate leaving coolant too cool is my guess. Too cool can trick computers into doing strange things with fuel/air mix, etc. is what I have heard on here, but I've been wrong before. Good luck but I would swap to the OE thermostat or pull the one installed anyway to check for failure or have a mechanic check it if not a DIY kind.

Gearhead Jim

2017 Z51 with oil cooler, so oil and coolant tend to run similar temps under moderate use.
My yellow/orange warning arc goes away when the coolant and oil hit about 130'F, way too low for me to trust the arc.

Nghia Vu

that's normal, i have my 2016 z51 running in hot summer and it stop at 220. But when i floor it will goes up and give it sometimes to cool back down around 220ish.

RussM05

Actually, the needle is pointed at 208° but because of the 220° label placement it only seems to be pointed at 220°. The analogue gauge is mis-leading.

Gearhead Jim

2017 Z51 A8
When I was wondering about the coolant temperatures, it took some scrutiny to decide what the analog gauge was actually saying. You couldn't just glance at it and know the number, just a general "it's ok" or "it's getting kinda hot"; so I would use the supplemental readout in the TV screen to make sure I was understanding correctly. Now that I've learned, I can get accurate numbers at a glance, but there shouldn't be a learning curve with an analog gauge.
There are some ways where the C6 instrumentation was actually better.

JMII

That was my theory too... so I labeled the tick marks the only way that made sense given the number of marks, the division between them and the end units:



If this is labeled wrong then someone please correct me.

The tick marks seem to change spacing after 220 so I believe the scale changes there
Now if the needle is pointing at 200 (which is the REAL temp), then the 220 label belongs to next tick mark above (where I have 230). Problem is when numbered that way the top and bottom ends of the scale at not 100 and 260 huh? what? This has given me fits since I first used Touring Mode and saw the digital readout. For such an important gauge it should be labeled as clearly as possible. There is no such confusion with the speed-o or fuel level.

Gearhead Jim

Good work!
I've used my microscope (j/k) on the gauge and come up with the same numbers as you put in yellow.

Just to make it more confusing, the graduations on the oil temperature pocket gauge seem to use different spacing.

madrob2020

Maybe I missed it or it doesn't apply except for GS/Z06s (mine is '16 Z). Can't you go to the performance setting just below Info & above Audio using the switch on right side of steering wheel then scroll to Performance. There oil/water/oil pressure shows up in real digital numbers. Tire air pressure just shows O.K.

BrunoTheMellow

Air pressure shows in numbers.

JMII