Cooling problems

Hi everyone,


I have a 2002 GP GT with the 3.8L V6. I was driving today and the temp
light came on, but the temperature reading was in the low zone on the
thermometer. I have noticed that the engine does not run as warm as it
usually does, but I just attributed that to the cool fall weather we
have been getting lately. I stopped and popped the hood. The engine is
running cool, all fluids are up to proper levels, including coolant.
The coolant hoses are warm too. I noticed that the cooling fans are
constantly running, but they shouldn't even kick on until the
temperature gets hot enough??
What would cause the temperature light to come on? Has anyone else
experienced this before? Does the light come on if the engine is running too cool?

Thanks in advanace for any help!

Welcome to AF.

Are your cooling fans running with A/C on or off?

You could have a flaky thermostat causing the abnormal engine warmup. What is the temperature gauge reading?

Welcome to AF.

Are your cooling fans running with A/C on or off?

You could have a flaky thermostat causing the abnormal engine warmup. What is the temperature gauge reading?

Thanks for the reply! Think I'll enjoy these forums.

The A/C is off when both fans are running, and the temperature gauge is reading low, it barely moves off the bottom and does not reach operating temperature.

I went for another drive today actually and after approximately 10 minutes of driving after the temperature light came on, the engine started running very poorly. It had a major loss of power, and the SES light did not come on. Just the temperature light stayed illuminated. Is this possibily a safety feature of the car, not allowing it to be run hard if the temperature is not reading correctly to prevent damage?

Thanks again for any help!

Ah I see. Another possibility is a flaky engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT). It is located under the thermostat housing about 3 inches. Check the wiring/electrical connector to it. Both the cooling fans will come on in failsafe mode if a signal from the ECT is not detected by the PCM module or abnormal. Also, a bad or out of calibration ECT will give erroneous temperature readings when the cooling system may in fact be OK.

could be bad sensor & the ecm is thinking engine is still cold.there for dumping more fuel etc.

Ah I see. Another possibility is a flaky engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT). It is located under the thermostat housing about 3 inches. Check the wiring/electrical connector to it. Both the cooling fans will come on in failsafe mode if a signal from the ECT is not detected by the PCM module or abnormal. Also, a bad or out of calibration ECT will give erroneous temperature readings when the cooling system may in fact be OK.
I forgot to add that I am a student and I have only been taking short runs now since the beginning of September, maybe once a week. Previous to the last two months I drove the car daily for the last two years. So now the car has had a chance to sit....