Hi,
My 1997 Lumina's 3.1 engine is having some issues. I suspect stuck open thermostat, but would like some other opinions cause they are not the easiest things to change and I wouldn't want to do it for nothing.
The temp gauge used to slowly rise till about half way, then drop to a bit below half (after the thermostat opens/fans come on I assume). Now it just continues to rise until it is slightly past half, then I worry and shut it down. I notice that the fans are not running when it gets this hot. If I unplug the coolant temp sensor, the fans come on and then when I plug it back in the temp reads the proper temp.
I have just replaced the sensor, and to my knowledge, the thermostat wouldn't cause the fans to not come on, but I could be wrong. If it was a fan relay, would the fans come on at all ever?
Anyone possibly know anything about this?
Also, after I unplug/plug in the sensor, the fans seem to work properly. Even after I shut the car off and re-start it. It just seems that at some point during the drive after that they stop working. Is there some default run time when the sensor is unplugged or something?
Thanks for any help, much appreciated.