I was driving along one day and I noticed a "low coolant" indicator on my DIC and thought it was odd to see that because my car is just a little over a year old. I then noticed that my car temp was climbing. At the time it was 204F, I have never ever seen my car get above 189F, well I let it cool off and then I checked the coolant. It was like hair below the cool fill line, but not wanting to take any chances I went and bought some dexcool and put it in. The care behaves totally normal when on the highway and moving, but as soon as I stop the temp just keeps going up, I have seen it go up to 223F.

Here are my questions...
1. Am I crazy because I have never paid attention to the coolant temp while sitting in traffic?
2. How hot do your cars run in traffic?
3. What temp do the fans normally kick on (I think this may be my problem)?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

The LSJs normally do not get that hot, but it is not overheating per se.

You def have a problem...I would say i/c pump because if it was your water pump you would DEFINITELY know.

I/C pump is electric and water pump is belt driven...take it to the dealer.

 

Are you running the AC when you are ideling? This will make the temp jump up that high, and i know the second cooling fan doesnt come on till in the 220's somewhere

 

Yea the air conditioning was on, and to further that it cools off when I turn the heat on full blast.

I don't think it is a pump, I think it is my cooling fan, because it behaves normally when I am moving. I just want to make sure that I am not wasting a trip to the dealer. My friends that have regular cobalts say that they run 190 - 220 all the time, but I think the SS runs a little cooler than that and 220 seems too high.

 

Well the AC is gonna make the temp go up becaus it is straining the engine.

 

They have lower t-stats and more cooling than the 2.2s.

Your car is running hot for what it is...

 

Stupid question...but is you I/c low on coolant? Alot of people think that they are one system. Its 2 systems, the i/c takes it own coolant. That might be where your low coolant light is coming from.

 

1. You probably haven't been paying attention to the temps. How hot is the weather there? If it has been above 85 then seeing the temps get up to 220 is perfectly normal. You can check to make sure both fans are running correctly. Also, how many miles are on the car? You could try changing the coolant (I know it SAYS 150K but I always change mine about 32,000 or so).

2. Depends. I have my fans switched in HP tuners to come on much lower (at 209) so I never see above 211. However when the fans were set stock, I would normally see 220 - 230 when in traffic.

3. See below:

The PCM commands Low Speed Fans ON under the following conditions:

• Engine coolant temperature (ECT) exceeds approximately 106°C (223°F).

• A/C refrigerant pressure exceeds 1 310 kPa (190 psi).

• After the vehicle is shut off, the ECT at key-off is greater than 140°C (284°F) and system voltage is more than 12 volts. The fans will stay on for approximately 3 minutes.

The PCM commands High Speed Fans ON under the following conditions:

• ECT reaches 110°C (230°F).

• A/C refrigerant pressure exceeds 1 655 kPa (240 psi).

• When certain DTCs set

When the request for fan activation is withdrawn, the fan may not turn OFF until the ignition switch is moved to the OFF position or the vehicle speed exceeds approximately 10 mph. This is to prevent a fan from cycling ON and OFF excessively at idle.


The is no low coolant light for the I/C system.

 

I have let my car idle for 30-45 minutes with the AC on and my coolant temp never goes over 185*

 

completely normal. there is nothing wrong with your car. as long as it goes back down when you start moving, it's nothing to worry about.

the cooling system in our cars is based on movement. no movement = no cooling.

in traffic, or sitting in a drive through, it's not unusual for the car to get up around 220 or so. like i said, as long as it goes down once you start moving again, there's nothing to worry about at all.\

 

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

weird, my low coolant light went on and my engine coolant was above the fill line, but the IC was low.... filled the IC and went away.

 

When doing the Option B you have to take all the I/C hoses off. Trust me, there is no coolant sensor for the I/C or if there is I didn't have to take mine off or put it back on. The only place on a stock balt to have one would be on the fill neck, and since there isn't one there, there must not be one. Now, I suppose that after you do the Option B if you put in the recommended Ion coolant tank and wire up the coolant sensor on that to your system then you *could* have a coolant level sensor for both.

 

OK, took car to the dealership to be safe, they told me that a thorough check of the coolant system revieved no problems. Got stuck in traffic on the way home on a hot day the temp never got above 187F. On a similar day on the way to the dealership my coolant was 228F. I don;t undertand what is going on here, they say there was no problem, but obviously they fixed it because it is working normal now..

FYI to others having this problem, they say the fans kick on normally at 225F.

 

possiblity that you have air in the system.

 

its wierd the balt isnt commanded to have fans on with AC on under 30 mph...my monte carlo has that and always stays around 170-180...fans kick on at 195 if AC isnt on...

 

the only time i've seen mine get that high was when making a bunch of back to back runs at the track, and then sat in the staging lanes, it may get hot in stop-n-go traffic, especially if you have the AC on, your car is fairly normal.

the fans kick on at 225

 

IC pump would not cause that.

take it in man you might have a faulty thermostat

 

I actually turn my A/C on when in traffic to cool the system down in heavy stop and go traffic....even in the winter. The A/C shouldn't run the temps up as the secnd fan should engage.

 

My temperature rises when it sits for a wile without the AC on but with the ac on the fan kicks on high sooner. Without the ac on it seems to let the temps get a lil higher before the fans come on then it pulls the temps down quickly.

 

There is nothing wrong with your car . If you want the fans to come on turn the dial to defrost and hit the AC button . Sitting at a light temps can go up to 220- 230, if it did it one time and not another it prolly because you had the AC in a different position and the fans were running .

 

i know this is old and i'm bumping it.. but i'm having the SAME problem.. only when i'm sitting at a red light/stop sign the temps been up to 240* already! without the ac on!!! i can drive the car for maybe a half hour before it starts doing this. however it has it's days where it gives me no problems at all.. should i as well take mine to the dealer? or just watch.. my coolant is filled i get that checked at least everytime i change the oil, which for me is alot..

same year of car as well (2007 ss/sc)

i didn't want to start a new thread and get flammed! ha

 

wow 240'? my fan kicks in when my temp hits 225'. once in a while during the summer time when my car is idling the temp will jump. but not that high though. i , too have the 07 stage 2 sc/ss

 

yeah!!! i know! the fan kicks on but it doesn't cool it down right away(it takes FOREVER), so i turn the heat on all the way up and as hot as i can get it and just open the windows to i dont sweat! hah it's annoying! it jumped the other day when i was driving it and it was like 49* outside! so idk what the deal is.. and i'm afraid to take it into the shop and the car wont do it..

idk what it could be.

 

stupid question.... is anything blocking you radiator?...also, make sure that the fin under your car that directs air to the radiator...is still there.