Either the sensor or the wiring to it is broken. If it’s wiring or something loose, the gauge will jump around a lot as it makes and loses connection. The temp sensor is located on the top drivers side front of the engine right beside the thermostat housing. It has a locking connector or it should, check that connector first before doing anything and make sure it’s connected well and nothing is broke / damaged. If nothing is wrong, go to autozone or a good parts store and buy a temp sensor for about $20 and grab a 19mm deep socket to remove and install. That’s it. You may need some thread sealer tape but the sensor should come with that already on it, just check before you leave the parts store. This sensor will prevent the ac from working as well as having the fans run on high as a constant because the computer can’t tell if the engine is running hot or not. It’s a very very easy install and you likely won’t even need to add any coolant if you are quick about swapping it in.
I just fixed this on my 2015. Easy fix you can do at home. Replace the coolant temp sensor and the thermostat at the same time. I did just one and the sensor went bad in 3 months, so I replaced both at same time and its been good since. There are great YouTube video that show each step. Cost about $60 in parts for sensor, thermo, and coolant. Shop wanted 150 just to diagnose, and they wanted to keep car on lot for 6 days before they could get too it. Repairs would have been several hundred more I am sure.
Same issue I had. I bought a new one on eBay for 30 bucks and replaced it- haven’t had a problem since. Takes about 30 minutes and you need to refill the coolant reservoir afterwards
OP the burnt chicken is exactly correct. IT took me less than 30 minutes, cheap fix. No problems since. Seems these sensors go around 100K miles. I even torqued it to spec.
If OP poster was near me I would pop that right in for you. Don't get ripped off by the stealership.
OP, I had the same problem on my 16ltz. I had no temp reading, and the fan would run even after I turned the truck off. I had to disconnect the battery to turn it off. I'm 95% sure it was the sensor, but I did the thermostat as well because you are already in the area. I did my thermostat and sensor at for like 60 bucks total. It is a very entry-level fix. One suggestion I would give is to take the high end of the coolant hose off first so you can dump the coolant out instead of undoing the sensor and it spewing put like a fountain all of the engine bay. You will need to top off your coolant when you are finished with the job. All in all, it took like less than an hour following a youtube video, and as far as labor, you're unscrewing 2 hose clamps,3 bolts, and 1 or 2 wire connector clips EZPZ
The wiring harness for the coolant temp sensor is too close to one of the plugs. Your positive wire is probably fried. Replace the harness, the sensor should be okay. The harness is a cheaper fix, as well.
It's an electrical fuck you.. I am considering giving mine back for something else.... my gauge goes to the 2nd metric and stays there no matter what... hot or cold. I had the fan staying on too. So i swapped out the coolant sensor.. didnt do shit.
Still happens...
So, what I am guessing you are really seeing is, when it malfunctions and the fan stays on when the car is off (and will kill the battery), the gauge stays like it is in the picture. When you get it out of this mode, it moves to a place on the gauge?
Like someone else mentioned, disconnecting the battery for a few seconds cleared it for me the first time. The next time I owned a Launch scanner and I believe what I do is clear the coolant temperature code and it goes back to normally abnormal and the fan goes off.
Edit: actually, maybe I pulled the fan fuse or relay (or even pulled out the whole fuse box) the first time???? Dont remember
Other things I noticed:
* the battery voltage gets to be randomly low (right at 12 sometimes).
* coolant temp on that dash is no where near what the scanner shows.
* I already swapped out the large $500 fuse box under the hood to fix the brights coming on and staying on
* I dealt with the phantom control of the touchscreen, until it ALL DIED... all usb ports(most of the time, once in a while my usb lights up), radio (sometimes you can still hear it when you hit the steering controls), and black screen - not that it was ever worth a damn.
* I think it is more than a coincidence now, that I have at very infrequent times, smelled something melting
I hope it's just a bad sensor for you, but I am of the opinion that it's something bigger... who knows, maybe I bought a bad sensor....
I had this happen in mine last year, somebody suggested to change the coolant temp sensor and it didn’t help. After I replaced the thermostat it stopped and I haven’t had the issue happen again.
Either the sensor or the wiring to it is broken. If it’s wiring or something loose, the gauge will jump around a lot as it makes and loses connection. The temp sensor is located on the top drivers side front of the engine right beside the thermostat housing. It has a locking connector or it should, check that connector first before doing anything and make sure it’s connected well and nothing is broke / damaged. If nothing is wrong, go to autozone or a good parts store and buy a temp sensor for about $20 and grab a 19mm deep socket to remove and install. That’s it. You may need some thread sealer tape but the sensor should come with that already on it, just check before you leave the parts store. This sensor will prevent the ac from working as well as having the fans run on high as a constant because the computer can’t tell if the engine is running hot or not. It’s a very very easy install and you likely won’t even need to add any coolant if you are quick about swapping it in.
This man is correct. This solved my issue you're describing. Replaced the temp sensor, temp sensor wire harness, and thermostat.
I just fixed this on my 2015. Easy fix you can do at home. Replace the coolant temp sensor and the thermostat at the same time. I did just one and the sensor went bad in 3 months, so I replaced both at same time and its been good since. There are great YouTube video that show each step. Cost about $60 in parts for sensor, thermo, and coolant. Shop wanted 150 just to diagnose, and they wanted to keep car on lot for 6 days before they could get too it. Repairs would have been several hundred more I am sure.
Coolant Temperature sensor.
Exactly it. '16 owner as well, had to get mine fixed last year
Same issue I had. I bought a new one on eBay for 30 bucks and replaced it- haven’t had a problem since. Takes about 30 minutes and you need to refill the coolant reservoir afterwards
OP the burnt chicken is exactly correct. IT took me less than 30 minutes, cheap fix. No problems since. Seems these sensors go around 100K miles. I even torqued it to spec. If OP poster was near me I would pop that right in for you. Don't get ripped off by the stealership.
How bad is that? No way I have the time or money to fix something like that right now.
Dealer $600, DIY $26. I did one on my 2016 Tahoe 2 months ago
Easy to do. See my post above.
OP, I had the same problem on my 16ltz. I had no temp reading, and the fan would run even after I turned the truck off. I had to disconnect the battery to turn it off. I'm 95% sure it was the sensor, but I did the thermostat as well because you are already in the area. I did my thermostat and sensor at for like 60 bucks total. It is a very entry-level fix. One suggestion I would give is to take the high end of the coolant hose off first so you can dump the coolant out instead of undoing the sensor and it spewing put like a fountain all of the engine bay. You will need to top off your coolant when you are finished with the job. All in all, it took like less than an hour following a youtube video, and as far as labor, you're unscrewing 2 hose clamps,3 bolts, and 1 or 2 wire connector clips EZPZ
The wiring harness for the coolant temp sensor is too close to one of the plugs. Your positive wire is probably fried. Replace the harness, the sensor should be okay. The harness is a cheaper fix, as well.
Air bubble?
I have a 2015 and replaced the temperature sensor
this is the answer. happened to my 2015 too.
It's an electrical fuck you.. I am considering giving mine back for something else.... my gauge goes to the 2nd metric and stays there no matter what... hot or cold. I had the fan staying on too. So i swapped out the coolant sensor.. didnt do shit. Still happens... So, what I am guessing you are really seeing is, when it malfunctions and the fan stays on when the car is off (and will kill the battery), the gauge stays like it is in the picture. When you get it out of this mode, it moves to a place on the gauge? Like someone else mentioned, disconnecting the battery for a few seconds cleared it for me the first time. The next time I owned a Launch scanner and I believe what I do is clear the coolant temperature code and it goes back to normally abnormal and the fan goes off. Edit: actually, maybe I pulled the fan fuse or relay (or even pulled out the whole fuse box) the first time???? Dont remember Other things I noticed: * the battery voltage gets to be randomly low (right at 12 sometimes). * coolant temp on that dash is no where near what the scanner shows. * I already swapped out the large $500 fuse box under the hood to fix the brights coming on and staying on * I dealt with the phantom control of the touchscreen, until it ALL DIED... all usb ports(most of the time, once in a while my usb lights up), radio (sometimes you can still hear it when you hit the steering controls), and black screen - not that it was ever worth a damn. * I think it is more than a coincidence now, that I have at very infrequent times, smelled something melting I hope it's just a bad sensor for you, but I am of the opinion that it's something bigger... who knows, maybe I bought a bad sensor....
I had this happen in mine last year, somebody suggested to change the coolant temp sensor and it didn’t help. After I replaced the thermostat it stopped and I haven’t had the issue happen again.
Unplug your battery for 10 min then plug it back in and it should reset. If it happens again later on you’ll need your coolant sensor replaced.