UPDATE: Turns out it was reading correctly. We popped the hood and saw a pile of molten metal.
A cowl hood would really solve those overheating problems…
:rimshot:
Unplugging the temp sensor may not solve the problem.
A temperature sensor is very simple. As temperature of the sensor increases, the resistance decreases and the amperage through the wire increases… if the sensor wire shorts to ground, it’s similar to the temperature sensor reading SUPER hot…
I’d check for a short in the wire. I assume an 05 cavalier is still using a standard style sensor, not a can-bus signal from the ECU.
exactly its a wonderful gm product.
id remove the entire cluster and take it out and inspect it then plug back in and see if it resets itself.
I don’t think this would be a sensor. I would think a faulty gauge is more likely.
I agree…usually when a guage does not work at all the sensor is usually fucked or disconnected. Likewise, when the gauge reads something strange like that it is the guage that is fucked or something in the wiring.
Do you do any recent work on the car? Hit something?
Maybe pull the cluster out and see if anything looks out of whack (loose wire connections, popped solder joint, etc…). The cluster is pretty simple so it could just be busted internally??
I still vote for the cluster is damaged.
:bigclap:
I had the same year Cavalier in my shop yesterday with the same issue. The only gauge that worked properly was the tach. Speedo went from 0-70 in about 2 seconds. I was going to take a video of the fastest Cavalier ever but I was too lazy. Anyway, according to my friend @ Chevy the gauge cluster needs replacing. I guess it’s very common.