Never trust you are reading a non numeric guage correctly (or numeric for that matter). Now it your guage does not show cold when you first start it up for the day and move upwards, to it's "normal" range, you probably have a sensor out. If the guage is reading "normal" and the DIC shows temps in the range you mentioned, it's normal.

Stock guages are never dead on, nor are most after markets for that matter.

 

The "gauge" starts out cold and moves up to the "180" or so range. Then does not move again. The DIC shows a range of temps that should be expected.
What my question is, is this a 1 sensor system or a 2 sensor system?

 

One sensor. The cluster is driven by a CAN data bus from the ECM.

 

So my gauge is bad....crap. It cant be separated from the rest of the cluster can it?

 

what should the cololant temperature read when I first start my car?

 

Generally....

Pretty close to whatever the ambient is (at least that has been my experience) .....within certain technical parameters.

 

Hey, ebritt...I know it's been almost five years since the last post in this thread, but my 2007 HHR has just started the same thing: analog gauge shows only as high as 180, yet the DIC digital gauge shows the actual temp (as high as 215 here in Charleston, SC). Did you ever get it fixed? What was the problem? Thanks.

 

Welcome to the site ragtopz28.

ebritt hasn't logged on to this site in almost 2 years. Doubt you'll get a reply.

Fwiw. You can click on a members name, click view public profile, then click statistics to see when they were last logged on.

 

Sounds normal, ive never seen the needle go past the halfway mark. Rises slowly from cold then never moves as the fan cycles on and off during normal operation.

 

ragtpz28, I concur with Snoopy's last paragraph of post #10 in this thread - as that is my experience too. It is my belief ebritt did not have a problem with his vehicle, he had a problem with his thinking. Or he didn't like GM engineering.

If the DIC temperature is varying and the "Gauge" is not moving once things have warmed up - that is normal. It takes a lot of overheating to get that gauge to move. When my vehicle was new to me I looked for it to move as well - it didn't and still doesn't.

Are you absolutely "POSITIVE" your gauge use to move more? We humans sometimes just notice something and think it is not right due to some other thinking we have done in the past.