I have a 1995 Z28 with 144,000 miles. Recently the temp gage has been rising while sitting still or moving at highway speeds. I have a manual fan switch and while the fans are running the temp gage stays normal. After driving about an hour the low coolant light comes on, however the coolant level is full… I unplugged the sensor on the radiator and the light still comes on after an hour of driving, what the hell is wrong with this thing? My gas mileage has also dropped and the car smells like it is running rich, any info would be helpful.

 

Bad Thermostat?

 

Just replaced it... so def. not that...

 

the light should not come on in you unplugg the sensor from the radiator.

 

temperature sending unit on block?

 

Clogged radiator? Laser tempature guns (<$100) sure come in handy for this, because you can check the top hose temperature, and bottom hose temperature and compare. If the temperature is only dropping a little bit with the fans on, then you know it's clogged.