Where should the temp sit?

Level 5 User Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 110

If I am driving in clear traffic the guage can read as low as at the second mark, but if I hit traffic and start crawling it varies from the 3rd mark up to half way / near enough to the 4th mark, which I am thinking is too hot. The fan cuts in, and does eventually bring the temp down but shoudl it get this high in the first place? when I looked at the stat it was pretty cruddy so I will change that and see if it helps but have just flushed the system through so should be pretty much clear.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

change the stat.

Also take the radiator out and flush it through, not only the hose connections but wash through the fins back to front to get rid of mud and flies etc.

Temp should sit at the 1st line, the 1st line is about 10 o'clock on the gauge, the fan comes in at the 2nd line which is 11 o'clock.

Some cars have over active gauges though anbd read higher than they are.

Level 5 User Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 110

i took the rad out with the head and did as you described, but will change the stat.

On my guage the first line after the bottom is just off 9 o'clock, and it NEVER stays there so I assume you mean the 2nd?

Anything else apart from what you suggested, and the obvious leaks (although there aren't any!)?

Level 7 User Joined: 06 Sep 2004 Posts: 230

pringe, this is what chris ment atleast what i think he ment and the way mine is Wink

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

thats what exactly happens in my black rt ,but on the valvers gauge,it sits on the line before the "normal"
i dont think its a wrong reading cause temp sender looks quite new ,can it be the stat or was it the rusty cooling system which i flushed now ?? (did not start the valver after the flush )

Level 7 User Joined: 06 Sep 2004 Posts: 230

They don't always show correct my old 1.4 RT showed everything 1 mark higher but it was perfectly ok. Let the car idle for a while after driving it and check when the fan cuts in if the fan cuts in earlier then I showed you as much as it differs with the "normal" mark then it'll be fine

Level 5 User Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 110

cheers for the pic Xvisor - was gonna take one myself but its just so much hassle to actually get it online I couldnae be arsed!

The fan cuts in after your mark, say maybe a third/halfway up into the next segment.

Gonna change the stat tomorrow along with some other jobs and hope that clears it up.

Level 7 User Joined: 06 Sep 2004 Posts: 230

Yeah try that also as chris said cleaning the front of your rad could make quite a difference! But when your driving temp is at the "normal" mark then your fan should cut in before or at the next mark and not to much above there. My temp was between "normal" and "fan cuts in" when driving, after i changed the leaky rad it sits at normal again.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

xvisors pics got it right. Normal is the 1st line.

On ph1's the line down the bottom is not a seperate line like the clios and ph2's so its reffered to as the 1st line, the normal that is.

like I said though some gauges read higher, like red19rt's, his is about a 3rd higher than normal but the temps ok.

Newbie Joined: 04 Dec 2004 Posts: 17

I also have a faulty gauge, the gauge shows the car to be a lot hotter than it is. My "fan" line is the 3rd line from the top of the gauge i.e one of the closely spaced lines near 12 o clock. In normal driving the needle sits just below the line 4th from the top.

Before the gauge became faulty the fan would cut in at the line marked in the pic and normal running was somewhere between the "normal" line and the "fan cuts in" line.

Level 5 User Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 110

just out of interest, how do you know it is the guage at fault? is it becuase there are no things going wrong / doesn't actually feel / smell hotter (you know what i mean!)

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

i reckon its the feel of the engine heat when u touch with bare hand , but you might as well try a thermometer (a suitable one for this job of course ) and stick it in the coolant tank while the engine is running

use a towel or a thick cloth opening the tank cap mind ,safety first Laughing

Level 7 User Joined: 06 Sep 2004 Posts: 230

That's actually the way i checked it with my old 19! Cus my mom has had a job in a labratory she has all kinds of stuff in the house including a special very long 75cm thermometer for fluids. So we very slowly opened the tank put the therm in and checked and compared it to the 19 of a friend of mine we've parked next to it. and was 2degrees centigrade of a difference so that was oke.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

heads etc can develop hotspots so that part gets hotter than the rest of the lump.

Also normally the running temp moves up a 1/4 on the gauge and the fan kick in time is also 1/4 higher on the gauge, simple deduction my dear watson

Newbie Joined: 04 Dec 2004 Posts: 17

I also used a thermometer in the expansion tank to check the temperature. OK the coolant in the tank may not be exactly the same temp as the coolant in the block but it's probably close enough. Anyhow the coolant in the tank was around 90 degrees when the 'stat opened fully (top hose and rad became hot to the touch) and was 95 degrees when the fan kicked in, at this point the gauge was at the 3rd line from the the top of the gauge. There's no way that this line is meant to signify 95 degrees, it should signify a much hotter temp. Conclusion - the gauge is faulty.

Another more obvious sign that the gauge is faulty is that when the car is started from cold or even if the ignition is switched on the needle immediately jumps to halfway up the gauge.

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

that definitely is faulty ,but is it the gauge or the temp sender sensor ,thats the question ?

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

sender, if its the gauge then a coupel of others start playing up along with it

Level 5 User Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 110

Ade wrote:

Another more obvious sign that the gauge is faulty is that when the car is started from cold or even if the ignition is switched on the needle immediately jumps to halfway up the gauge.

What if you start it warm, and it jumps immediately halfway and then comes down a mark or so?

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

well when its warm it will read high then when it starts the coolant will flow dropping the temp down again.

Level 5 User Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Posts: 110

yeah but i'm talking like in the space of maybe 10 seconds!

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

thats what i mean