Temperature meter

[Phluvcat]

Hi

 

during these hots days, after driving a while the needle tend to stay where har?

 

My meter needle will be about 3/4 to 4/5 to the half way mark (never hot or cross the half mark though). is it ok?

 

will change of coolant affect the reading? i recently change from using normal water to using coolant.

 

thanks in advance for any comments or advice.

 

thank you.

[Trex101]

  On 8/11/2011 at 1:18 PM, Phluvcat said:

Hi

 

during these hots days, after driving a while the needle tend to stay where har?

 

My meter needle will be about 3/4 to 4/5 to the half way mark (never hot or cross the half mark though). is it ok?

 

will change of coolant affect the reading? i recently change from using normal water to using coolant.

 

thanks in advance for any comments or advice.

 

thank you.

 

Water has a higher heat transfer rate, so temperature should be lower using water than coolant. but with water alone, it will cause rust, corrosion and damage to water pump, i would advice you use some sort of additives instead if want to further cool down the engine without causing problem down the line.

[Yuan]

  On 8/11/2011 at 1:18 PM, Phluvcat said:

Hi

 

during these hots days, after driving a while the needle tend to stay where har?

 

My meter needle will be about 3/4 to 4/5 to the half way mark (never hot or cross the half mark though). is it ok?

 

will change of coolant affect the reading? i recently change from using normal water to using coolant.

 

thanks in advance for any comments or advice.

 

thank you.

 

There is a stipulated proportion between coolant and water for your cooling system. You can get that information from your car manual or check with your trusted mechanic.

[Satria_neo]

This is not right though. Regardless of the weather, your temp should stay the same and not fluctuate. This is because the temp is regulated by the thermostat.

 

Its possible that your thermostat is faulty or unable to close fully. Stock thermostats are usually rated at ~82C.

 

 

[Steptronic]

Radiator works on thermostat, which means the needle should be at centre all the time!

 

Get it checked asap. It could be faulty chip, faulty theromostat, even faulty radiator fan (slower speed). Rise in temperature of coolant / water is not good for the engine in long run. Another issue is if the problem gets worse, you can jam the engine!

[Trex101]

  On 8/12/2011 at 2:29 AM, Satria_neo said:

This is not right though. Regardless of the weather, your temp should stay the same and not fluctuate. This is because the temp is regulated by the thermostat.

 

Its possible that your thermostat is faulty or unable to close fully. Stock thermostats are usually rated at ~82C.

 

Not true, suppose the thermostat open fully at 82'c but the radiator cannot disperse heat fast enough, your temperature will go up above 82'c to maybe 90'c-95'c.

With high efficiency heat transfer medium like water, your temp could stand constant at 85'c instead. but like i say before water itself can corrode the radiator and water pump, he should add in some anti-corrosive and water wetting additives.

[Yuan]

  On 8/12/2011 at 2:38 AM, Steptronic said:

Radiator works on thermostat, which means the needle should be at centre all the time!

 

Get it checked asap. It could be faulty chip, faulty theromostat, even faulty radiator fan (slower speed). Rise in temperature of coolant / water is not good for the engine in long run. Another issue is if the problem gets worse, you can jam the engine!

 

Yes. I agree.

 

TS, it is best to get it checked asap by a workshop.

 

Speaking from recent personal experience.

Edited August 12, 2011 by Yuan

[Satria_neo]

  On 8/12/2011 at 2:48 AM, Trex101 said:

Not true, suppose the thermostat open fully at 82'c but the radiator cannot disperse heat fast enough, your temperature will go up above 82'c to maybe 90'c-95'c.

With high efficiency heat transfer medium like water, your temp could stand constant at 85'c instead. but like i say before water itself can corrode the radiator and water pump, he should add in some anti-corrosive and water wetting additives.

 

I am referring to TS's case. Cause he said the needle did not go over the 1/2 way mark. If the engine overheat due radiator unable to disperse the heat (mostly due to faulty radiator fan or blockage in water lines), then it should go over 1/2 way mark already.

 

I did face faulty fan resulting in the needle going to 3/4 mark. When car is not the move, it will drop back to 1/2 way mark.

 

But if needle fluctuates below 1/2 way, its usually due to thermostat.

[Satria_neo]

  On 8/12/2011 at 2:38 AM, Steptronic said:

Radiator works on thermostat, which means the needle should be at centre all the time!

 

Get it checked asap. It could be faulty chip, faulty theromostat, even faulty radiator fan (slower speed). Rise in temperature of coolant / water is not good for the engine in long run. Another issue is if the problem gets worse, you can jam the engine!

 

A sticky thermostat usually cause the water temp to rise and drop with weather. If the cooling system is working fine, then the needle will be very constant, usually at ~ 1/2 mark.

 

But with a sticky thermostat, it stays partially opened instead of fully closed when temp is low, causing water to go into the radiator and hence causing engine temp to drop.

 

Most cars come with a radiator which is more than sufficient to cater, hence there should be no overheating at all unless there is leakage or blockage.

[Trex101]

  On 8/12/2011 at 3:04 AM, Satria_neo said:

A sticky thermostat usually cause the water temp to rise and drop with weather. If the cooling system is working fine, then the needle will be very constant, usually at ~ 1/2 mark.

 

But with a sticky thermostat, it stays partially opened instead of fully closed when temp is low, causing water to go into the radiator and hence causing engine temp to drop.

 

Most cars come with a radiator which is more than sufficient to cater, hence there should be no overheating at all unless there is leakage or blockage.

 

Agreed.

 

There is another possibility that because he change into coolant from water, the temperature is reading higher now.

[Chucky2007]

If i m TS, i'll look at temp gauge all the time until problem is fixed. When temp rises to almost overheat just atop one side off engine. If overheat, troublesome. Thetmoset not working us common problem n cheap fix.

[Otoko]

it depends on car type, doesnt mean normal temp is half on meter~

my half is abt 90deg which is too hot if caught in jam with aircon blast for 30mins~1hr..

once on move temp goes down to 60deg on hot noon & 50deg on cool nite~

 

on radiator with water no coolant~

 

[Steptronic]

  On 8/12/2011 at 3:10 AM, Trex101 said:

Agreed.

 

There is another possibility that because he change into coolant from water, the temperature is reading higher now.

I do not think the temperature would read high because of water. Thermostat is thermostat and it does not go by medium, rather it goes on temperature. As long as the set temperature is reached, it would stop radiator. Raidator would again start when temperature goes beyond the set temperature. As some bro mentioned earlier, water would create other side effects only (like corrossion), otherwise the system should work just like coolant!

[Steptronic]

  On 8/12/2011 at 3:10 AM, Chucky2007 said:

If i m TS, i'll look at temp gauge all the time until problem is fixed. When temp rises to almost overheat just atop one side off engine. If overheat, troublesome. Thetmoset not working us common problem n cheap fix.

But, it is dangerous to stop on our expressways and you would be left with tow away option only at this point. A smooth traffic expressway will help the coolant to cool naturally (even if radiator fan is not working). If it is any other problem (chip or thermostat), the temperature would go up very fast and would not give much time before you stop.

[Satria_neo]

  On 8/12/2011 at 4:49 AM, Otoko said:

it depends on car type, doesnt mean normal temp is half on meter~

my half is abt 90deg which is too hot if caught in jam with aircon blast for 30mins~1hr..

once on move temp goes down to 60deg on hot noon & 50deg on cool nite~

 

on radiator with water no coolant~

 

If you are hitting over 90C then I think you need to get your cooling system checked. It could mean a failing pump or blockage in the cooling lines or air pockets or radiator fan not working etc. There is also a thermostat in the radiator that determines what temp should the fan operates.

 

 

[Steptronic]

  On 8/12/2011 at 6:02 AM, Satria_neo said:

If you are hitting over 90C then I think you need to get your cooling system checked. It could mean a failing pump or blockage in the cooling lines or air pockets or radiator fan not working etc. There is also a thermostat in the radiator that determines what temp should the fan operates.

I also felt the same as he says the temperature shoots up in Jams. That means the natural cooling is not taking place at Jams, which otherwise is helping his cooling system. Could be a potential problem as all latest cars have very good system to control the temperature on dot! I never witnessed any movement in all my cars so far!

[Mllcg]

sometimes turning on the aircon helps if it currently is off.

 

 

[Steptronic]

  On 8/12/2011 at 6:13 AM, Mllcg said:

sometimes turning on the aircon helps if it currently is off.

In my opinion, apart from the fact that Aircon system shares part of radiator system with engine cooling system, there is no relation between these two and all the cooling takes place inside the cabin. I am not sure if switching on AC really helps!