engine temperature

[fletchie55]

Just brought my car back from the airport and noticed that the temperature didnt go above 60 degrees. Having covered about 50miles (30 on motorway sat at 80) I would have expected to see the temperature sat around the half way mark (im sure it used to do stay around there once warm anyway!).

I wasnt sure if it was just the gauge getting stuck, so I stopped and turned ignition off. The needle moved about 1mm down, and then when I re-started it moved back to 60 degrees again!

Oil temp was fine, sat around 90 degrees.
can anyone comment/advise on this? how long do these cars take to heat up?

oh and external temp was between 10.5 and 12 degrees.

cheers
Joe

[saf]

Hello mate, Your Oil temp should be between 90 and 100 depending on how youre driving. If you was putting your foot own a bi tthen 100. If youre just cruising then around 90 should be okay.

Saying that, it looks like your water temp guage is not working. Usually the water temp guage will go up in increments of 10. Thats how I believe audi programmed it. Your water temp should by all rights go up pretty soon after youre driving. Id say within a few minutes you should see it going up. It should alway be at the 90 mark. Thats right in the middle.

YOu might need to get the sensor or sumthing replaced. Im sure someone will be along with part numbers and how to replace it.
Its something that usually goes wrong on these cars.

[MarkB]

I would go with it being the sensor. Take a look on Audiworld for a write up...

[fletchie55]

thanks for the help guys, im glad to know its a common failing part and that my car isnt about to die on me!
if the sesnsor doesnt work, would that mean that the water wont get sent through the radiator as the car always thinks its cold, and so my engine could be in danger of overheating (especially sat in traffic?)

is there an up-rated (more reliable) part to replace with?

cheers
Joe

[MarkB]

The later VAG part is better but I got a non genuine cheaper part from DSGWAGEN on ebay. Actually a VW dealer...

You shouldn't over heat, that is looked after by the thermostat which is purely mechanical

[david7m]

An ADT told me that a faulty temp guage can confuse the ECU because it takes a reading from the water temp and compares it to the displayed temp, if they don't match, it gets confused and is unsure whether to fuel as cold or warm ..... maybe wrong though! Has your fuel economy gone down?

Dave

[ZeroK66]

Could be your thermostat stuck open not allowing the car to warm to full temp/holding it there.

When I cruise on the motorway my oil temp sits around 110-120 - and that is simply feathering the throttle to maintain speed.

[GrahamS4]

Thermostat is behind the water pump which also means cam belt off - ouch.

[fletchie55]

OUCH I dont think I wanted to hear that! cam belt off doesnt sound cheap does it involve front bumber off? if so then I will get my RS4 intercoolers put on at the same time

I think the thermostat may well be stuck open as today when I was in traffic, the water temp finally moved up slowly and almost got to 90 which kind of hints that the gauge works or sometimes works! when I first got the car it used to stay at 90 after about 12mins driving.

Leon, 110-120 degrees seems a bit high, I have never seen mine up that high! but then your car is chipped, maybe this makes a difference.

I havent realy noticed the economy dropping, its still up around 31MPG for motorway (being gentle), and drops to about 27MPG with mostly town driving which seems pretty normal. I am convinced the car feels slower, but that could well be down to me being used to it! maybe the ECU does think the car is never warming up and treating it as cold? How can I check all this stuff?

[GrahamS4]

120 does sound high - especially maintaining a steady motorway speed.

Water temp should be up quickly. Sounds like thermostat to me. Fairly common I think. Makes sense to do belt, pump and thermostat in one go and anything else while the front of the car is off.

[GrahamS4]

27mpg in town is a bit high! Tell me how?!

[saf]

Me too. Thats a nice mpg figure.

Yep 110-120 seems a hight figure.

Im running 350HP approx and even when i floor the thing constantly on the motorway or A roads, I dont get higher than just over a 100. Most of the time it hapily sits at 100 and stays there. when I calm down the spirited driving a little, then it falls back down to just over 80 ish.

110-120 is definitely too high mate. Get it checked.

[Dippy]

G61 (IIRC) is dodgy. Revised model is green (again IIRC).
Oil temp does vary depending on the blend. 0W40 will run hotter than 0W30. 110-120 on high speed motorway may not be unusual, especially on said car.

[fletchie55]

G61? what is this?
wonder if ZeroKs oil is running too hot and therefore too thin and thats not helped the turbos last? hmm

Is it likely to be harming my car running with a dodgy temp sensor or stuck thermostat?

[Jez]

I've had mine hit close to 120 degrees, but that was after an extended (25 miles) high speed run against a guy on a bike. His exhaust was popping flames when I flew past him Generally don't see much above 100 dgrees, so think you might have issues Leon if you're just cruising and getting 120!