Engine Temperature

[terrwilk]

Hi back again,

 

Does anyone know how long it takes their car to warm up to temperature?

 

Mine is C4 2.0 HDI 138.

 

It takes nearly 3 to 4 miles or 10mins to settle on 2 bars of the temp gauge, which i think is incorrect anyway, have driven c3 1.4 HDI's and picasso 1.6 HDI and they ALL register midway on the gauge, although the c3 did get to temp within a few minutes max.

 

The idle speed sits just under 1000rpm, which i think is too high.

 

The dealer said there is nothing wrong, the 2.0 runs cooler!!! sounds like bulls**t to me.

 

Also there is little or no engine brake at lower speeds and rpm, the higher gearing makes this worse.

 

Any ideas or similar experiences?

 

Terry

[wozza]

You have 6 gears Make use of them if you want engine braking use lower gears than you normally would. 2nd or 3rd would be good due to the higher gearing etc.

 

under 1000rpm is about right most newer cars idle higher now but will settle down after a bit due to emissions the higher revs at the start actually help lower emissions.

 

Temp guage on mine takes about 10 minutes on the 1.6 and sits at 3 bars.

[C4VTS]

Well at least three miles at least is needed to warm up a diesel engine properly, so there is nothing unusual about that. I always walk for any journey of less than 1 mile, as the car engine would still be stone cold.

 

My Audi A4 TDi was the same.

 

For the engine braking, you must use lower gears, as 5th and 6th are made for cruising rather than slowing the car down.

[Z3M Roadster]

My Hdi 92 rarely gets above the 2 bar mark.

[hertsnminds]

1.6Hdi (110) At 2 bars most of the time, sometimes gets to 3 but not for very long.

 

Idles at 800-900 rpm which goes down slightly if all of the toys are off (lights, climate control, radio).

 

Takes about 2-3 miles to warm up.

 

 

Ian

Black 55 VTR+

[terrwilk]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for thatguys, although, incidentally, the 3-4 mile bit was a reference to how far it takes to warm up, by that I mean to even punch out warm air from the heater!! not for the total distance of my journies, which are a mixture of local to long distance, average 250 miles a fortnight.

 

I don't see the point of having a gauge that does not read correct info, if the car is indeed at the CORRECT engine temp then the gauge should say so!! I would rather it read out in actual temperature, then at least it means something, 1 or 2 bars of an 6 bar scale is next to useless.

 

It is akin to the speedo saying you are doing 30 when actually you are doing 50, isn't it?

 

As i said, my lowley C3 1.4 HDI 90 was at mid way after a few minutes, blowing hot air, which is a boon in winter to warm the cabin!! and it stayed midway all the time.

 

So, not sure about the diesel theory, a thermostat does what it says on the tin, i will test the water temp myself, as I am not convinced.

 

Engine temp does affect engine idle and mixture via the ECU, so if the temp is wrong then so is the engine performance and indeed fuel economy.

 

Any more ideas welcome.

 

Terry

[wozza]

To be hoenst it sounds exactly like my 1.6 petrol. Except my heat comes on rather quickly. But the climate is usually set to HIGH and i have the A/C on which usually makes the car heat up quicker for some reason. Usually stick it on like that to mainly demist windows though.

[Mat]

I always thought the hot air out of the airvents was air passed over an electric element. Hence, when you turn on the heater for the first time since summer, you can smell the dust burning off.

[C4VTS]

i will test the water temp myself, as I am not convinced.

Any more ideas welcome.

 

Why go to all that trouble ?

 

I rarely see more than 3 bars on my water temp just the same as most of the guys on here. I think it was only during that very hot weather I got 3 bars.

Seems quite normal. :D

 

I would just leave it alone. :P

 

If it isn't broken, don't fix it. :D

[wozza]

looks like the diesels sit at 2 bars then and petrols sit at 3. Mine sits at 3 all the time i have tried getting it to 4 couldnt manage it.

[C4VTS]

looks like the diesels sit at 2 bars then and petrols sit at 3. Mine sits at 3 all the time i have tried getting it to 4 couldnt manage it.

Surely if it's only on 2 bars as normal, then when you see 4,5, or 6 then gives you more chance to set those alarm bells ringing :P :D

 

When my Audi A4 overheated due to an incompetant 'specialist', my dashboard lit up like a christmas tree, so I knew it was time to stop the car. :D

[wozza]

Mines the petrol it sits at 3 bars when its warmed up thats not hammering it thats just gentle driving. Hammering it it still sits at 3 bars its very difficult to get to move.

[Stuey]

I have never had mine over 3 bars either...

[IanHur]

My C4 when hot runs on the second bar, it use to run on the third bar when it was new (Running in engine still tight)

[lab44]

Mine always runs on 3 bars onces it warmed up. Only went higher than that once when it went all bars and that meant the engine temperature sensor was busted lol.

[Z3M Roadster]

I had all the bars lit once and a message saying "pull over maximum engine temperature exceeded." The car then had to be recovered by the RAC. This was the day before its 2nd service after it broke down the day before its first service too.

[lab44]

Basically what happening to me only the AA came out and measured the engine temperature and told me there was no way it was overheating, to ignore the message and and drive it to the dealer get it sorted. Was only engine temp sensor in the end and took a few hours at the dealer to sort out. What was wrong with yours?

[Z3M Roadster]

Something went wrong with the electronics and the fans wouldn't cut in. RAC couldn't fix and had to be towed.