Engine Temperature Too High

[GZ100]

Hi.

 

I was driving my 2008 C4 the other day when the "STOP" warning appeared on the dash with the following message appearing on the display "engine Temperature to high" I pulled over switched off the engine for 5minutes and proceeded to drive for another 30k not going above 60KM/hr. There was no repeat of stop sign appearing, until I hit the motorway where I exceeded speeds of 80km per hour, for about 5 minutes, then same thing happened again with the "STOP" symbol lighting up on the dash with the same message.In order to get get home I travelled at the 60km speed for another 20K with no repeat of warning sign appearing.

 

Has this happened to anybody else?

 

Coolant was low in car, this has since been topped up.

 

Would this be linked to temperature sensors?

 

[Johndouglas]

Would this be linked to temperature sensors?

My daughter's Xsara suffered from this problem with the stop sign lighting and the temperature gauge going into the high area. A change of temperature sensor corrected it. However, is your engine actually overheating or is it just the dashboard saying it is? Have you traced the leakage of coolant? In normal running the coolant level shouldn't change over a long time.

[paul.h]

Apart from checking the sensor and coolant level and any coolant leaks, you should check if the radiator is not blocked so the air flow is getting through, the engine fan works, there is no coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant which could indicate head gasket failure, if the weather was hot that day, if you had the air con on as well which would all increase the engine load, if the coolant needs air bleeding out, if the thermostat is opening fully. You could use  a code reader with live data to see what temperature the sensor is giving to see if it seems normal - probably about 95°C when warmed up, the outside temperature before starting the engine, the thermostat opens at about 90°C, the engine fan starts about 96°C and the high temp warning at around 110°C. When running, if it happens again and you have found no faults, then you could put the cabin heater on full to drop the temperature by increasing the engine heat removal.