was a lil cold on our way from brissy to newcastle is this ok?

[stealth vn]

hay well we were driving from brissy to newcaslte for our family holiday this year and notice the temp gauge was sitting on cold keep in mind it was like this half the way @100kph when slowed down for traffic of what ever the temp would come back up just wondering is this considered ok
http://mfi.re/?43hts58r6ut96bj

http://mfi.re/?rhan7hjae07acpm

[aratic]

Doesnt sound normal your thermostat might be stuck open or you might have a dodgy coolant temp sensor.

Does it take a long time to warm up usually after start up?

[zorro]

i wouldnt be worried, my coolant temp sits around 65-75 in the mornings and temp gauge doesnt move much off C down here in Melb. My IATs have also been as low as 2* in the last few weeks.

The temp gauge suffers same issues as fuel gauge, accuracy isnt its strong point. I only know my temps from logging and the aeroforces

[Peter B - CV8]

My money would be on the thermostat sticking open as well. Be careful if replacing it with an aftermarket one - because the quality can be a bit questionable. They are so poorly fabricated that they aren't aligned properly & will also have sticking issues (check out the shaft alignment) - you can bend the shaft a little - but the OEM ones are probably your best bet.
Better to be running too cold than overheating..... but don't it too long before fixing (increased fuel usage & carboning up of the cylinder head etc).

[QldKev]

I would say sticking thermostat, get it replaced you don;t want to run it cold for too long.

QldKev

[Louie_D]

Maybe its normal, my mates berlina was showing 3-4 degrees whilst driving in the dandenong ranges and was sitting dead on cold aswell.

[stealth vn]

in normal qld conditions it is normal takes normal time to war mup ect was only while it was so cold as soon as we slowed down a lil it went back to normal fuel usage i dont know if it has altered first long trip was around 10l per 100km so not sure

[Kylec599]

what can happen if the car runs cold too long???

[swingtan]

Running cold is a classic symptom of a stuck open thermostat. The usual symptoms are...


Engine takes mush longer than normal to come up to normal temp.
Engine temps drop significantly while cruising.
Heater temps are lower than normal.
Fuel economy is worse than normal.


Note that engine temps will stay in the normal range if the car is stationary or in heavy traffic, as the thermo fans will regulate the temp. But once back to cruising, the temps will drop again.

The main impacts of the engine running cooler than it should are....


Excessive fuel usage as the ECM adds fueling for the cold engine.
Possible dilution of the engine oil due to the excessive fueling and low oil temps.
possible engine oil contamination from condensation as the oil remains cooler for longer allowing for a build up of water.
possible over cooling of the auto fluid allowing for contamination from condensation.


If the engine temps come up normally when the car is stationary, but drop or fail to come up at all when driving, I'd be checking the thermostat.

Simon

[zorro]

simon, im going to have to pick your brains one weekend about this. I know the thermo isnt rooted and as you say Ive got excessive fuel use for freeway driving.

Back in the racing days cold tracks we ran louvers or put patches over the rads to keep temps up, I dont see this as being a viable option on a road car though.

[stealth vn]

yea fuel usage would seem higher then couple mates just checked its mid 12l per 100km look as i need to do few things while doing cam in couple weeks