My coolant temp ?!

[iR6 0]

Hello everybody :)

 

Not sure if theres anyone on this forum that knows anything about Corrados but I'm after some advice on a small problem with my vr6!!

 

Since owning the car the temperature gauge on the dash has never really worked (do a search i hear you cry!). When i say 'really' worked i mean it never ever moves, unless i've driven the car then park up with it idling for ten mins the gauge will just manage to move to the first line....drive off and it soon goes down and rests on the bottom again :cuckoo:

 

Now i came to the conclusion that this must be a fault with the sensor, so i managed to find a replacement....at my local vw dealer of all places, and they only wanted £34 for it...such a bargin i almost brought two :)

 

Anyway thats just been fitted by me, took it for a spin, and nothing!! the needle still has no life in the old boy :(

 

So thats where i am now...i know its not the biggest of problems, but its def to the limit of my capablities, so any help would be great ta muchley :D

[Jim 2]

Not sure if theres anyone on this forum that knows anything about Corrados but I'm after some advice on a small problem with my vr6!!

 

Why I oughta..... :bad-words:

 

Hmm.... it could quite possibly be a problem with the wiring back to the clocks, or a fault with the clocks themselves. Does everything else function correctly on the clocks - lights, all other modes on the MFA, etc?

[leeeeshad 0]

Probably the thermostat

[iR6 0]

Not sure if theres anyone on this forum that knows anything about Corrados but I'm after some advice on a small problem with my vr6!!

 

Why I oughta..... :bad-words:

 

Hmm.... it could quite possibly be a problem with the wiring back to the clocks, or a fault with the clocks themselves. Does everything else function correctly on the clocks - lights, all other modes on the MFA, etc?

 

Yes should have said everything is working as it should, the oil temp i think also reads a little low, never gets into the 80's.

 

But everthing is running as it should (well this week, so far it is :D ) heater is blowing out nice hot air too.

 

I just dont understand why the gauge will move eventually as mentioned, if it didnt i would also suspect the gauge. Was kinda hoping someone else has had the same problem....as ive noticed Corrado faults seem to be hereditary :)

[iR6 0]

Probably the thermostat

 

Could be a good point, if the cars been fitted with a lower stat, would that leave me with next to no reading on the dash...i have only owned this car since Nov, and its not really got above freezing out since then!!

[leeeeshad 0]

Could be the stat is stuck open, I had that on mu last car, temp goes up when your not moving because no air is flowing over the rad

[Critical_Mass 10]

Get vagcom plugged in and check the temp reading from the ECU, if it matches the gauge you know its the thermostat. If the ECU reading normal then you know its the gauge thats wrong - ie the yellow temp sender needs replacing.

[iR6 0]

Get vagcom plugged in and check the temp reading from the ECU, if it matches the gauge you know its the thermostat. If the ECU reading normal then you know its the gauge thats wrong - ie the yellow temp sender needs replacing.

 

Well i guess it must be the gauge then as i've just repalced the yellow temp sender, and the blue ecu one whilst i was there.

 

Does anyone know if just the temp gauge can be replaced on it own?

 

Thanks for the replies peoples :wave:

[Critical_Mass 10]

Get vagcom plugged in and check the temp reading from the ECU, if it matches the gauge you know its the thermostat. If the ECU reading normal then you know its the gauge thats wrong - ie the yellow temp sender needs replacing.

 

Well i guess it must be the gauge then as i've just repalced the yellow temp sender, and the blue ecu one whilst i was there.

 

Does anyone know if just the temp gauge can be replaced on it own?

 

Thanks for the replies peoples :wave:

 

Worth checking on vagcom first though. However unlikely its still possible that you got a duff sensor.

[aide 0]

maybe monitor the upper rad pipe when warming up with your hand, or even better an infrared thermometer, if it gets hot before your needle moves it could indicate a stuck open stat equaling low running temps

 

i reckon it's more likely to be a faulty temp guage tho, in my very humble experience the lowest i've had a vr run is 75 degs in winter, or 65degs with a low opening stat.

 

does your oil run cool too?

[iR6 0]

maybe monitor the upper rad pipe when warming up with your hand, or even better an infrared thermometer, if it gets hot before your needle moves it could indicate a stuck open stat equaling low running temps

 

i reckon it's more likely to be a faulty temp guage tho, in my very humble experience the lowest i've had a vr run is 75 degs in winter, or 65degs with a low opening stat.

 

does your oil run cool too?

 

Yes the oil temp runs cool, never gets out of the high 70's really, and takes an age to get there, 30 minutes of driving at least

[iR6 0]

Hey Critical_mass i see you've had a similar problem yourself recently, did you get to the bottom of it?

[Critical_Mass 10]

Yes mate, it was the yellow temp sender that was faulty! Vagcom read right. I appreciate you've just changed the yellow temp sender but checking on vagcom would prevent you from spending time and money on the wrong thing - just a thought.

 

EDIT - i see your oil is running cool, so i agree it could well be your thermostat.

[aide 0]

crikey i think 70degs is very low for oil too, typical to run at 90 or over a 100 when blasting/ in summer!

 

my water runs cool too, say 65deg in this freezing weather but i'm fairly certain someone put a low temp stat in, but my oil is always about 85/90, not sure if there is a typical correlation between the two

 

as criticalmass above try vagcom, or a IR thermometer, these will at least confirm your temps so you're not chasing phantom figures

 

maybe also look at the definitive cooling guide too, loads of good info in there

[Critical_Mass 10]

Yeah the definitive vr cooling thread will help!

 

Aide - 65 degrees even in this weather seems really low!

[aide 0]

Aide - 65 degrees even in this weather seems really low!

 

yep dead right, my stat opens at about 70 which is too low, i changed my yellow sensor when i drained the system thinking it may be screwy too.... then after refilling i bought the thermometer and noticed my top pipe was getting hot too quick :brickwall:

 

its not a daily so going to live with it until the weather gets warmer :lol: and see what it does then, don't like the idea of it running rich on the warm up map though

[Critical_Mass 10]

Aide - 65 degrees even in this weather seems really low!

 

yep dead right, my stat opens at about 70 which is too low, i changed my yellow sensor when i drained the system thinking it may be screwy too.... then after refilling i bought the thermometer and noticed my top pipe was getting hot too quick :brickwall:

 

its not a daily so going to live with it until the weather gets warmer :lol: and see what it does then, don't like the idea of it running rich on the warm up map though

 

Warm up map is supposed to run rich.

[aide 0]

Warm up map is supposed to run rich.

 

yep, should clarify, if mine and ir6 are running below 70degs all the time then we're always running rich

[Critical_Mass 10]

Warm up map is supposed to run rich.

 

yep, should clarify, if mine and ir6 are running below 70degs all the time then we're always running rich

 

If the gauge is accurate yes. But my understanding is if it does go over 70 it will come out of map, even if it drops below 70 again it wont go back into warm up map. Do your cars drink lots of fuel, any black smoke out the back?

[aide 0]

hey cheers, i've been looking for smoke but not seen any, and the plugs looked fine when i changed them, its not overly thirty either :salute:

 

i'm diagnosing problems i don't have :D

[iR6 0]

I was under the impression that the cold map was run through the ecu, which in turn gathers its info from the blue sender. so regardless of what the dash gauge is saying, if the the coolant is getting over 70c + (judging by my hoses pipes, mine is) then it wont continualy run on a cold map.

 

Guess what i'm trying to say is if the guage, or the yellow sensor is knackered then that wont make it run in cold map all the time?

 

But obv if the thermostat is stuck or too low then i guess that would keep the temps too low, and will run in cold map.

 

My car does have poor mpg 17-19! the exhaust and bumper has alot of black soot on it, pops and bangs on over-run......it even sprays black water on the garage wall on start up!!(shes a beast :lol: )

 

I do only short trips to work and back mind, 4 miles each way.

 

I'll try all the advice above though :)

[Critical_Mass 10]

hey cheers, i've been looking for smoke but not seen any, and the plugs looked fine when i changed them, its not overly thirty either :salute:

 

i'm diagnosing problems i don't have :D

 

could be the gauge thats out then. Do the heaters get warm?

 

No youre right a dodgy yellow temp is simply for the gauge, and wont interfere with the ECU nor the mixture!