underheating problem???

polokris · Post by **polokris** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 10:01 am

take a look at the Temp..... is that rite..???

thats as hot/cold as it gets wen its at "prime" temp!??

it used to be BANG in the middle....

HELP... AGAIN... hehe

Kris[/img]

83coupe · Post by **83coupe** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:58 am

hey kris, cant see there being anything wrong with the temp sensor reading where it is... unless its giving you problems from being to cold, i wouldnt worry. your thermostat is prob jammed right openor something giving it a lower reading. if your that damn worried, i got a thermostat and housing you can have for a fiver.

polokris · Post by **polokris** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:02 pm

interested in the housing fella, iv had a new thermostat.... so i am a little worried! haha, its a bit of a PIG to say the least in the cold, and wen it gets warmed up can go funny.... (after 10 mins of driving FLAT out... or near enough! )

live in Bont...and work in neath... bout a 10-20 min drive...

does it wen i get to work... at the end of the journy... wont tick over properly, or run right!

Kris

Gareth_GT_Hatch · Post by **Gareth_GT_Hatch** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 5:04 pm

could be alot of things, gauge or sender getting tired, running cooler due to the weather or thermostat housing stuck open. does it take longer to warm up than it used to? and does the fan ever come on in traffic?

polokris · Post by **polokris** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 7:03 pm

its weird.... coz that wen it does over heat.. the guage goes up like normal.... and the fan kicks in... but.... when normal it looks as if it underheats.... does take a time to warm up....

just a little worried....

Kris

Tahrey1043 · Post by **Tahrey1043** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 4:57 pm

It's only a real worry if it regularly sits in the left hand "box" there (to the left of the second line), which is supposed to represent the post-startup warming-up period, where the auto choke will be operating. Mine did that when the thermostat jammed open. Better to jam open than shut of course, but it still needs changing soon as you can afford the time... and the coolant, a spare bucket, and the paper towels, as can be a bit of a messy job.

Other than that, in this case I could say it's because
1/ it's winter time, and its either early-mid morning or late-ish at night so the air temperature will be low, and so will all the metalwork. might need a lot of warming-through.
2/ the speed you're jetting along through said frosty air, at in a car with a slab-fronted bonnet and a radiatior that occupies a lot of the grille...

the worst time i ever had for heat in the polo, coming back from the nightclub at like 3.30am, really demonstrated how much of an effect the air can have... it was absolutely brassic, spent an age defrosting (with engine idling, too). Plus, it was before i swapped the thermo. no word of a lie, i went almost the whole way home (6-7 miles) in second gear, no more than about 25mph, because any faster or a higher gear caused the needle to visibly drop while you watched it, and all the warmth to disappear from the air coming out of the blower (if i hadn't got my gloves and hat, it probably would have been 20 in 1st... was concerned less about getting home quick than passing out from hypothermia).
Now imagine that effect multiplied by about 3 - 4 times due to your speed (or was it a square law - so 9 - 16x?)...

polokris · Post by **polokris** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:32 pm

i can see where your coming from...... but..... if im doing 30mph... its at the same spot, and if i do 90mph.... same, and same at 50, and at 10....

thats how it is, seems to be doing its job, keeping the engine kool..... tryed a little test the other day....

letf the car running and it started to get WELL hot.... fan kicks in, needle is way past centre.... so im guessing thats fine.... but just a little curious to why it would sit just under "half" on the needle, as i have had the car for just over 3 years, and not noticed anything until now...... and this is if im doing a 30 min jurny, or 10, or 5, or 45 and so on.... haha,

Kris

mk2matt · Post by **mk2matt** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 9:57 am

that looks ok to me buddy, even my old twin 40'd polo run at that temp, just means that cars is cooling like is should be and only worry when its above the red LED and its flashing

Tahrey1043 · Post by **Tahrey1043** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 8:47 pm

how long did it take idling to get to that temp? i'd say a good 10-15 minutes in this current climate, maybe?

GroovyCarrot · Post by **GroovyCarrot** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:52 am

I wouldn't worry, mine always used to run at that temp until I replaced the temp sender, when it went up quite a bit. As long as the engine is warming up (easy enough to check for), and it's running smooth it's not really a problem.

polokris · Post by **polokris** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 8:32 pm

good good, the only thing that i was concerned about was that its neva really run at that temp b4.... (was always in the middle) .... but the car seems fine... so i was jus worried.....

hehehehe

worry over i guess!!

thanx lads!

CASE CLOSED!