My thirty mile motorway commute is a breeze to drive. However, my a4 1.9tdi is Reading 70ish, rather than the normal 12 o'clock position 90
degrees.
Is it simply the bastid cold weather?
Any checks I can do myself?
Thermostat stuck in open position? Does the top radiator hose get warm straight away if you have the engine idling on the driveway from a cold start?
Temperature senders fail for a pastime on these, give low readings. Try the heater for an idea how hot things are.
New gsf temp send fitted 8 months ago as there was no Reading at all
Your all wrong
A/c button is on
My VAG diesel takes ages to warm up in this weather. Like 8-10 miles before the gauge is in the middle. On a motorway I'm guessing 30 miles might
be needed?
Chris
True last year I was getting a good 20-30 miles before it got to full temp. Bear in mind that using the heaters takes that heat too, making it longer still to warm up
My new Octavia 1.6 Diesel takes a long time to heat up too, although it is below 0 up here lately.
Both the hoses are warm after a ten mile town drive, but it won't move past 70. At say 10 o'clock on the dial. Fuel tank range seems to have
dropped 50 miles too on this tank. Normally 700+.
Just read my haynes and the stat looks a bigger to do, especially with freezing cold hands in this weather. Thants if it is the stat of course
The wind chill factor will keep the temp low my focus tdci runs around 75 in this cold weather
i lost 100 miles to to the tank full due to the snow/cold weather
plus i had a vauxhall vectra diesel in 2 weeks ago customer saying the cars not getting up to temp took it out for a run after check it over first
with the diag scanner pluged in it was reading 70c which is the bottom/cold line on the temp gauge
I have just hit the toyo tyres number of posts
[Edited on 12/17/2010 by DRC INDY 7]
My Golf has started doing the same this ais a 1.8 turbo petrol, the air from the heater vents is warm when driving but gets hot when stationay so for me it looks like the stats coming out tommorow to be changed
I'd say stat stuck open. Start it from cold and check the top hose stays cold untill the engines nicely warmed up, if it warms up gradually I'd go for a stat.
If the engine is not up to temp the ECU will run it rich a bit like using the choke on carb engine. I don't know much about diesels but I assume
the principle is the same as for petrol engines.
If both hoses are warm after a short drive and the coolant has not hit the temp that the thermostat is supposed to open at (check Haynes for the temp
figure) then it would suggest that the thermostat is stuck open and needs replacing.
2 miles or so to the gym in leon 1.8 t 210 an d temp is 90 by the time i get their, i know i know short hourneys kill cars and i should get rid but on the right road right conditions tis an epic carand i earn enough to have acrs as a pleasure not a necessity.
Interesting!
My Alhambra 1.9 TDI (Y 115 bhp) has been taking 20+ miles to get to 70 degrees in this weather and struggling to deliver warm air - I assumed it to
be a stuck stat.
My old Leon 1.9TDI (04 150bhp) used to hit 90 degrees within minutes and sit there whatevever the weather. My current 2.0 (57 140 bhp)TDI Passat is
the same, heats up quick and stays there all day long.
Tempted to replace the stat first and see what that does. Trouble is it's SWMBOS car and as there's no complaint as yet it's not
become a priority yet.
my golf GT TDi does exactly the same thing
I have left it sat outside my work for 40 minutes and it wont heat fully
mixed commute of short fast bursts on the A roads and sitting in traffic, rarely goes above 70, if it does, then it goes back down as soon as you
moving
on mine the thermostat looks easily accessible, until you look at one of the bolts, looks like alternator off, and possibly its mounting bracket
also?
mines going in to have it replaced anyway soon, as I need the car to be warm, often doing long journeys 300 mile etc and with young child in the car
its not nice to be cold
and I have to confess that I hadnt even thought of this being linked to the recent drop in fuel range etc, just put it down to the rising cost of
diesel, as I tend to think in value rather than litres
£60 fills the tank, 47 litres, normally get 470 miles from that just commuting round town etc etc, but last couple of months thats dropped to 420ish
on at least the last 3 tank fulls
hmmm £30 thermostat plus fitting, got to be worth a try.
if you buy it yourself from VW remember to check for the O ring, last time I bought one, the O ring was a seperate item, VW typical, the only people
not to include it LOL
[Edited on 18/12/10 by tony-devon]
quote:
Originally posted by nick205
Interesting!
My Alhambra 1.9 TDI (Y 115 bhp) has been taking 20+ miles to get to 70 degrees in this weather and struggling to deliver warm air - I assumed it to be a stuck stat.
My old Leon 1.9TDI (04 150bhp) used to hit 90 degrees within minutes and sit there whatevever the weather. My current 2.0 (57 140 bhp)TDI Passat is the same, heats up quick and stays there all day long.
Tempted to replace the stat first and see what that does. Trouble is it's SWMBOS car and as there's no complaint as yet it's not become a priority yet.
I had an 98 A4 1.9Tdi and did a lengthy commute (Reading to Oxford). Mileage used to drop in the cold weather, by at least 50 per tank.
It was a few years back but I don't remember the water temperature dropping but it was a while ago. I do remember the engine taking ages to warm
up in the cold weather (the price you pay for efficient diesel engines) and the car tending to steam up a bit in the cold owing to A/C condenser
freezing and the pollen filter being soaked. I used to get 600+ per tank (not 700+) so maybe you are driving too slow!
I don't think this is hurting your fuel economy at the moment. I would leave it until the spring to see if the temperature comes back.
Regarding later VW engines warming up more quickly, in some cases there is an auxiliary heaters using electrical elements. Not sure how it works, but
don't be fooled.
Matt
Stuck open thermostat will give a hit on economy, especially when combined with the cold weather.
check your water pump, the impellers are plastic and self destruct, this happened to my gti. GSF replacement ones have a brass impeller
quote:
Originally posted by dazzx10r
check your water pump, the impellers are plastic and self destruct, this happened to my gti. GSF replacement ones have a brass impeller
A radiator blind won't help if my diagnosis of the auxiliary heater is correct. The Alhambra has so much internal space to heat that the internal
heaters will soak up all the heat produced by the engine in cold weather when on low throttle. The engine temp will only rise above 70C when under
high throttle and will then fall back when you lift off again. Cabin heat will be very poor.
It's very easy to test in this cold weather. When you start the car you should get a sound like a jet engine comings from under the car just in
front of the nearside rear wheel arch. You should also see exhaust gases and steam etc coming from the aux heater exhaust. If you don't then this
IS the cause of your problem. It might just need a new glow plug which you can replace yourself in around an hour or two. Unfortunately mine was more
serious than this in the end.
I have also had a broken water pump impellor on my Alhambra and this had the symptom of normal temp most of the time but high engine temp on high
throttle where the cooling system couldn't dump heat fast enough. It only happened when going up hills or overtaking. I got the pump replaced
along with the timing belt.you can check the water pump impeller by sticking your finger into the thermostat housing and feeling for the impeller
blades. If you can move them with your finger (engine off obviously) then all is not well... This won't be your problem here though since you
have overcooling not overheating.
If you do need a new aux heater then you can get one from a Galaxy or Sharan or Alhambra. They all have the same issues.
Good luck,
Craig.
Here you go. A how to guide on diagnosing aux heater issues and glow plug replacement.
http://www.fordmondeo.org/threadattach/1231366309-AuxHeater.pdf
Lots of pictures to help make sense of what is was talking about earlier.
well thats mine fixed a new stat and hey presto but mine is the petrol not diesel model so hope your fix is as cheap as mine
quote:
Originally posted by craig1410
Here you go. A how to guide on diagnosing aux heater issues and glow plug replacement.
http://www.fordmondeo.org/threadattach/1231366309-AuxHeater.pdf
Lots of pictures to help make sense of what is was talking about earlier.
All,
I have fitted a new Euro Car Parts thermostat 4 weeks ago and a water temp sender from GSF about 8/9 months back.
My car will (after a fair few miles in this cold weather) hit the middle fo the gauge 90 degrees, however after a while it will drop (quite rapidly)
to 60 or 70 degrees. Then it might decide to shoot back up, stay the same or climb and fluctuate around.
I am worried I have a mega mega serious issue such as water pump, but convinced that surely that would cause HOT temperature readings, not drops!
It is not moving a smidge over the 90 degrees either (which is good)
These issues are happening regardless of speed, from doing 80 mph on the M23, to stuck in a traffic jam.
I spoke to GSF who are sending me a second temp sender which is great, didnt even ask lol.
I did loose a lot of water doing the stat, but replaced, perhaps I need further work on burping the water, but I used the bleed hole and 1500 miles
later there is no drop in coolant.
Hmmmm?
my golf does exactly the same, and threads on the mk4 owners club forums all agree, the TDi just doesnt heat up fully, or that fast
my fuel economy suffers in the winter
Quite recently I have heard a couple reports of similar problems occurring after changing thermostats one of which was on a petrol Astra, this makes
me think perhaps there iffy thermostats hitting the market, which wouldn't be surprising as substandard car parts are wide spread. I recently
had to change a wishbone because the ball joint was completely worn out after a years use.
Another thing that may help increase the running temperature is to increase the antifreeze concentration in the coiling system to about 60 to 66%
the rate at which it drops is rapid - alomst as quick as how your dials drop down when you turn the engine off - quick!
stats was £10er.
Kinda need to know if thats work that fast etc to have much of a effect.