Temp gauge moving more

[Budgie7]

Don't know if I am being paranoid, the temp gauge on my 2.1 auto has always stayed reasonably static at just below the warning light on the gauge and in fact has hardly moved from that point even when sat in traffic. Went to the lakes yesterday, about 70 miles, no problem.
Coming home tonight the gauge went slightly higher to just touching the warning light ( yes I know that's only a movement of about 1 or 2 mm, told you I was paranoid ) , all the way home at a steady 60 mph.
Then when stopped ticking over went slightly higher to the middle of the warning light, which after about 5 to 10 mins the fan came on then I drove away and the needle dropped to just touching the warning light.
No water loss etc and drove fine.
It had a new pump , coolant and sensors about 4k ago.
Paranoid ?

[kevtherev]

Yes.
Sounds quite normal to me

[Budgie7]

Hi Kev,
I think I drive watching the temp gauge more than anything , that's running a WBX for you and paranoia.
Anyway going up to Snowdonia next week so fingers crossed.
Ps like your van by the way.
Barry

[kevtherev]

By all means keep an eye on anything that seems out of the usual normal.
To me your description of what was happening previously was not normal.



... remember that the weather/usage will influence all sorts of things on old vans.

[Roydini]

Hi Budgie7

I second what Kev said. What you described happening in the past was very similar to mine before I completely overhauled the coolant system with new front to back pipes, thermostat, coolant sensors, fan switches, hoses and coolant. Before, the needle would sit just above the solid white block (well below the warning light) and not budge an inch, or mm for that matter , I didn't even know there was a radiator fan as it had never come on in over 5 years!

After all the work was finished the needle/radiator fan behaved exactly as you describe so I would relax if I were you. Keep an eye on the needle as you are doing, and consider fitting a sump oil temperature sensor so you can compare the two readings to give you a slightly better impression of what is going on in the engine.

[CovKid]

Agree. Plus I have also found that as rad fan switch deteriorates over time, the temperature gauge can start to get increasingly more erratic. I have a chicken switch on mine (not needed if rad switch operates correctly) but its a 'peace-of-mind' overide should things not go according to plan.

Have replaced rad fan switch three times in ten years. They are in a hostile environment and don't last forever. Simply fitting a new one can really stabilise water temperature as the fan will then kick in when it should do. Certainly for the paranoid, its worth carrying a spare rad switch. They're cheap and don't take up any space. About a fiver at GSF and theirs are fine.

[Budgie7]

Thanks for your replies, and agree with everyone. Water pipes and sensors are a few years old and not done more then 5k miles and coolant was replaced 18 months ago and is still nice and clean.
CovKid, I would still like to change to a chicken switch for full peace of mind, as I can switch this on earlier instead of waiting for it to come on, which I think is to late.
Another job on my list, as I still need to do your headlight wiring upgrade.

[CovKid]

You could also replace thermostat with one that operates at a slightly lower temperature, a job I mean to do if I have the water system drained again.