Thermostat acting up

[BigTed00]

AHH this is driving me nuts!

My theromostat has been acting kinda quirky for the last few months. Once every 40 or so times I drive the car, the thermostat wont work and the needle stays dead at cold unitl 5-10 minutes of driving then it kicks on and works perfectly, sitting in the center of the gauge.

Now, it seems to be doing this everytime I drive. However now it sits a C and kicks on but doesnt settle in the middle, the temp gauge never moves past the 2nd tick mark, halfway between cold and middle.

does it sound like I need a new thermostat?

[filip00]

dude, new thermostat costs less than $20 change included. is it too expensive to change it and see what happens?

[whiskychaser]

AHH this is driving me nuts!

My theromostat has been acting kinda quirky for the last few months. Once every 40 or so times I drive the car, the thermostat wont work and the needle stays dead at cold unitl 5-10 minutes of driving then it kicks on and works perfectly, sitting in the center of the gauge.

Now, it seems to be doing this everytime I drive. However now it sits a C and kicks on but doesnt settle in the middle, the temp gauge never moves past the 2nd tick mark, halfway between cold and middle.

does it sound like I need a new thermostat?
Would be thinking sender for your temp gauge rather than the stat

[Rus]

Open your hood. Look by thermostat and locate two temperature sensor sticking out of the housing. One of the connectors will come off easy (I believe its the one on the passenger side). Take connector off, clean contacts, reconnect. If this doesn't awaken your gauge, then look at the thermostat. A permanently open thermostat will cause the engine to circulate coolant through the radiator at all times. To test this, start the car and feel the upper radiator hose. If it gets warm before the engine temperature goes above the first 1/4 mark, the thermostat is open. Do check the sensor connection first though. Mine was cruddy and would periodically stay in the cold zone despite the motor being up to temperature. HTH

[93 525 Paul]

Run the heater when the gauge is on cold and see if the air is warm or cold. My T-state did the intermittent thing, then it went full time. Turns out it broke and stayed in the open position and the gauge was on cold and the air blew cold which to me made it time to replace it.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o284/pmcdougal/BrokenT-Stat.jpg

[///Sniper535]

HAHAHAHAHAHHA, that's exactly what happened to mine.

http://a872.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/48/l_f3535cb85966f3616f0fc9d222b56737.jpg

[BigTed00]

Open your hood. Look by thermostat and locate two temperature sensor sticking out of the housing. One of the connectors will come off easy (I believe its the one on the passenger side). Take connector off, clean contacts, reconnect. If this doesn't awaken your gauge, then look at the thermostat. A permanently open thermostat will cause the engine to circulate coolant through the radiator at all times. To test this, start the car and feel the upper radiator hose. If it gets warm before the engine temperature goes above the first 1/4 mark, the thermostat is open. Do check the sensor connection first though. Mine was cruddy and would periodically stay in the cold zone despite the motor being up to temperature. HTH

Much respect, cleaned the contacts on the sensor and it woke right up :D

[Rus]

Much respect, cleaned the contacts on the sensor and it woke right up :D

Glad you got it figured out. My car was driving me nuts also with its random temperature gauge until I began fiddling with connectors. :) Happy motoring :)

[bmwpower]

I wonder if that my problem. Needle stays a little to the left of middle.

[Rus]

I wonder if that my problem. Needle stays a little to the left of middle.

That is actually what is considered normal and desired for these cars. The needle should never go beyond the middle mark and in my car usually stays a notch below it.

[e34.535i.sport]

Mine is also staying by the first notch... halfway between cold and middle marker. I'm going to go and fiddle with things and hope it sorts it out! If the t-stat is stuck open is it a big problem? Replacing it a hard job?

[BigTed00]

not a hard job but somewhat of a PITA because you need to drain/bleed the coolant