low engine temp

[Skoda]

Hi I have a 2001 a4 quattro 1.8t sport saloon with 105k miles on the clock & recently replaced the top engine temp sensor & all was fine,but now I notice that my engine temp does'nt rise above 60-65 degrees even in traffic and even colder on the motorway ,mind you it was 1 degree outside.Is it that the cooling system working very efficiently or does anyone think that maybe the bottom temp sensor near the radiator needs replacing too or should I wait for the weather to hot up a bit before panicing or could waiting possibly cause damage.All thaughts welcome.
Thanks Skoda.

[SorenR]

Originally Posted by Skoda

Hi I have a 2001 a4 quattro 1.8t sport saloon with 105k miles on the clock & recently replaced the top engine temp sensor & all was fine,but now I notice that my engine temp does'nt rise above 60-65 degrees even in traffic and even colder on the motorway ,mind you it was 1 degree outside.Is it that the cooling system working very efficiently or does anyone think that maybe the bottom temp sensor near the radiator needs replacing too or should I wait for the weather to hot up a bit before panicing or could waiting possibly cause damage.All thaughts welcome.
Thanks Skoda.

99,99% certain that you need to replace the thermostat. Only side effect is a higher fuel consumption and a colder cabin

Can you reach normal running temperature if you leave the car with the engine running?

[Skoda]

Originally Posted by SorenR

99,99% certain that you need to replace the thermostat. Only side effect is a higher fuel consumption and a colder cabin

Can you reach normal running temperature if you leave the car with the engine running?

No the car or I should say temp guage stays at below the first quarter mark at best when running.

[Skoda]

Where is the thermostat located? is it the same beast as the lower temp sensor near the radiaror? or is it a different component.

[SorenR]

Originally Posted by Skoda

Where is the thermostat located? is it the same beast as the lower temp sensor near the radiaror? or is it a different component.

The thermostat (purely mechanical) is located where the hose connects to the waterpump on the passengerside-front of the engine.

Usually a defective thermostat is diagnosed as low temperature reading while driving and temperature rising to normal when idling for extending period.. Until normal cooling systems (fan) does it's thing.. The problem is detected 9 of 10 times during winter...

On a side note.. There is a temperature sensor (usually referred to as two sensors) that 1. send data to ECU and 2. send data to instrument cluster. Sometimes this sensor fail without errors logged in the ECU, only a visual discrepancy is shown on the guage.
If you know someone with access to VAG-COM (now called VCDS) you can have this person read the temperature data sent to the ECU and if data is different from guage you need to change 059 919 501 A (green 4-pin). It should be located somewhere around the back end of the engine iirc..

[Skoda]

Thanks for the info,I will try a VAG diagnostic on it.
SKODA

[Skoda]

Do you think the live data feature of this scanner/vin reader would do the trick http://www.commhead.co.uk if you scroll down under the dual sim phone its the next item on the page

[SorenR]

Originally Posted by Skoda

Do you think the live data feature of this scanner/vin reader would do the trick A WebsiteBuilder Website if you scroll down under the dual sim phone its the next item on the page

No idea.. Call them..

I have VCDS and it's the best car investment I have ever done. The going rate within the VAG community in Denmark for doing a fault readout/reprogram service indicator is two bottles of redwine... I'm way beyond the capacity of my wine cellar

[Skoda]

OK I will do just that
Cheers Skoda

[Julian]

Originally Posted by Skoda

Do you think the live data feature of this scanner/vin reader would do the trick A WebsiteBuilder Website if you scroll down under the dual sim phone its the next item on the page

Probably, any OBD2 compliant code reader should be able to read generic codes (all manufacturers are obliged to use the same codes) and real time data.

I've a (memoscan?) unit that cost about £80 off the e-bay, you can update it via the www and it's not let me down yet.

Basically from around the year 2000 all cars and light commercials have (by law) to be OBD2 compatible.