temp gauge rising

Last night I started driving back from Glasgow to Edinburgh and as I set off I noticed the temp gauge was much higher than usual so I stopped and looked under the bonnet. There was no steam or anything, so I waited 5 minutes then set off again. It stayed normal til I got onto the motorway when I started accelerating past 50mph it started going up really fast again. I slowed down to about 45 and it went back down, and I kept going at that speed for a while. It stayed at normal, so I went up to 50mph and it stayed fine there too. Near the end of the journey I tried going up gradually to 65mph and it still stayed normal.

Any idea what was causing it? It's been ok today when I went to the supermarket.

Reply to
Marvin
Loading thread data ...

Thermostat could be sticking

JOhn

Reply to
John

Debate: Thermostats are pretty pointless ?. Can't we just do without them ? Or would the price of being cold for 5 minutes be just too much to cope with ?

Reply to
antonyf

The message from "antonyf" contains these words:

They're not just about warming up. At motorway speeds the cooling system capacity is vastly over-rated - not a lot of throttle and loads of airflow. Conversely, sitting stationary in traffic, or pulling a load up a long steep hill and it may be working flat out for some time. Without a thermostat the engine temperature would fluctuate wildly, which leads to all sorts of problems, not least of which is accelerated problems with thermal stress - like head gaskets going more often.

Reply to
Guy King

Other instrumants ok? If not perhaps a voltage regulator problem?

Reply to
CWatters

For the price of a thermostat I would get that replaced or better still get it looked at. I found out the hard way and blew the head gasket! Overheating is a serious matter and you might not be lucky.

----why don't temperature gauges have audible alarms? (maybe not allowed due to distraction?). You have to be pretty quick to spot it going into the red---and worse still, back to normal when all the water has gone. That happened to me so my first 'alarm' was steam from the bonnet on the M1 fast lane. (I dropped the throttle shifted to neutral and coasted to the hard shoulder, but still blew the head gasket).

Reply to
The Blue Frog

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.