cszjrh Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Hopefully a very simple quick question. Running an XE. At motorway speeds at the weekend it was reading 88C and when I was following another car this rose to 92C but then quickly fell back when I got into clean air again. My car has a digital dash in it that seems to have had the "high water temperature warning" set to 90C so it was alerting me every time this happened. This seems too low to me and I'd have expected this to be set around 98C. Anyone got a view on this before I change it? Cheers, John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Yep, too low IMO, even at 98C - I'd set it to 100C before a panic your off warning kicked in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Yeah I'd set the high warning somewhere higher than where the fan kicks in, otherwise it's not a warning, just an annoyance haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cszjrh Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Great, thanks. Thought I'd check to be 100% sure before changing it. Now to find the manual.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue ass fly Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I seem to remember vauxhall fans switching in at 105 so your way too low Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu999 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 But it is also worth checking the calibration of your digital dash too, as these are usually 'user configurable', and can sometimes be way off the mark either way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cszjrh Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Yeah I did wonder about that. How would I go about it checking it ? I've checked it correctly reads ambient temperature when the engine is cold so is it as simple as unbolting the sender and bunging it in a pot of boiling water to check the top end of the range? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I seem to remember vauxhall fans switching in at 105 so your way too low Possibly, but that's a bit too high for an XE these days. I can perhaps see why it's been done, but it is a shade low, you certainly don't want the warning coming on before the fan! Otherwise you'll just teach yourself to ignore the warning. It's not uncommon to see XE's using the 95º/88º fan switch, rather than the 100º/95º switch more often used with newer Ford engines in Westfields. XE's particularly now they're getting on, really don't like getting too hot. So it's fairly normal to give yourself a little more safety margin with the lower rated switch. This dovetales nicely with the fairly low temp stats that many owners use, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Mine normally shows 90deg. on the gauge (88deg. thermostat) in normal road conditions in summer and the fan switch comes on at 92deg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue ass fly Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 See if you can borrow a laser thermometer Run it up to temp and point the laser at the sender area and see what it reads I used this method when one came back after a head job roadtest - supposedly overheating Temp gauge in the red,engine was 60degrees Choice of sender and i had the wrong one 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Yep, might not be quite the same reading, but it should tell you if you're way out or getting silly figures. Very helpful diagnostic tools those IR thermometers. (Also good for finding out just how cold the garage is!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 See if you can borrow a laser thermometer Run it up to temp and point the laser at the sender area and see what it reads I used this method when one came back after a head job roadtest - supposedly overheating Temp gauge in the red,engine was 60degrees Choice of sender and i had the wrong one Same as me, had the Vauxhall sender instead of the correct VDO one. Sussed with the IR Thermometer as well, worth their weight in gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrie Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 A friend has had this problem, with the gauge hitting 100/why weren't the fans coming on etc These gauges can often be far from accurate, so always get a second opinion - this one was only running at 80. I'm more worried that by following another car the temperature rises. Assuming you were on a relatively light throttle, the thermostat should keep it at a constant temperature, unless the cooling system is at the limit of being to cope - there should still be enough airflow (just how close were you) Having said that there are some progressive thermostats (SBD?) that start opening at about 70, to prevent the sudden rush of cold water into the head when it opens. You might have one of those Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2rrr Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Same as Sooty sport. My fan operates at 90-92'C and off at 88'C, I have a lower temp stat fitted at 82'C your temps seem normal to me for an XE. I would set the alarm temp just a little higher say 95'C as you will get spurious alarms otherwise, which are just normal. This is in case the fan doesn't kick in and you are stood still. When moving my fan doesn't operate generally. Infra red thermometers are not that accurate as they rely on emissivity (surface colour and ability to give out heat). Hope that helps Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Hmmm emissivity, is that a real word? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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