this goes out to all volvo drivers past or present.
the temp gauge - mine appears not to go over half way! it starts at zero heats up as norm and will not go above half way mark even when the fans kick in, seems much hotter than gauge says, any help ideas welcome....coz im freaking out thinking im gonna blow car up, coz the heat from my coolant bottle is hot potatoes!!!!
2006-09-27 09:15:21 · 11 answers · asked by bazabee2001 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Volvo
All eleven Volvos I have owned never warmed up past the halfway mark on the temp gauge. Yes, they seem to be running very hot but that's the nature of Volvo engines. If you are in doubt, change the thermostat. This very inexpensive item can cause all sorts of problems if it fails. They normally fail open and allow the engine to run cooler than normal, the only consequence of that being the engine management computer on later models will compensate with an improper fuel mixture. If the thermostat fails in the closed position, the engine will overheat quickly. That means a rapid death for some later aluminum alloy engines. Your car is probably just fine.
2006-09-27 10:06:49 · answer #1 · answered by Arthur O 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, what model Volvo do you have? If you have an older Volvo, say early-90's or older, Volvo purposefully designed the temp. gauge to maintain the needle at the halfway point to not freak the driver out over small changes in the gauge reading. So in other words, while the car is fully warmed up and on, the needle will NOT move and stay at a constant halfway mark indication in the gauge. Only if the temperature gets significantly hotter than it should will the gauge needle increase over the halfway mark to show the true indication.
Older Fords are a good example of why Volvo made their temp. gauges function in this way. I was used to driving Volvos, with the temp. needle always halfway in the gauge while driving. Well, for a short period I owned a Ford Taurus. The temp. gauge had a large degree of fluctuation while driving the car. It made me really REALLY nervous at times to be stopping in hot summer traffic and see the needle increasing and increasing more and more, going above the halfway mark, to then hear the cooling fan kick on and the needle visibly drop down to less than the half mark. This is normal operation for a lot of vehicles, but Volvo wanted their driver's to be at more peace while driving. So they designed the gauge to reach and maintain a halfway indication, NOT showing the slight changes in temperature that are normal. To only show the temp. while the car warms up and when it is a dire situation and the car is truly overheating. If you notice, the red range of the gauge is very small, maybe the last 1/16th of the gauge at the hot end.
2006-09-27 17:41:34 · answer #2 · answered by palebeachbum 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If a car overheats at any point, sometimes the sensors can get warped and give false readings. My Volvo, while it worked never went above half way, and if a car goes all the way to the top your in trouble!! The time to worry actually is when the engine has been running a while but isn't giving off a tremendous amount of heat. This can mean it isn't radiating th heat away fast enough and that the inside of your engine may only be prevented from melting by the pressures on it!! This is particularly true on 6+ cylinder engines.
2006-09-27 17:39:06 · answer #3 · answered by Bealzebub 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most of the other answers have helpful comments.
I would add two points:-
1) The temperature gauge is not a precision or accurate device
2) Engines are at their most efficient when the coolant is just below boiling point.
Have it checked out if it is worrying you - try a Volvo specialist rather than an official dealer if you want to cut costs.
If you are in the UK, check out www.honestjohn.co.uk You will find recommended specialists for many different makes etc
I hope this helps.
2006-09-27 17:12:06 · answer #4 · answered by aarcue 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Surely the temp gauge records engine or cylinder head temp and the radiator fan is triggered by radiator temp, the thermostat keeps the engine from overheating by dumping heat into the radiator so if all works well the gauge will go up to normal,
It is good practice for the radiator fan to cut in before the temp which would show up as overheating on the gauge.
It is fine
Quit worrying
2006-09-27 16:26:18 · answer #5 · answered by "Call me Dave" 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dont worry ECU controls the fan operation by coolant temp sensor..
the car is overheating if two things....
#1 gauge is over 3/4 range..
#2 coolant loss/or check eng light on...
dont freak...if you go to a volvo repair with a VST they can read the
coolant temps with the scan tool ( ONLY volvo techs) they obdII
will not work...dont worry
2006-09-27 17:08:38 · answer #6 · answered by candiesman05 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's either a faulty guage, or a faulty temperature sender in the head. Having said that, neither may be faulty, and the temperature you see is the real temperature. The vast majority of temp.gauges fitted to cars are just there to give a rough idea of what is happening. If you want to really know then check the temperatures at various points on the engine and radiator with a laser-pointer thermometer.
2006-09-27 16:47:49 · answer #7 · answered by Phish 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your proud to own a Volvo ! Dear, oh bloody dear !
2006-09-27 16:23:46 · answer #8 · answered by dontdoweekends 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try going to auto electrician to have this checked out
2006-09-27 16:32:20 · answer #9 · answered by agnes d 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
replace the thermometer,
mayyyyybe the guage is the problem but i doubt it
the thermometer is a cheap fix, so bring it in to your local shop and it should be no problem
2006-09-27 16:23:01 · answer #10 · answered by Franklin G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋