is this normal?

[Russie]

hi guys, this pic was taken during a cold morning *cloudy like wanna rain*was travelling along nkve then... wonder if this is normal for such weather? coz the water temperature gauge shows slightly below the middle mark. Anyone of u experienced this b4? pls share. thanks

 

[bmw7833]

Look normal there..But..noticed that ur seat mate kaput oledi ler..

 

[Russie]

ah? looks normal meh? i was afraid the engine was too cold
yeah my airbag light is on... the mechanic said the error code cannot be erased. have to change something...i hope it is not the seat belt tensioner

 

[bmw7833]

Can be confirm using the computer checking unit ma..

 

[bmw7833]

One more thing..too cold is better than too hot ler..

If too hot, ur engine will gone..

 

[Russie]

hehe ok thanks mate. i will send in for oil change service soon, maybe then will really check through everything

 

[meetoo]

Too cold can also mean engine oil is not flowing enough and engine will gone too. It look ok Russie, but should check your temp sensor. It may be kaput and giving inaccurate reading ler.

 

[Mont-o]

temp. look normal to me.....cold morning what. Our ball also shrink during cold morning

 

[leforte]

meetoo,

first of all, if the engine oil is not flowing enough or in correct term low oil pressure, the moving part would be HEATING up, ( not cooling down as you stated) all due to the friction of moving parts cause by a lack of lubrication, and in the end seizing all together.

secondly, the engine would in most case seize first before your temperature gauge even measures a overheated reading in the RED.

Russie,

check on your thermostat, as a fail safe design, its set to fail in a open setting, thus depressurizing your cooling system. the cooling system would still function BUT at a lower optimum temperature. thats the reason why your reading is less than normal. Have it check by a mech.

 

[meetoo]

I know that leforte. Just countering BMW7833 comment that too cold is better than too hot. Too cold is also bad, maybe even worse. BTW, where did I state that the moving part will cool down instead? That's putting word in my mouth mah!

The main thing is the thermostat may have failed as you correctly said, and that need to be checked.

 

[mafia1118]

cool

hi guys, this pic was taken during a cold morning *cloudy like wanna rain*
was travelling along nkve then... wonder if this is normal for such weather? coz the water temperature gauge shows slightly below the middle mark. Anyone of u experienced this b4? pls share. thanks

it's normal.. it can happen also if u drive in the higway at rainy night mean ur system is OK

 

[ICEMAN 68]

i believe .. the only way is just pop up the hood and check the engine oil heat ...
If it's hot then it's OK. you have to touch it with ya fingers to determine the heat ....if it's cold ..never came across that yet ...

 

[6099]

Too cold becos thermostat is stuck open (if it indeed is) can't be a good thing.

Let's say u are coasting downhill for a long time or encounter cool ambient temp (like a sunless gloomy rainy day) your radiator is getting rid of more heat than the engine can produce, so sensors will read as engine not warmed up to operating temp and will increase fuel volume. So ur mileage may suffer. Furthermore stuck open thermostat means engine takes a longer to warm up, same goes for the engine oil. Cold engine oil is not good! In the long run, accelerated wear and tear.

ok hope I am helpful. BMW noobie talking, but at least that's the universal theory.

 

[LCP]

Russie's case is normal I guess. My temp needle will always drop slightly from the usual rock steady position whenever I go downhill after the Menora tunnels on North South Expressway near Ipoh.

By the way, the E36 owner's manual did mention that the "allowed" operating area is anywhere in between the blue and the red zones.

 

[meetoo]

"Allowed" doesn't mean good in the long run. An engine that running even slightly below optimum operating temp is having increase wear of all moving part like valves, piston rings and bearings. Once the car is at operating temp, the temp needle shouldn't move at all if the temp sensor or thermostat is working well and regulating the coolant flow and cooling fan correctly.

A thermostat has a fixed life span of about 3 years and is a renewable item like the spark plugs and shock absorbers. If you see the needle fluctuating up or down from rock steady often, it's time to check it and replace if needed.

 

[selespeed]

"Allowed" doesn't mean good in the long run. An engine that running even slightly below optimum operating temp is having increase wear of all moving part like valves, piston rings and bearings. Once the car is at operating temp, the temp needle shouldn't move at all if the temp sensor or thermostat is working well and regulating the coolant flow and cooling fan correctly.

A thermostat has a fixed life span of about 3 years and is a renewable item like the spark plugs and shock absorbers. If you see the needle fluctuating up or down from rock steady often, it's time to check it and replace if needed.

i don't think what you said is true. and how is it that running even SLIGHTLY below optimum temperature would increase wear? on a cool rainy day, the steady temperature would drop and does that mean there is more wear?
care to explain?

fixed life span of about 3 years for a thermostat? so BMW has to change this thing after 3 years for new owners? did you make this up yourself?
i have had mine for more than 4 years and in previous cars more than 8 years and no problem. and yes, the thermostat is working... when the fan failed to work last week, the temperature immediately went up!

 

[meetoo]

selespeed, I'm only telling what I've read before about this things. Of course many people, including me, don't change things like shock absorber and thermostat until they breakdown and that can be even +10 years. But that don't mean that they operating at optimum efficiency. In fact the optimum lifespan of a shock absorber is supposed to be 2 years! You can check on the internet.

Tolerances of engine wearing part are designed for specific operating temperatures. Of course operating above or below for short time span is okay and expected like in start up period. But if continuous and LONG RUN your wear rate will be faster.

On a cool rainy day, your thermostat would shut if working optimally and as you said, the temp will immediately go up. If not working optimally, the temp will stay slightly low lah....

 

[meetoo]

i have had mine for more than 4 years and in previous cars more than 8 years and no problem. and yes, the thermostat is working... when the fan failed to work last week, the temperature immediately went up!

By the way, how you conclude that your thermostat is working when your fan fail to work? The thermostat is what regulate the water pump and start/stop the fan. So if your fan failed to work, then either the fan motor is kaput or....the thermostat. Maybe you confiuse with the temperature guage?

 

[khisham]

It's NOT normal !

hi guys, this pic was taken during a cold morning *cloudy like wanna rain*
was travelling along nkve then... wonder if this is normal for such weather? coz the water temperature gauge shows slightly below the middle mark. Anyone of u experienced this b4? pls share. thanks

...send the UMD for service (hopefully to AB) & it could be one of the following:

1. Leaking coolant line; whereby it's a matter of time before the engine redlines, your car will overheat & exacerbate the damage

2. Radiator leaking; same type of damage...

3. Fan not working; same as above damage...

4. The 'air bag' indicator could be looked at, at the same time but the sensors near the fan could have 'logically thought' you had an 'accident' (hopefully not), causing the damaged fan (if so) & set off the indicator to replace the bag...

...make the service visit, very, very soon before the dial moves toward the red...

 

[meetoo]

Huh?? How you arrive at all these theory?