Technical Fiat Marea 1.6 Dashboard Temperature Guage/Thermostat (Working?)

[MrMigs08]

Hey guys quick question really,

Ive noticed the temp dial on the dash doesnt really lift off the bottom when driving around at constant speeds without stopping and starting all the time, but can lift off when stood idling. I replaced my coolant the other week and its still acting the same. I also don't think its the thermostat but can't be sure, any advice on how to check?

Its starting to worry me a bit, car doesnt act like its overheating or smell particularly strange although from time to time there is the odd smell that i don't recognise.

Any help would be appreciated guys, on my last car the guage would just rest in center of the dials, this is my first fiat and hopefully i'm not killing it :/

Cheers
Migs

 

[johnson550]

You may not have bled it properly when you replaced the coolant.

 

[MrMigs08]

Hmm was letting air out for over an hour and a half, however i think the coolant only accepted 6 litres but may also have been water left over in the system. The symptoms suggest a stuck open thermostat which can be bad because the car apparently thinks its still cold so running in the cold conditions, more fuel higher idle (100 to 200 rpm higher iirc), aparently it could cause cat damage, and i still have water coming from exhaust but not much, fuel economy is terrible but i just reset the ecu (well battery out for a night).

 

[Hellcat]

Check thermostat by starting the car and getting it upto temp. Keep checking the temp of the hose to the radiator. When the car gets to near the correct temp it should open the thermostat and release water to the radiator to cool. When it does this you should notice the pipe change quickly to hot.

If the pipe gradually warms up from cold, the thermostat is stuck open and the radiator is always in the circuit - thus the car never gets upto temp.

 

[MrMigs08]

Thanks Helcat, yeah its a stuck open thermostat alright, i think coolant temp sensor is working fine and im sure the radiator temp activation sensor/solenoid is functioning on the fan too so i don't think its overheating or anything. Car gets up to temp when stood still though! what could a stuck open thermostat do? can it cause damage? i like to open up my car sometimes is that bad? i hear the cat can suffer from overfueling because the car thinks its cold, dont know if its legit though.

Think i will try a scrap yard thermostat housing, 10 quid he said so what could go wrong!

 

[bluejohn125]

Open thermostat won't do any harm, only give the symptoms you've seen (won't warm up or run properly in autumn/winter).

Just buy a new thermostat (plus gasket), should be a very simple swap now you've figured out the refilling and bleeding procedure. Hopefully you won't lose too much new coolant...

 

[MrMigs08]

Open thermostat won't do any harm, only give the symptoms you've seen (won't warm up or run properly in autumn/winter).

Just buy a new thermostat (plus gasket), should be a very simple swap now you've figured out the refilling and bleeding procedure. Hopefully you won't lose too much new coolant...

Think i've a leaky no2 injector too hahaha, sometimes it seems to unstick partially, another thing ive noticed is that when i turn the car off and leave it for 5 minutes is i can come back with a higher temperature when i put key in ignition, almost as if pressure/something else is wrong but i also have a small rad leak somewhere, so far car has been running great though¬!