Low temp gauge and Luke warm heat.

[9755]

As the title says, my cars temp gauge doesn't get above maybe quarter the way up. Not even when it's in the 60°s. It does have heat to keep windows defrosted and such. But it rarely ever gets past the first few lines on the gauge. I've recently did a new thermostat and complete coolant flush. But that didn't help. No engine light or stores codes. I've had the car 3 years and it's been like this each winter.

The temp gauge does reach the middle mark during the summer. If that helps.

I'm not sure if maybe my coolant to water ratio is off, or if you guys think this is a blend door issue.

We just did the same to my gfs alh golf. And her car has great heat. Temp gauge goes to the middle.

Any ideas on where to look is greatly appreciated as always.

 

[9755]

And even blocking the grill and vents hasnt helped any.

 

[Nero Morg]

Almost sounds like your water pump is pumping slowly. Do you have a scanner you can go drive and watch your actual coolant Temps with? The dash gauge is just a dummy gauge, it won't read accurate... Practically ever. It's more of a "yes coolant is changing temperature" needle.

 

[jayb79]

Check your coolant temp with a meat thermometer in the tank after a good long drive with the heat off or at low speed(the return flow into the tank should be 180F). That will help to determine if the stat is working correctly. The dash gauge is not accurate, it goes to the normal position when the temp is around 130-140f and stays there until it gets over 225f.

 

[9755]

I can check in a day or so if my scanner will monitor anything on the car. I hadn't considered that to be a culprit. As that was changed roughly 20k miles ago with timing belt obviously. But I will look into that.

 

[9755]

I will check the temp with a thermometer as well. Great ideas guys

 

[jayb79]

I have had them go bad in fewer miles, easy to check.

 

[jakej78b]

Maybe it is the coolant glow plugs. There are 3 of them on the right side of the engine right above where the engine and the transmission meet.

 

[Tdijarhead]

If you can monitor the temperature with a scan gauge of some kind that would be great. Vcds, elm whatever, obdeleven or any other scanner that will read the actual temperature. As was pointed out the cluster gauge is inaccurate. The needle will reach the vertical position at 164* and stay in that same position till at least 220*.

The likely cause of the needle not reaching vertical is a failing thermostat or a cheap junk thermostat. Idparts has an oem, but they are not $5 like you find on amazon or eBay.

Thermostat [OEM](A4)(A3)(B4)

Thermostat for A3, A4 and B4 & B5 chassis cars. Includes the O-ring seal. You may also want to order the thermostat housing as these frequently break when removed. OEM VW, will work with lockin...

www.idparts.com

 

[GottaTDI]

As the title says, my cars temp gauge doesn't get above maybe quarter the way up. Not even when it's in the 60°s. It does have heat to keep windows defrosted and such. But it rarely ever gets past the first few lines on the gauge. I've recently did a new thermostat and complete coolant flush. But that didn't help. No engine light or stores codes. I've had the car 3 years and it's been like this each winter.

The temp gauge does reach the middle mark during the summer. If that helps.

I'm not sure if maybe my coolant to water ratio is off, or if you guys think this is a blend door issue.

We just did the same to my gfs alh golf. And her car has great heat. Temp gauge goes to the middle.

Any ideas on where to look is greatly appreciated as always.

Sounds like the egr valve is disconnected / not working. When the egr system is working the exhaust gases are cooled by a heat exchanger that adds heat to the coolant. Cheers

 

[9755]

That very well could be. The egr is connected but non functioning from the tune.

 

[csstevej]

Follow what TDIjarhead recommended.....it’s gonna be the thermostat......get an OEM one along with a new coolant pipe
( the tangs that hold the thermostat in the pipe usually break off ) will fix your issue.
Usually when these fail they fail to the open side resulting in a cool engine... I’ve had a couple fail this way, just recently had one fail the other way ....was getting warmer than normal , but that was gradual over 3 months.
I monitor my temps with a scan gauge II installed , it’s a lot more accurate than that garbage in the cluster. Just my .02.

 

[turbodieseldyke]

I monitor my temps with a scan gauge II installed , it’s a lot more accurate than that garbage in the cluster.

Can also use a cheapo OBD adapter with the Torque app on your phone.

 

[9755]

I have vagcom. I will check it out

 

[Wilkins]

Suggest bypassing your EGR cooler if it is not functioning. The cooler is immediately upstream of the heater so will cool the coolant leaving the head before it gets to the heater core. The bigger line can be bypassed through a plumbing fitting. For the smaller line I ran a new heater hose (5/16 IIRC) from the head to the fitting in the top rad hose.

 

[JB05]

Sounds like a faulty coolant temperature sensor. Has it ever been upgraded from black to green?