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      02-26-2013, 09:19 AM   #1
Yeltzer
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Oil temp gauge never 'tops out'

Hi all

In 9 months ownership I have never ever had the oil temp gauge read smack on the '12 noon' marker (100 from memory in UK spec). It gets very near but has never actually read 'exactly' what the 'normal' oil temp should be.

As I have OCD over this type of thing, should I be concerned or have I just got a duff needle in the display?

Cheers all

Yeltzer
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      02-26-2013, 10:28 AM   #2
HighlandPete
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yeltzer View Post
Hi all

In 9 months ownership I have never ever had the oil temp gauge read smack on the '12 noon' marker (100 from memory in UK spec). It gets very near but has never actually read 'exactly' what the 'normal' oil temp should be.

As I have OCD over this type of thing, should I be concerned or have I just got a duff needle in the display?

Cheers all

Yeltzer
Why do you think it should be right on 100C ? The gauge is not damped to my knowledge, (certainly not in my 535i) so will be fluctuating according to load and heat in the engine. Many ECT (coolant) gauges are damped to sit in mid position, even if the actual temperature is up and down in the 'normal' range.

My car has a 120C mid marking on the oil temperature gauge, I've never seen that as 'the' running temperature. Even in 15C ambient last autumn, it still never went much more than 110C even on the motorway. Typically runs around 105 - 110C range on the digital readout, matches the gauge position exactly.

We run a VW Caravelle TDI with a digital oil temperature gauge and that is so varied in normal driving, massively affected by ambient temperature and engine load. Can drop back as well, if ambient temperature is cold enough. In the Caravelle the other evening at subo zero ambient and even after 12 miles it was struggling to hold a decent oil temperature, dropped back to low 70's as soon as we slowed into the village. The engine had only been stopped a couple of hours after running most of the day, but still couldn't get to 'normal' running temperatures in 12 miles. We've had several VW Caravelles and they are all the same, (often running below 100C on the oil, around 90C ECT), so no issues with faulty parts. Get on the motorway and a decent load aboard and it will run at about 106C.

HighlandPete

Last edited by HighlandPete; 02-26-2013 at 10:37 AM..
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      02-26-2013, 10:59 AM   #3
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"Normal" depends on outside temp; we've had a few -30C days where my needle would barely go over 70C even after 45 minutes of highway!

I've had days where the needle would go over 120C just a tad, but those days were again extremes; 40C & extra dry.
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      02-27-2013, 05:53 AM   #4
Yeltzer
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So basically nothing to worry about and I'm just being anal! Thanks all
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