running temperature ?

[dapinky]

..... which leads me to wonder whether S2s on the whole run a little cooler.

Probably because they are the 'Eco' version, with low power

[Simon_P]

Just about any modern car has a non linear temperature gauge. What you are looking for is consistency.
So long as the reading is the same when the thermostat opens and when the fans come on it matters no what it reads. It doesn't do anything.

Kathryn,
So that the temp and fuel gages give consistent readings they are fed by a voltage stabiliser which provides a constant 10 volts. If this drifts for example only providing 9v then gauges will be consistent but correspondingly lower.
Both gauges reading lower is a strong pointer towards the voltage stabiliser. There is a write-up somewhere that says how to check and change and it gives the generic part number. Only a couple of quid but but it might not be worth the bother if you are OK with it as is.

[Kathryn]

Yes that's not what I meant, I did understand you needle moves but you said it's mostly under the 1/4, which seems a bit low compared to my car (and most of the cars here if I am not wrong).
So if I were you I would check the actual running temperature with elanscan just to be sure.
(In any case, nothing to worry about since a thermostat is a really cheap item.)

Sorry Giniw, I misunderstood.
I'm not saying there isn't something wrong and I probably ought to get it checked.
Just driven home from work and I noticed before I started the car the needle is under the very bottom mark to start with. With such small increments this would make a difference to the reading I guess - I also thought if you are taller and looking at the gauge from a higher angle the needle will look higher!! I actually think I have an invoice for a thermostat in the previous owner's paperwork so it may already have been replaced.

Simon P, it is certainly consistent and that's why I wasn't worried.

Sorry Jeff, my seemingly innocent comment seems to have taken over your thread!

[Rambo]

Actually Kathryn, if you're taller and looking down at the needle it will appear lower

You are relatively wee and will be looking at the needle from a different angle so the temp gauge will appear higher than it actually is

What we really need is for El Geordie to develop a digital temperature gauge and then it won't matter what angle we view it from

Group buy anyone ?

1. Dico (3)
2. Monty (1)
3. Ex Exige (Jackodicko) 1
4. TrueBlue (count me in for 6, just in case)

[Saltire]

What we really need is for El Geordie to develop a digital temperature gauge and then it won't matter what angle we view it from

I seem to remember that at one stage Our Spanish Correspondent was developing a piece of electrickery which linearised the relationship between gauge and sender; I never did hear if it went any further . . .

[Saltire]

Here’s the original thread: forum.lotuselancentral.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=23199&hilit=Lineariser#p292405

[Rambo]

What we really need is for El Geordie to develop a digital temperature gauge and then it won't matter what angle we view it from

I seem to remember that at one stage Our Spanish Correspondent was developing a piece of electrickery which linearised the relationship between gauge and sender; I never did hear if it went any further . . .

I think Espana got in the way. Oh, and the old heart deciding it was going to play funny buggers

[jeffreyt]

Kathryn,no problem,I have found all the comments really interesting.
When I get time I think I will take out the thermostat and test it just for my peace of mind.Looks an easy job.

[Giniw]

You don't really need to take it out, it's very visible with elanscan on the water temperature curve when it's opening.

[woodcock]

John, the wiring diagram steered me in the right directions as did the other advice. First checked the cooling fan relay it was OK. Than pulled the wire cap off the cooling fan temp switch, grounded the cap and with the ignition on the fans came on, with the ignition off the cooling pump came on. So ordered a new switch.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Good to know. Good Luck with the new car.

[RonR]

Woodcock - A word of warning - Echoed from various Gurus on here....

The CTS has a tapered thread - Make sure the thread in the Thermostat housing is clear of crud and don't over-tighten the new sensor as the housings are easy to crack and new or even second-hand ones are as rare as rocking horse poo.

Cheers,
Ron

[woodcock]

Ron R Thanks for the advice. Someone else also mentioned this & recommended using green plumbers tape on the threads so as not to require "torquing" too tight.
(trying to increase my message inputs to graduate out of newbie status)
Ron

[RonR]

Hi Ron - Great name, by the way.....

Edit: Just realised you're not changing the Coolant Temperature Sensor (CTS) but the Coolant Fan Switch - which doesn't have a tapered thread AFAIK.

I wouldn't use PTFE tape as it's a very good electrical insulator, and you need the fan switch to earth through the housing. There are some thread sealers available which conduct electricity for just such situations.

Cheers,
Ron

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Ron is replacing his original switch with one of Rodney Dickman units that has a separate ground/earth.

The pictures make it look to be tapered. I have not looked closely at one.

[French_elans]

Hello,

I read this thread and want to share the strange behavior of my car :

When I start, the temp gauge needle reach exactly the first mark : wonderful, everything seems to be fine.
I take the highway, drive 2 or more hours : still ok on the first mark.
Then I stop, go rest, take a coffe... and restart...
At the same speed the needle go through the first mark and stabilized 2mm above the first mark... I can drive 2hours the needle never go back to the first mark.

Do you you have any ideas what could leads to this behavior?

FE

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Possible causes:

Bad Temp Sensor
Bad Temp Gauge
Bad Voltage Stabilizer (but then your Fuel Gauge would be way off as well).
No Thermostat?

I suppose it is possible someone changed the sensor and used Teflon tape or gasket sealer to keep it from leaking and that could change the earthing of the switch.
The picture below and the circuit diagram suggests that the sensor has an earth wire going directly to it as well as the feed wire to the gauge, so earthing may not be a concern.
However, if that is the case, make sure the BLACK wire has a good connection to earth.
A Test light /volt meter can confirm that. Sorry, I am too far from my car to verify the earth wire situation.

Identify/locate the temp sender, connect the Yellow/Black wire to earth and watch the gauge with the key on. It should go full scale.

Coolant_SensorSenderSwitch.jpg

You will want to lower the coolant level first so everything doesn't get everything wet.

[Steve A]

I took the car for a nice A road drive yesterday and thought that the temperature looked lower than it usually is ?
If the car sat in traffic it would go up as expected and drop again when moving.
The level of the coolant in the header tank went up but I would consider that normal as it would go back down as it cooled off.
The header cap was hissing a bit but not letting by.
Today I noticed the coolant had dropped below where it had started yesterday with no signs of a leak.
I started the car and felt the radiator top hose from the thermostat, it felt warm almost straight away? I would have thought it would remain
cold for a longer period then as the thermostat opens it would get a rush of heat.
I wanting to use ElanScan to check this out but that's a whole different story.
I intend to change the thermostat and header cap a a precautionary measure, what with the big weekend coming up.

Just to top things off I decided to take it for a spin before putting it to bed and as I returned the bonnet prop the holding clip snapped

[theelanman]

http://wikilec.com/view/CTS

[Steve A]

:? I took the car for a nice A road drive yesterday and thought that the temperature looked lower than it usually is ?
If the car sat in traffic it would go up as expected and drop again when moving.
The level of the coolant in the header tank went up but I would consider that normal as it would go back down as it cooled off.
The header cap was hissing a bit but not letting by.
Today I noticed the coolant had dropped below where it had started yesterday with no signs of a leak.
I started the car and felt the radiator top hose from the thermostat, it felt warm almost straight away? I would have thought it would remain
cold for a longer period then as the thermostat opens it would get a rush of heat.
I wanting to use ElanScan to check this out but that's a whole different story.
I intend to change the thermostat and header cap a a precautionary measure, what with the big weekend coming up.

Just to top things off I decided to take it for a spin before putting it to bed and as I returned the bonnet prop the holding clip snapped

With the thermostat and header cap replaced the gauge now reads at just under the 1/4 moving in traffic.
Feeling the rad top hose starting the engine from cold, it now takes about 7 minutes before any heat is felt and as you would expect it then gets hot quickly.
So the thermostat was faulty.