If your A2 starts to overheat in this weather

Birchall

Birchall

Dick Chown Award 2016
Hi

our great little A2s seem to be able to handle excessively high outside temperatures in traffic jams.

But if your radiator fan is not at its best or has failed it can be a nightmare when the temperature needle climbs above 90 and you are stuck in a traffic jam.

This is happened to me during the last hot spell. The outside temperature was showing 41 degrees and the traffic was crawling. Suddenly the needle started to rise above 90 and hit 100.

First reaction was to switch the engine off but it can be very difficult to restart a very hot engine.

The other option is to switch the heater to full (yes full heat in 40degrees outside). The secret is to switch the blower to the vents, close off the centre Ines and direct the side Ines straight out of the open windows.

The temperature then comes down quite quickly (as long as the problem wasn't a coolant loss) and I was able to stay in the traffic jam for as long as needed.

There were many newish cars on the hard shoulder with steam coming out of the bonnet. But my A2 was fine and stayed at 90 degrees for the rest of the jam.

Yes, it was warm in the car but very bearable.

It turns out that it was a totally failed radiator fan, which would normally mean a disaster in these situations.

I hope nobody ever needs this tip but it does help prevent a nightmare scenario and also prevents any engine damage or blown coolant pipes!!

Steve B
 
I had the same problem with my last A2 Steve, it had seized and I had to get it replaced. Before it got sorted my temps used to rise in traffic but ok when moving.
Not cheap fix.
Regards Spud
 
I've used the Heater On Full Blast trick on old muscle cars in the states before...

finger at the ready the moment gauge gets above 90...

by the way, is 90 normal operating temp? I've read others are 70...
 
I had to do this in my old classic mini.

Felt ridiculous pumping hot air into the car at the height of summer! Did the trick though.

But I have to say, I couldn't direct the heat out of the windows in that one. Couldn't wait to get out of traffic and get a breeze going.
 
OldSchool said:
I've used the Heater On Full Blast trick on old muscle cars in the states before...

finger at the ready the moment gauge gets above 90...

by the way, is 90 normal operating temp? I've read others are 70...
Click to expand...


90 is the right operating temperature, if you are showing 70 the chances are that your thermostat may be on the way out or possibly the temperature sender.

Steve B
 
OldSchool said:
I've used the Heater On Full Blast trick on old muscle cars in the states before...

finger at the ready the moment gauge gets above 90...

by the way, is 90 normal operating temp? I've read others are 70...
Click to expand...

That is how I learned the trick, only in american V8s over here.

My 8 litre London taxi (Chevy 502 ci V8) used to boil faster than a kettle and this was the only way to keep it from blowing !!

Steve B
 
Birchall said:
90 is the right operating temperature, if you are showing 70 the chances are that your thermostat may be on the way out or possibly the temperature sender.

Steve B
Click to expand...

Tbh my TDI runs around 75 in normal operation. Are you saying this could be an issue?
 
cheechy said:
Tbh my TDI runs around 75 in normal operation. Are you saying this could be an issue?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily anything to worry about but the needle should be a steady 90 once warm.

So something is wrong but it doesn't need addressing urgently or anything.

If it is the thermostat, your engine is just running slightly cooler than it should be, but nothing major to worry about.
If it is just the sender, then it is probably worth replacing it because a second circuit in the sender "tells" the ECU the engine temperature and so it needs ot be correct ideally.

I currently have exactly that issue, reading 70 to 75, but I am not rushing to do anything.

Steve B
 
I've changed the sender - still 75. The thermostat swap 'looks' easy on the guide. Bet it isn't!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Pinky,
This is potentially costing you money in terms of fuel used, I say possibly because the temp sender unit as two circuits, one feeds the gauge on the dash, the other the ECU
If the ECU is getting a reading of less than 87 deg C then it will select one of the cold running fuelling maps, there are 8 fuelling maps in total and each one (from cold to hot) uses progressively less fuel.
Therefore if the ECU is told the temp is < 87 deg it select the next to lowest fuelling map instead of the lowest fuelling map

Now in if the engine is actually up to 90 deg normal operating temp then the selection of the incorrect fuelling map will cause excess fuelling and potentially some bore wash (but not likely if just one fuelling map out), it will also cause more black smoke/pollution and will cost you more visits to the diesel pump

in summary if the thermostat is opening to seen and therefore the temp reading on the dash is correct then are wasting fuel money, if the engine is actually running at 90 deg and the temp feed to the ECU is <87 deg C you are waisting fuel money, only if the ecu is seeing 90 deg c AND the engine is running at 90 Deg C are you not wasting money, if the engine is at 70 deg C and the ECU is seeing 90 deg (unlikely) then the engine is running under fuelled and will therefore be down on power / drive ability

Sorry this was a little wordy :)

Cheers,
 
depronman said:
Pinky,
This is potentially costing you money in terms of fuel used, I say possibly because the temp sender unit as two circuits, one feeds the gauge on the dash, the other the ECU
If the ECU is getting a reading of less than 87 deg C then it will select one of the cold running fuelling maps, there are 8 fuelling maps in total and each one (from cold to hot) uses progressively less fuel.
Therefore if the ECU is told the temp is < 87 deg it select the next to lowest fuelling map instead of the lowest fuelling map

Now in if the engine is actually up to 90 deg normal operating temp then the selection of the incorrect fuelling map will cause excess fuelling and potentially some bore wash (but not likely if just one fuelling map out), it will also cause more black smoke/pollution and will cost you more visits to the diesel pump

in summary if the thermostat is opening to seen and therefore the temp reading on the dash is correct then are wasting fuel money, if the engine is actually running at 90 deg and the temp feed to the ECU is <87 deg C you are waisting fuel money, only if the ecu is seeing 90 deg c AND the engine is running at 90 Deg C are you not wasting money, if the engine is at 70 deg C and the ECU is seeing 90 deg (unlikely) then the engine is running under fuelled and will therefore be down on power / drive ability

Sorry this was a little wordy :)

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Thanks Buddy,

I've asked my local garage twice to replace them when the car's been in for other work and they keep forgetting (despite my written itemised list - yes, in that guy!) and just saying 'you don't need it done' when I go to pick it up.

I'm a bit hacked off with them generally but finding a trustworthy garage has been a problem for years. Any suggestions in the Glasgow area are welcome. I even like Homebased mechanics if they are good.

I'm figuring I'll just try it myself (others in here have managed - how wrong can I get it?) but getting new parts is a struggle. Neither of my local Audi dealerships appear to know how to return a call or answer an email.

I'll ask Tom at Crewe for a price.

Thanks again

Alex.

Ps. My engine appears to be trying to shake itself apart when idling so it maybe is running a poor fuel mix?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Pinkythelabrat said:
Thanks Buddy,

I've asked my local garage twice to replace them when the car's been in for other work and they keep forgetting (despite my written itemised list - yes, in that guy!) and just saying 'you don't need it done' when I go to pick it up.

I'm a bit hacked off with them generally but finding a trustworthy garage has been a problem for years. Any suggestions in the Glasgow area are welcome. I even like Homebased mechanics if they are good.

I'm figuring I'll just try it myself (others in here have managed - how wrong can I get it?) but getting new parts is a struggle. Neither of my local Audi dealerships appear to know how to return a call or answer an email.

I'll ask Tom at Crewe for a price.

Thanks again

Alex.

Ps. My engine appears to be trying to shake itself apart when idling so it maybe is running a poor fuel mix?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Possibly
Fix one problem at a time is best plan. You need to have a drive to st Annes near blackpool and get it all sorted in one day



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've just had this done - actually at a Honda independent.
Impression I get is most of the independents use the same motor factors for parts so as long as you ensure it is the right thermostat (not sure how you do this but I paid about £21 for the 'stat) then it should be fine.
Overall cost under £100 including the thermostat and everything is running smoothly and temperature gauge is immoveable on 90c once it has warmed up.
 
Afternoon Everyone,

Something I read recently on dash temperature I found interesting (maybe everyone knows this).

Since 1998 VAG cars have been fitted with dash temperature gauges that are designed to show rock solid 90 while the temperature is within quite a wide (absurd) range of 90. Like this bit! - the reason is to stop drivers obsessively worrying about the natural fluctuations that will occur in any driving cycle!! - I think they have a point. The implication is that a dash showing 90 is only a general indicator the that all is well (but do not believe it is spot on 90).Always wondered why it was so static, unlike some other cars, not some modern engineering feat but a fiddled illusion.

The converse of not showing 90 and assuming the dash is telling the truth (i.e. no dash gauge/wiring/sensor faults) then something is wrong and needs fixing, otherwise as Deproman's wonderful post (I thing I got my head round it!) makes clear
it will hit you in the wallet/performance.

Andy

PS I assume VCDS will tell you the temperature the ECU sees?
 
Last edited:
Yes, VCDS can be used to show the temperature but it is only reading it from the same sender and that might be faulty.

But at least if you see two very different temperatures from each circuit of the sender you will know that the sender is faulty.

VCDS is the only way you can get to see what temperature is being "fed" to the ECU and so it is well worth checking via that means.

Steve B
 
Andrew said:
Afternoon Everyone,

Something I read recently on dash temperature I found interesting (maybe everyone knows this).
Click to expand...

Hi Andrew,

I think that some people may have suspected that to be the case, but it is always useful to have it confirmed, cheers. I certainly wasn't sure.

Thanks
Steve B
 
Mine has also recently started to hang around 75/80°

A friend has a VAG computer malarkey, would it shown wether it's the sender or thermostat, or is it pot luck?


Sorry, just scrolled up, should have read before opening mouth!

;-)
 
bye_bye_alfa said:
Mine has also recently started to hang around 75/80°

A friend has a VAG computer malarkey, would it shown wether it's the sender or thermostat, or is it pot luck?


Sorry, just scrolled up, should have read before opening mouth!

;-)
Click to expand...

No Problem, we all do that every now and then!


Steve B
 
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