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Coolant temp not reaching normal levels...


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Morning All,

In the last week or two I have noticed that my coolant temp on my dash is only reaching a quarter (75 degrees I think), this is after a long drive on A and B roads (50 miles in total), I notice that that the temp is -2 but it's been doing the same for the temps starting at 8 degrees...

The only time I notice it goes up is 10 minutes of stop start traffic...

I have the Ford Focus MK3.5 Titanium X 1.0 125 Ecoboost (2015)

Any help would be great...

I had a service a month a go, not sure if it's been happening since then... I will say I am not really a massive under the bonnet expert lol

Cheers

Simon

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well, you advise it does go up in stop start traffic so its definitely working, and its not low enough to make the engine think it's still actually 'cold' and adjust it's running.

 

I'd consider the following:

  • it may be normal and just related to the colder weather
  • its worth checking your coolant level to confirm it isn't too low or too high.
  • worth checking the air coming from your heater vents to see if it reflects what the guage is saying (i.e. nicely warm but not overly hot)
  • could consider the thermostat or guage to be potentially faulty, but it would be more likely to be much colder or hotter if this was the case so I'm not sure on this.
  • I would consider the ECU mistakenly keeping the engine at a lower temp than normal for some reason, but as it does rise in slow traffic this seems unlikely.

 

 

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If the thermostat is stuck open it won't reach operating temperature due to the engine being overcooled.

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I agree with above.

in my experience which I admit is mainly with older cars, if a thermostat fails it would normally be stuck closed, not open.  but I have known cases where the thermostat has come unmounted inside the cover so that even when closed, the water is getting past it to delay warm up.

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1 hour ago, TotallyTonto said:

it may be normal and just related to the colder weather

  • its worth checking your coolant level to confirm it isn't too low or too high.
  • worth checking the air coming from your heater vents to see if it reflects what the guage is saying (i.e. nicely warm but not overly hot)
  • could consider the thermostat or guage to be potentially faulty, but it would be more likely to be much colder or hotter if this was the case so I'm not sure on this.
  • I would consider the ECU mistakenly keeping the engine at a lower temp than normal for some reason, but as it does rise in slow traffic this seems unlikely.

 

1 hour ago, m1tch said:

If the thermostat is stuck open it won't reach operating temperature due to the engine being overcooled.

 

44 minutes ago, isetta said:

I agree with above.

in my experience which I admit is mainly with older cars, if a thermostat fails it would normally be stuck closed, not open.  but I have known cases where the thermostat has come unmounted inside the cover so that even when closed, the water is getting past it to delay warm up.

Cheers for the replies, I may take it into the garage to get them to look at it as I live about 10m away from my local dealership... 

I was hoping for someone to say yeah mine does that all the time haha 

Only has this car a year and half and not seen this before, but then again last years Winter wasn't that cold...

Cheers

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well my 2007 fiesta 1.6 diesel did it, but I did not mention that as yours is petrol and diesels are known for taking longer to warm up (a sign of their efficiency)

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its warranty , just take it in.  the temp guage isnt a very accuate indication of temp. get the car to your normal temp as showing now, then stop car, and go in to instrument cluster test menu,(press and hold ok button on steering wheel ,then  switch ign on) scroll through to ect temp. then see what that reads. 

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18 hours ago, iantt said:

its warranty , just take it in.  the temp guage isnt a very accuate indication of temp. get the car to your normal temp as showing now, then stop car, and go in to instrument cluster test menu,(press and hold ok button on steering wheel ,then  switch ign on) scroll through to ect temp. then see what that reads. 

Now that is a great bit of knowledge! Just went into test mode and and the car is showing as 66 degrees (90 degrees being in the middle) after a 10 mile dash up the dual carriageway, I will get it booked in to be checked out

Cheers for your help

SImon

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thats confirmed that the thermostat is opening up too early.

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  • 2 years later...
On 12/7/2016 at 10:13 AM, Guest said:

Morning All,

In the last week or two I have noticed that my coolant temp on my dash is only reaching a quarter (75 degrees I think), this is after a long drive on A and B roads (50 miles in total), I notice that that the temp is -2 but it's been doing the same for the temps starting at 8 degrees...

The only time I notice it goes up is 10 minutes of stop start traffic...

I have the Ford Focus MK3.5 Titanium X 1.0 125 Ecoboost (2015)

Any help would be great...

I had a service a month a go, not sure if it's been happening since then... I will say I am not really a massive under the bonnet expert lol

Cheers

Simon

DSC_0005.JPG

Hi, now I have same problem, focus mk3 2.0 diesel 140 PS. Temperature 71-74. Have you repaired this problem? 

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9 hours ago, Hooded said:

Thermostat needs changing 

I have already installed three thermostats, but don't help

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17 hours ago, Focus mk3 2.0 said:

I have already installed three thermostats, but don't help

Temperature sensor fault??

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/4/2019 at 4:03 PM, DaveT70 said:

Temperature sensor fault??

Thermostat is mit house and sensor complett, please help

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On ‎12‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 2:03 PM, isetta said:

well my 2007 fiesta 1.6 diesel did it, but I did not mention that as yours is petrol and diesels are known for taking longer to warm up (a sign of their efficiency)

not so much a sign of efficiency, more that they use vast qualities of air and sucking more than twice as much as it needs when its -10 means the engine runs cold, wears itself out, pukes out pollution and the heater fails to work

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  • 2 years later...
On 12/7/2016 at 2:59 PM, Guest said:

 

 

Cheers for the replies, I may take it into the garage to get them to look at it as I live about 10m away from my local dealership... 

I was hoping for someone to say yeah mine does that all the time haha 

Only has this car a year and half and not seen this before, but then again last years Winter wasn't that cold...

Cheers

I have the same problem. Mine stays at the excact same level for over 2 months now and when i stop in traffick it goes up. Have you found a solution?

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Yes the original poster bought a new car after waiting 5 years for an answer

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  • 2 months later...

Hi all, I've got the same problem on my mk3.5 1.5 duratorq. However mine is a little bit more elaborate. Let me explain. 

At some point the engine started to overheat, then went into limp mode. My mechanic identified that the oil cooler failed and oil leaked into the cooling system, but not the other way around. Long story short, I had the oil cooler replaced, the cooling system thoroughly cleaned and flushed multiple times, using specialist fluids etc. 

The car ran smoothly after the repair, however it never got up to operating temp, the gauge falling completely to the cold side when sitting in traffic and start/stop was enabled.

I decided to change the thermostat and got lucky in that it was actually fried. The new stat is an original Ford.H owever, this hasn't completely fixed the problem. That is, the gauge is not reaching operating temp, but it is also never falls completely to cold.

Now I'm trying to think of other parts that might got fried that night. Are there any other thermostats, sensors or valves that I have to check? I read on other forums that older tdci engines had a second thermostat? Some other people were discussing a coolant bypass valve that helps the engine heat up faster on a cold start? Other people said that a temo sensor might be misreporting. Anything is possible due to the boiling coolant-oil mixture, so if anyone has any thoughts it will be useful. 

In addition to this, my second cylinder runs rich, although it might be unrelated. 

Edited by NikP
More info and spell check.
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16 hours ago, NikP said:

Hi all, I've got the same problem on my mk3.5 1.5 duratorq.

Same problem as what ? this thread is full of people with the "same problem" but all different, not even the same engine !!!!!!

This thread was started December 2016 the OP's car has probably been recycled a couple of times by now and is now a tin on Aldi beans 🤣

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On 2/1/2022 at 8:48 AM, NikP said:

Hi all, I've got the same problem on my mk3.5 1.5 duratorq. However mine is a little bit more elaborate. Let me explain.

I believe I gave a comprehensive enough description, so I would appreciate any suggestions, thanks. 

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Are you using 50% Ford coolant 50% water? 

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