Ford Focus ecoboost temp gauge problem

[noscail]

When starting the engine the temperature gauge is taking over 4 minutes to get up to temperature. Whereas it used to take a couple of seconds, has anyone else experienced this problem?

I've linked a video of me starting up the engine.

 

[JW1982]

The behavior of the temperature gauge shown in the video is completely normal. 

The temperature gauge of the Focus mK3/MK3.5 shows a calculated value. This value is calculated by the PCM based on the data of several sensors. The temperature gauge does not show realtime values. The system is designed to let the temperature gauge shows "normal" operating temperature in approximately 4 to 5 minutes. At this point the engine has basically not reached its operating temperature at all.

 

The temperature gauge showing "normal" operating temperature within seconds after a cold start is not correct. This indicates a fault that can either be software or sensor related. 

[noscail]

Thank you for the reply and putting my mind at ease! So it seems like it's somehow fixed itself, as it used to jump to halfway just a few seconds after startup. 

Does your car take around the same time to get up to temperature? 

[Gizza11]

 

7 minutes ago, noscail said:

Does your car take around the same time to get up to temperature

All cars no matter what they are will take a wile to get up to temp there is no hard and fast rule when it will happen .No car can be at working temperature in a few seconds unless it has already been on a run. In the winter it will take even longer .Even in 4 mins its to short a time it may show it but its not.

[noscail]

52 minutes ago, Gizza11 said:

 

All cars no matter what they are will take a wile to get up to temp there is no hard and fast rule when it will happen .No car can be at working temperature in a few seconds unless it has already been on a run. In the winter it will take even longer .Even in 4 mins its to short a time it may show it but its not.

Cheers for the knowledge mate, appreciate it. Should I wait for it to get up to temperature before I drive the car? 

[Gizza11]

57 minutes ago, noscail said:

Cheers for the knowledge mate, appreciate it. Should I wait for it to get up to temperature before I drive the car? 

No not at all just start it and off you go it will warm up to temp after a short drive they say by just driving straight after start it saves fuel . One thing I do with mine is after a run let the engine idle for a short time to let the Turbo cool down they say this helps with the life of the Turbo. This may be an old fashioned idea modern cars may not need this but I do it anyway.

[JW1982]

The 1.0 ECOboost warms up very quickly.

 

the 1.0 ECOboost basically has three cooling system circuits and two thermostats. After a cold start, warm up stage (stage 1) begins with the mini cooling system. Coolant is circulated by the mechanical water pump through the exhaust manifold side of the cilinder head, the heater core, oil cooler and through the turbocharger. 

The engine block thermostat begins opening at 70 degrees Celsius. When it reaches 85 degrees Celsius the engine block thermostat is fully open and the next stage (stage 2) begins. In this mode, the cooling system works much like conventional cooling system bypass systems circulating coolant throughout the engine and heater matrix bypassing the radiator. When the engine reaches 105 degrees Celsius the main thermostat opens bringing the entire cooling system online. This is the final stage (stage 3). The main thermostat also has a bypass valve which (temporarily) opens when engine speed exceeds 3000 rpm to avoid excess pressure.

Next to this the 1.0 ECOboost also have some other features to warm up very quick. The exhaust manifold for example is integrated into the cilinder head. The coolant is circulated through channels inside the combined cilinder head/exhaust manifold. This way the heat inside the exhaust manifold is used to warm up the engine quicker.

Another feature is the active grille shutter system. During the warm up stage the grille shutters are fully closed. 

My experience is that the 1.0 ECOboost can reach its normal operating temperature in about 4 minutes. In winter the warm up time will be a bit longer because a lot of heat generated by the engine is used to warm up the interior. This can seriously affect the warm up time of the engine. 

 

[Freddy42]

The temp gauge on this Focus shows 'normal' after three quarters of a mile in the current warm weather.

[Petti1971]

Hi got a Ford Focus 1 litre ecoboost auto 18 plate when driving my temp takes about 15 min to get up to temp and when it’s up fully temp when I put heaters on after few minutes it starts to drop then if I turn them off goes back to normal temp had in garage they say nothing wrong with it they checked everything seems fine says it’s due to the ecoboost engine