Just bought a new-to-me Skoda Roomster. Seems ok, I have yet to get a towbar installed.
It doesn't have a temperature gauge though. Not a problem when not towing, but I like to keep an eye on the engine temp when towing. There is a temp display, just seems to consist of a cold symbol and a hot symbol on the display. Any thoughts? I was thinking what if you don't know the temp of the car is going up until the red light comes on and you have to stop. A bit inconvenient if you are on the motorway.
Modern cars do not 'read' the coolant temp direct from sensor in cooling system as with older vehicles they read it via ecu. There is very little point in observing a temp gauge in a modern car. If coolant gets too hot for some reason or it leaks out, the stop warning on dash will come on & you then need to stop.
Provided engine stays within operating temp then it does not matter how hot or cold it gets & provided there is no fault developing or you do not do something silly like labour engine in high gear towing miles up a mountain then ok otherwise warning light will tell you anyway before engine damage occurs.
Technique for uphill towing is to change down early to let engine rev in low gear to keep coolant pumping round. Turning heater on will bring down temp as well.
Yes my wife's zafira doesn't have a temp gauge either. I guess it's far too technical for the modern motorist who are incapable of changing light bulbs. One would hope though that if you are well within the max towing weight you will not over work the engine to the extent it runs hot. My car certainly doesn't run any hotter when towing. One point of interest I learned whilst in the engine testing industry is that only 25% of the energy in the fuel reaches the wheels. The remaining 75% is lost in waste heat.
Technology has moved on, there is no need for a temp gauge, it will not tell you anything apart from that the engine is within it's working temperature. If there is a fault then a warning light will come on. Unlike(much)older cars that could overheat in heavy traffic & certainly when towing provided driver did not adjust driving technique to suit any extreme conditions this is much less so with modern cars.
They will not overheat in any circumstances in normal driving & to cause the car to overheat when towing in mountainous conditions one would have to be a very bad driver indeed.
I like to see a gauge so I know when it's ok to put my foot down that little bit harder in the morning rush hour. Never like to rev a cold engine too high
Well within the max towing weight, and not expecting any problems as such. But it is an automatic, not a manual. I just would like to see a dial!
I hope there is a warning light between ok and too hot/stop, so that I can actually put on the heaters and so forth. Stopping on a motorway would be a bit hairy!
It won't get too hot on a motorway incline, I meant towing 15 miles up a narrow switchback mountain road in France. Just turn the heater on, it will cool it right down.
Quote: Originally posted by Opensauce on 01/2/2016
It won't get too hot on a motorway incline, I meant towing 15 miles up a narrow switchback mountain road in France. Just turn the heater on, it will cool it right down.
On a warm sunny day I would like to know approximately when to turn the heater on, hence wanting a dial! It's bad enough on a long hot journey to have to put the heater on... With a dial you would turn the heaters on before/when the dial was approaching the red, to avoid the overheating problem, but without a dial, how would you even know?
You could buy a temp gauge and mount it on top of your dash in a gauge pod. If you search flea-bay there are loads of custom fit gauges for less than £10. They usually piggy back onto the cars analogue senders. Or tee into pipes. I have a boost gauge and fuel ratio gauge to fit. Will get round to it one day. A temp gauge will be a simple job to fit. The fuel ratio is a little more complex as it connects to the lambda sensor and needs an independent power supply.
At high altitudes you may see an increase in temperature since the air is less dense and has a lower specific heat content. A double whammy less cooling and less engine power. My bike ran hotter than normal ridding up and out of Andorra. Up hill for miles, heavy traffic, high altitudes. The fan came on where it would not normally
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: no temp gauge...
