Golf/GTI VI :: Engine Temperature Gauge Needle Will Fluctuate Depending On If Accelerating Or At Speed
Feb 9, 2013
Car is a 2012 GTI 6MT with APR intake.
Within the last couple of days, my engine temperature gauge has been acting a little strange. The needle will fluctuate depending on if I'm accelerating or at speed. I've actually seen it go down several times before going back up to normal temp. On a couple of days, it will go up to about halfway to normal temp, and just stay there for a lot longer than it usually seems to.
There have also been times when the car is at normal operating temp, I'll go into a store for maybe 15 minutes, and when I come out, it shows the engine temperature is maybe halfway to where it should be. Then it will go back to normal after a few minutes of driving. I would think that if the engine is warm, it should stay there for more than 15 minutes, even if the car isn't on.
We haven't had any abnormally cold days lately, and I'm not getting any CEL, but I was wondering if anything to worry about, or if it's normal.
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Resurrecting my 940 TD after it's been sitting for a year and the temperature needle now doesn't rise as the engine warms up. Is there any trouble with sensors on these or should i be concerned about something else? It was working when I stopped using the car.
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My car recently turned over 120,000 miles. I have owned her for 5 years. Currently, the engine temperature gauge needle is moving all over the place. It typically registers the correct temperature (I think), but sometimes it goes all the way over to the red, then peaks and falls back down to the midline.
Before this started happening, the needle would lie just below the midline when traveling on the highway and just above the midline when driving in town. Yesterday, it was lying between the 1/4 mark and the midline -- much lower than normal. Is this as simple as just replacing the temperature sensor?
My mechanic noticed a month ago that the transmission hoses are all swollen and in need of replacement. Is this related?One more thing, within the last week, the electrical system fails while driving, but just for a second. I can tell because the radio goes out. Once, it went completely dead, then came back on within 2 seconds. It made me think of the alternator, but it seems if that were the case it would go dead and not come back on, no?
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This weekend I was one a trip in my '98 Civic, and I noticed some movement in my temperature gauge. It didn't really overheat; the needle never got near the red, but it did go a little higher than usual.
Normally, once the engine heats up, the needle on the temperature gauge doesn't move, not even a little. It sits right under the squiggly lines on the temperature gauge icon. However, on Friday, when I got off the highway, the needle rose into the upper part of the icon, to the part with the thermometer.
As soon as the car started moving, the needle on the temperature gauge went back to its normal spot, so I assumed it was a problem with the radiator fan and I kept on driving, prepared to turn on the heat if the needle on the temperature gauge started going up.
Saturday morning I took the car to a local shop in Jacksonville, and it turns out the engine needed a new fan and a new thermostat.
The first lesson that comes to mind is that keeping an eye on my temp gauge might have saved me an engine. It certainly saved me a head gasket. Since a head gasket or new engine would have been worth more than the car, catching this before it became a problem saved me from having to buy another car.
The next lesson is that my Civic had two things wrong with the cooling system, and yet it barely showed any symptoms. The air conditioner doesn't work I guess since a working A/C would probably have made it overheat. In any case, I've probably been driving without a working radiator fan for some time.
The final lesson is that if I had tried to diagnose this myself, I'd probably be driving around with a new radiator fan and a bad thermostat. I paid about $435 for a new fan, thermostat, and fresh coolant (I declined the cooling system flush) and it was worth every penny.
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The needle has always stuck dead on 190f when it gets up to temp. About a week ago I took the center grill of to paint, I put it back on and the check engine light came on ... code p2433 secondary air pump problem. I figured I had just disturbed something etc. Now the coolant gauge is going up to around 240f during normal driving, the fan stays on for about a minute when I turn off the ignition.
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I recently had the radiator on my car replaced and wen I got it back the temperature and gas gauge needles are both blown past the HOT sign and past the full sign on my gas gauge and is sitting under the little black piece under the the cold side and under the empty side. it was obviously messed with and completely turned around but why is it like this? will it reset itself or should I take i.e., back to the mechanic to have it fixed by him?
2000 buick park avenue....
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Ok I was driving home right know from work, and looking at the speedometer, i notice that my temperature gauge turns off (the needle goes all the way down). what can it be?
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The needle is moving up and then back down. This mostly happens while at a stop and simultaneously the ac compressor kicks off.
Recently new radiator and temp gauge, plus coolant flush.
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Last fall I had my radiator flushed and at the same time my coolant overfill canister with built in temperature guage sensor was replaced with a new unit. (The service station replaced the resevoir canister with a new unit in the engine compartment, because they felt the sensor is prone to failing after 7 years.)
Ever since, my temperature gauge needle on the dash will randomly drop (even when the car is up to FULL OPERATING TEMPERATURES) showing the engine being cooler than it out to be. In other words the needle drops signifying to a much lower water temperature. After a period of time the needle will recover back to the normal full operating temperature mark on the dash gauge.
What could cause this? Inside my radiator do I have a "diafram" temperature valve that could be failing /"sticking?" In other words could a temperature valve in the radiator be sticking at odd or random times??? I also notice that my heater does not put out the usual full furnace heat that a Passat is know for. The temperature is about 1/3 cooler now that we are into winter temperatures.
Is my heater core clogged?
Could the new coolant sensor in the new coolant overfill chamber not be working well? This whole situation began AFTER my radiator was flushed, and AFTER I had the coolant reservoir canister and sensor replaced.
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The needle in temp gage on my 2005 Toyota is now facing the opposite direction. This happened right after the most recent oil change. Is this a gauge or a sending unit problem?
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I just noticed recently, that while accelerating, the needle on my boost gauge never really holds. It flutters back and forth between psi throughout the acceleration, rather than holding. This also occurs while I am idle and have the A/C on, the needle flutters back and forth. I have the stage I set-up Revo software which I have had for a while.
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I have a 03 jetta 1.8t and for as long as i can remember my rpms would always fluctuate whenever ever i was idling and then there would be sometimes where i would be accelerating and i would have no power and then all of a sudden it would kick in kinda jerky like. About a week ago tho for some reason my car would just all of a sudden die when i would come to a complete stop and it did it about 5 times that day but when it died it would start right back up fine. I've been having this problem for quit awhile.
I have gotten told maybe coilpacks, n75 valve, o2 sensor, MAF i ended up buying a can of sensor cleaner and cleaned out sensor but that doesn't look like it did the trick. i have also noticed when i drive her pretty hard sometimes the rpms will fluctuate a lot more frequently than normal there also times where when ever i start in 1st gear it doesn't feel like i have all the power have than usual and I've noticed it only feel like that in 1st and second gear sometimes.
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I have never seen any of my other cars do this and I just want to see if this is normal. It happens like clockwork every time I get in the car with a cold engine. I let the car sit while the RPMs are high and as soon as the tach drops I start to drive the car softly. The engine temp gauge reaches normal operating temp in a normal amount of time, it does not just jump to the middle. But after about 1 minute it just starts falling quite quickly, as you can see in the video. It's very predictable - happens every time I drive it so it was easy to catch on video. I don't notice any difference in engine performance. Is this normal for a VW GTI or is something wacky going on?
You can skip to 19-20 seconds in the video to see the needle drop.
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I have a 2005 mk4 gli and the other morning I went out to start my car for work and all I got was crank no start. I then realized my fuel pump wasn't priming when I opened the driver door. After work I came back and checked the fuel pump fuse and swapped the relay with another I had, still nothing. A buddy of mine decided to check the connector at the fuel pump for power, using a power probe I believe he hit all or the majority of the wires with 12v of negative and/or positive power. He then unplugged the connecter and plugged it back in and the car fired right up. But I noticed that my fuel gauge, engine temp gauge, and outside air temp readout were all not functioning. I've searched and searched without being able to narrow down a solution.
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I have a 2013 Passat SEL Premium TDI with the Climatronic system. I have noticed that the AC light never turns on unless I press the AC button...then it stays on regardless of the temperature until I turn it off. Is this normal operation for the Climatronic? When I think of "set it and forget it," I think of the AC turning on and off automatically depending on the temperature. I drive too much to have the AC on all the time (about 600 miles per week).
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Was on my way to my girlfriend's house and decided to do a few pulls. Noticed afterwards my rpm gauge was stuck at 6k rpms and wouldn't go any lower. The car was running fine and I was in 6th gear just cruising at 55mph. Did another pull and after that it was stuck at 8k and if I downshifted the needle would max out at the 6 o'clock position. When I arrived I turned my car off to see if it would reset itself and it got stuck at 7k rpm.
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I replaced the timing belt an waterpump at 262,000 miles and ever since the engine makes a loud low pitch noise that varies in pitch depending on the engine speed. I replaced the alternator and it didn't work. I don't know if the power steering pump, a/c compressor or something else is making this awful sound.
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One day, I was on the highway and my Pontiac's speed started dropping. I looked at the temperature gauge, and the temperature was really high. I flushed the coolant system, and changed the gasket. Also the mechanic said that the oil might be leaking after they changed the oil. I paid like $700 for something that has nothing to do with the problem (I paid for a spark plug, ignition wires, fuel filter, and an oxygen sensor). After they changed the oil, oil started leaking all over my driveway, which didn't happen before. It also looked like coolant was leaking out. None of this happened before I got my oil changed with these guys.
After I changed the gasket, the car was running smoothly. But today, the same thing happened again, and I don't know if it's the thermostat, or water pump, or oil leaking, or coolant. The mechanic always suggests to fix something that doesn't have to do with the problem. I don't have much money on hand, so I need to only fix what has to do with the temperature rising, and I need my car to run.
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Four days into it the low tire pressure indicator lights up. Hit the reset, checked the tires, deflated some air and filled back up, etc and the indicator is still on. Even my local shop couldn't fix it. So yesterday I'm driving home and the fuel gauge suddenly stops registering, the needle drops below the red empty line. This morning I start it up and the fuel gauge is working, for about a minute, then it drops again. Same situation after stopping to get a cup of coffee. I'm taking it to a dealer today. Think the problem could be a defective speedo gauge cluster?
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What would make the oil pressure gauge fluctuate and go to zero? I already replaced the oil sending unit, and changed the oil and filter, whats left? maybe a bad gauge?
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While I am driving, when I hit 25-45 MPH, the wheel suddenly rotates clockwise ~20 degrees while the path of the car stays pretty straight. There is some play at lower speeds too, but the the 25-45 MPH shift is the most dramatic. I have a video here where I am applying minimal grip to the wheel, so the rotations you see (especially ~9 seconds in) are not me. The sound is an item on my passenger seat, so that is unrelated.
I checked out the suspension and the front left control arm has some give at the bushing/joint, but that strikes me as a side issue. Everything else feels sturdy in the suspension. Anything else I can do to diagnose? I suspect this has something to do with the power steering which I have never dealt with before. 1999 ES300....
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