Long Warm Up Time

[apole]

Hi there,

Yesterday I went out in the bongo and found that it didn't properly warm up for nearly 10 miles. That is very much longer than it has ever taken, normally the gauge is up in a mile or 2. Heater wasn't that much cop either.

Thinking my thermostat is pooped, luckily a new one is going in next week.

I appreciate the colder weather will have an impact but never taken that long before.

Anyone else had this?

Andy

[francophile1947]

I also reckon your thermostat has failed, unless you're holidaying in the Arctic

[apole]

It certainly felt like it I can tell you. Roll on Tuesday for a new one....

[missfixit70]

If the V6 cooling system is the same as the diesel, which I think it is, the stat SHOULD fail closed, which shouldn't affect the warm up time, the problems will come when it's called upon to open.

[Ian]

Hi there,

Yesterday I went out in the bongo and found that it didn't properly warm up for nearly 10 miles. That is very much longer than it has ever taken, normally the gauge is up in a mile or 2. Heater wasn't that much cop either.

Thinking my thermostat is pooped, luckily a new one is going in next week.

I appreciate the colder weather will have an impact but never taken that long before.

Anyone else had this?

Andy

I'm experiencing exactly the same problem on my V6, plus an additional fault. The oil light flickers on and off until the engine is fully warm. Then it goes off, and stays off.

[helen&tony]

Hi
Let us know what happened when replaced...I don't believe it's the stat, either....It's more likely to be that it's just colder outside than you think...I go through the same every year, when it takes longer to warm up...and that's at the end of autumn.....even in the height of winter here it doesn't take a lot longer to warm...and, boy , does it get cold....minus 25...enough to freeze winter diesel......This year, I'm not going anywhere 'till it thaws
Seriously, I don't think you have a worry
Ian:
what oil pressure does the switch operate at, and what oil do you use?
Cheers
Helen

[Ian]

Ian:
what oil pressure does the switch operate at, and what oil do you use?
Cheers
Helen

No idea. It had a full oil change at garage about 6 weeks ago, but problem has only started this week.

[mikeonb4c]

Ian:
what oil pressure does the switch operate at, and what oil do you use?
Cheers
Helen

No idea. It had a full oil change at garage about 6 weeks ago, but problem has only started this week.

Ian - when it happened to me on an old Morris 1000 years ago, replacing the oil pressure sensor fixed it.

Andy - I'll be interested to hear the outcome on the thermostat stuff. Mine's a bit slower in the cold weather I think, but not exceptionally so

[helen&tony]

Hi Ian
If it's not long serviced, I think the same as Mike, switch, or loose lead/ dodgy connection if it's not making noises...at the worst, it's the oil pickup...nothing major, i'll wager!
Cheers
Helen

[francophile1947]

Andy - I'll be interested to hear the outcome on the thermostat stuff. Mine's a bit slower in the cold weather I think, but not exceptionally so

It's bound to be a bit slower Mike - the heater radiators, which do most of the cooling, aren't controlled by the thermostat.

[mikeonb4c]

Andy - I'll be interested to hear the outcome on the thermostat stuff. Mine's a bit slower in the cold weather I think, but not exceptionally so

It's bound to be a bit slower Mike - the heater radiators, which do most of the cooling, aren't controlled by the thermostat.

Yup - appreciate that esp. as the lump is also colder. What I was trying to stress is that despite all that, mine is not EXCEPTIONALLY slower i.e. Andys situation does sound a little abnormal because his sounds like it is being a lot slower to warm up. At the end of the day I can't think of anything that might cause that apart from the thermostat so perhaps you have to just replace it (unless you are certain it is new/VGC) and see if things improve

[apole]

Hi there,

Strangely enough my car was fine today and it feels pretty cold. In my case I feel this is abnormal, I've had the car over 2 years now and I know when the LPG cuts in where abouts that normally happens on my journeys. It was a huge amount different yesterday. As I said it was fine today so I'll see what happens with the new thermostat.

The LPG system uses heat from the engine coolant and from cold runs on petrol until the coolant is 40 degrees, hence the comment above.

In cold weather I turn the climate off until the engine is warm if I can do so without having issues with icing/misting up as that helps the car warm up faster.

Have to admit I'm not a fan of the cold, been out for a while and my fingers now hurt !!

Andy

[missfixit70]

If you're doing the stat anyway (definitely advisable if you're not sure if it's been changed before) give it a proper flush through with a flush treatment with the stat out to make sure there's no blockages or crud in there & backflush the rad. Don't know if it's possible for a worn stat to jam open which would lead to overcooling?
Don't forget if you put your heaters on while the engine is still cold, it'll take longer to heat up as they're acting to dissipate the heat as they do the job of cooling the same as the rad , the higher the fan speed the longer it'll take.

[mikeonb4c]

If you're doing the stat anyway (definitely advisable if you're not sure if it's been changed before) give it a proper flush through with a flush treatment with the stat out to make sure there's no blockages or crud in there & backflush the rad. Don't know if it's possible for a worn stat to jam open which would lead to overcooling?
Don't forget if you put your heaters on while the engine is still cold, it'll take longer to heat up as they're acting to dissipate the heat as they do the job of cooling the same as the rad , the higher the fan speed the longer it'll take.

Wish I'd asked for the old faulty one on my Nissan Sunny to be returned to me for analysis as it was one that definitely failed leaving the passageway permanently open.

Your point about car heaters dissipating energy is a v. good one.

Andys latest post suggests it may not be temp gauge movement that he is using to assess the difference (its what I use on mine - maybe useless overall as a gauge but v. useful for observing when thermostat has opened - I watch it every day!). If it is some other kind of sensor/solenoid/w.h.y. could its performance be being unduly affected by the cold? No point in changing the thermostat until/unless any simpler explanations have been eliminated from enquiries.

[missfixit70]

Hi there,

Yesterday I went out in the bongo and found that it didn't properly warm up for nearly 10 miles. That is very much longer than it has ever taken, normally the gauge is up in a mile or 2. Heater wasn't that much cop either.

Thinking my thermostat is pooped, luckily a new one is going in next week.

I appreciate the colder weather will have an impact but never taken that long before.

Anyone else had this?

Andy

I'm experiencing exactly the same problem on my V6, plus an additional fault. The oil light flickers on and off until the engine is fully warm. Then it goes off, and stays off.

The diesel has a low level indication on the oil pressure light, wonder if the V6 does too? worth checking the level, especially if it's not long since been done, may be a slight leak on the filter or plug, or it could just be the level was a bit low from the oil change & it's only showing up with the higher viscosity in colder temperatures (slower return to sump on cold start up?)