94q How hot is too hot

[hilock8]

Just bought the car and the temp runs right about the 3:00 position. Sometimes a tad above and sometimes a tad below. The car when cold heats right up to the 3:00 position and more or less stays there. My receipts show the fan and clutch and T-stat have been changed and cooling system flush and fill 2 months ago.. Just wondering if that is normal??

[Jesda]

The gauge I am told isnt very precise, but it will tell you cold/operating temp/overheat. The 3:00 position is where my needle stays, along with every other Q45 I've driven. Idling on a super hot day in traffic or during very spirited driving it might creep up a tiny bit.

-Jesda

[PalmerWMD]

3 'o clock is normal, I think there is some minor variation from the factory in how the gauges read.

Mine stays at 3 'o clock, my last one stayed at 3 o'clock too.

A good way to make sure is to check if when fully warmed up, during cool weather it goes to the same position.If answer is yes then you artent over heating ( assuming no t stat problems).

Fred..

[elwesso]

As long as it doesnt make it much above the 3o clock position and the aux fan doesnt come on when the AC is off, your all good...

[PoorManQ45]

The standard gauge is fairly inaccurate.

I agree with Wes.

If you guys want to know the real temperature of the coolant, you could do like me. When I had the car running, I installed a gauge cluster where the front ashtray used to be. The temp when warm was usually around 180. And then, coolant would start leaking and the temp would go up to about 195 .

If you guys want, I'll post a pic.

[elwesso]

Lets see it PMQ!!!

[PoorManQ45]

I will post pics of the guages and my under-plenum job tomorrow

[hilock8]

Thanks everybody for the info

[hilock8]

1 more ? My receipts show that the fan clutch was just changed. But I can spin with some resistance with the car off, warm or cold. It will spin and stop, but it goes about 3/4 of a revolution. I thought it wasn't supposed to turn hardly at all???

[Jesda]

It will normally allow some movement by hand like you described; it wont be completely tight.

[PalmerWMD]

I recently had a tech tell me I had a "weak fan clutch" and it exhibits the exact same behavior.

But so have all my other Q's, I think this is a rare case of "they all do that", ie its normal in this car.

Fred...

[maxnix]

I recently had a tech tell me I had a "weak fan clutch" and it exhibits the exact same behavior.

But so have all my other Q's, I think this is a rare case of "they all do that", ie its normal in this car.

Fred...

Fred is right on. It is a viscous clutch.

[Jesda]

Fred is right on. It is a viscous clutch.

Here comes a n00b question... whats a viscous clutch?

[911/Q45]

It's a clutch that bites your fingers when you try to touch it, wait - that's a vicious clutch. It's an assembly between the fan and water pump that uses silicon fluid(which is viscous) to control the engine cooling fan speed.(fast when hot, slow when cool)

[90Q45blue]

On my Q, my gauge never goes above the 3 o'clock position, except a couple of times this summer in 105 degree heat it crept up a litte.

I do have a question though. Lately, when I press the "AMB" button on my A/C display and it displays the ambient temperature, it's been higher than I think I'm comfortable with...like 92-95 degrees. Does this mean my car is running hot? Also, after it sits for a while, i'll sometimes start it up and the temp will say 100F and will eventually go down.

Nick

[Jesda]

Mine does this too, Nick.

According to the owner's manual there's a temp sensor on the dash next to the windshield. So I guess that makes for two sensors, one on the dash and one by the rear defrost button... or do the sensors do different things?

[911/Q45]

If you look up ambient in the dictionary you'll discover that the reading is the outside air temp. The sensor is near the radiator, so it will read high after the car has been parked hot, but will come down when air flow cools it.

[elwesso]

If you look up ambient in the dictionary you'll discover that the reading is the outside air temp. The sensor is near the radiator, so it will read high after the car has been parked hot, but will come down when air flow cools it.

Righto!! Is that what they teach you in college???

When I drove Freds Q, his gauge sat higher than mine did..... Maybe its due to the lack of a fan shroud???

[DAEDALUS]

Mine does this too, Nick.

According to the owner's manual there's a temp sensor on the dash next to the windshield. So I guess that makes for two sensors, one on the dash and one by the rear defrost button... or do the sensors do different things?

The one near the windshield is the sunload sensor. Measures light, not temp.

[90Q45blue]

Thanks for the reassurance guys. If you didn't already know, I am super paranoid about my car...always have been. My buddy says that when it comes to my car, I'm a hypochondriac.

Nick