temp gauge

[mynewds3]

Hello all this is my first post as i have only had my ds3 for 3 weeks, 2014 1.6vti 24000mls ink blue with grey roof, love it, BUT, I have noticed the temp gauge rises upto half way after about 3 miles then it drops almost to the bottom and just stays there until you stop in traffic then it will rise again after a while but drop again when i start moving, all my cars have run at the half way mark when upto temp also not much heat from the heater and rad pipes are only just luke warm, also do they all have a whine around 30mph my wife has noticed it and is not too happy.

[cyclone]

And yours should run around the halfway mark also. There is a history of bad temp sensors for this engine and also a recall for that part. Air in system could also cause this to happen.

[mynewds3]

Thank you for that, back to garage it goes then.

[BenS]

Mention the recall to the (Citroen) garage, if confirmed parts fault then it'll be a free fix

[Bryn]

I'm no technical expert but this doesn't sound like the temperature sensor. The behaviour of the heater suggests that the water temperature really is doing what the gauge is telling you. When my vti120 had the temperature sensor problem, the heater behaved normally. I think your thermostat might be stuck open.

[DaveB]

The lack of heat from the heater does suggest a failed thermostat.

First thing I'd do is check that there's no air in the system. I've never done anything on a DS3 cooling system, so I'm not sure of the best method, but for a start see if you can find any bleed screws & see if coolant comes out. The last car I fitted a radiator to was a Peugeot 405. The technique for that was to fill the system from cold, open the bleed screws until coolant started to flow, then close the bleed screws & run the engine with the cap off the header tank until the thermostat opened (top hose hot). A big "burp" signalled the escape of the remaining air!

I'd also check with a dealer that the temperature sensor recall has been done, & if not get it done - it's a quick visual check to see whether or not it has the fault-prone sensor.

If all that's OK, looks like you need a new thermostat.

[mynewds3]

Thanks guys for info, i must admit the thermostat does appear to work ok due to the fact it takes a few miles to get upto half way but then if it is stuck open then it wouldn't do that it would hardly move due to water flowing full cycle straight away.

[mynewds3]

Just been out to car , wife been home about 20mins so not cold yet, gauge hardly moving rad pipes just luke warm so took cap off turned heat on from heater and ran it at two and half thou revs and it took about 10mins to get upto just under half on gauge, pipes now hotter, lots of heat from heater, so took it for a drive down road and didn't take long for gauge to start falling, and its not that cold weather for the air going through rad to cool it like that. Problem is i can just see me going to stealership for it checking driving 45 miles and then they say nowt wrong pal you ow lots for the inspection.

[BenS]

As mentioned, the recall check is free regardless of if it requires action or not.

[mynewds3]

Just had a look on the motor ombudsman site and when i put vin number in it came up and said nothing is outstanding regards recalls, thinking all has been done, gonna call stealership tomorrow and get them to have a look. Thanks for input guys.

[DaveB]

The temperature sensor recall will not show on any recall site, even Citroen's, as it's not safety-related. It will, however, be recorded on Citroen's system.

Your symptoms point to a faulty thermostat, but it's worth getting the temperature sensor check done if only to avoid future problems.

[WTF]

Let us know how you get on

[DaveB]

This morning I did a little check on how mine behaves. Drove .4 mile, stopped at traffic lights with engine off for 30 seconds or more. At .9 miles the temperature gauge was about one division up from its rest position & noticeable heat was coming from the heater.

Stopped for five minutes or so, then set off again. Temperature gauge was up to normal after 1.8 miles from the cold start; speed never exceeded 30-ish.

[mynewds3]

Wife called into Citroen today and they recon is normal behavior for a gauge to go up and down, I say once upto optimum running temp which is what an engine is supposed to run at so it is running at is best efficiency it should stay around half way on the gauge unless when stood in traffic then it may rise but then the fan would come in to cool the water back to optimum temp not down to cold on the gauge.

[BenS]

If the evidence supplied over the phone was "it goes up and down" and not the explanation you gave in the original post, then they are right, it does fluctuate slightly. If yours isn't reaching halfway and staying around there after 10 minutes of driving, and going all over the place, there's likely some issue there.

Ask them to check the NGZ temperature sensor recall status of the car - this will show them a red plip or a green plip next to it for whether it has been actioned or not. Alternatively, your car may not be in the recall campaign at all.

Just cut straight to the point instead of asking for advice on what's normal, and things will happen.
- Check recall status for car
- Yes/no answer for if it has an active recall
- Yes = book it in for a free recall check and possible replacement if found to be a faulty temp sensor
- No (a) = either book it in anyway at any garage (as Citroen's labour costs are super high) to get it checked over and possibly fixed if at fault, or
- No (b) = don't worry about it unless it starts to cause problems e.g. engine fan sticking on, trouble starting

I've learnt from experience that you need to go to Citroen with a plan in place, if you're hesitant then they will push you away.