Engine Temp Too Low?

[hayden]

The temp gauge on my Non-turbo R33 sits below the quarter mark, even in city traffic. It warms up to this temp quickly enough, but never rises above this, even with AC on. I'm thinking this could be contributing to my bad fuel economy (400km to the tank), running cold would be running rich right?

Any ideas what i should look at?

Edited June 5, 2008 by hayden

[blind_elk]

The engine fans in the Nissans, in general, are quite efficient little beasts, and are quite capable of maintaining the engine temperature. Even on the hottest of days.

400k to a tank is pretty normal from most RB engines.

[hayden]

The engine fans in the Nissans, in general, are quite efficient little beasts, and are quite capable of maintaining the engine temperature. Even on the hottest of days.

400k to a tank is pretty normal from most RB engines.

Should mention that it is a non-turbo

[nizmonut]

1 undo the temp gauge sender unit get a tester and put the end of it in boiling water and see if the resistance drops to near 0.

2 change the thermostat, could be jammed open or not working at all(broken)

3 the temp gauge sender is seperate to the ecu temp gauge sender so if one is faulty the the other still gives correct reading. also it usually the 2 pin ecu sender unit that gets shagged not the single pin earth type.(the heat contraction cracks the base of the plug over time)

4 most na skylines will get 12.5 litres per 100km's while turbo'd is 14.5 litres per 100km's (factory)

5 the viscous fan might be shagged and not slipping at higher then idle rpm cooling the radiator too much.

any one of these really.

Edited June 6, 2008 by nizmonut

[hayden]

1 undo the temp gauge sender unit get a tester and put the end of it in boiling water and see if the resistance drops to near 0.

2 change the thermostat, could be jammed open or not working at all(broken)

3 the temp gauge sender is seperate to the ecu temp gauge sender so if one is faulty the the other still gives correct reading. also it usually the 2 pin ecu sender unit that gets shagged not the single pin earth type.(the heat contraction cracks the base of the plug over time)

4 most na skylines will get 12.5 litres per 100km's while turbo'd is 14.5 litres per 100km's (factory)

5 the viscous fan might be shagged and not slipping at higher then idle rpm cooling the radiator too much.

any one of these really.

Cheers, I'll have a look into these.

[Hillzy]

Definitely, as stated earlier, check the thermo as it may be buggered. It could be stuck open leaving the engine with more coolant circulation than it needs.

It's not a bad thing but it's best to get it fixed.

[blind_elk]

Definitely, as stated earlier, check the thermo as it may be buggered. It could be stuck open leaving the engine ...

If that were true, then this wouldn't happen:

It warms up to this temp quickly enough

If anything, it might be jammed shut, but then the engine would tend to overheat.

I strongly suspect that there is nothing wrong at all. But the temp sender can be tested in situ, simply by measuring its electrical resistance at cold and hot. (Don't have the specs readily available - will check tonight).

[blind_elk]

temp sender spec:

cold (20) = 2.5kohm

hot (80) = 0.3kohm