temp gauge sitting slightly to the right? Normal?

[Scot J]

The temp gauge on my car has been sitting just to the right (so its just eclipses the side edge of the little icon). The guy who sold me the car said it was like that for ever and he thought it was the cluster screwing up. It seems to stay pretty constant at that temp - Is there a simple way for me to check the true engine temp to see if the gauge is faulty?

Thanks in advance!

[jamesdc4]

First, your car list does not reflect an E39 in your collection, so you may be posting in the wrong subforum.
Secondly, if your car is indeed an E39 5**i, do you know if the instrument cluster has been changed out for an M5 cluster? I seem to remember reading that the M5 cluster retrofit will result in the temp gauge needle sitting slightly to the right of middle.

[Cyrix2k]

Yes, it's normal. It also depends on exactly how the needle was set.

[Scot J]

Yea, never got around to switching my car list yet - just got the 540i on thursday.

[Alpina540i]

If you press and hold the right button on the cluster the check control will pop up on the screen keep holding till you can toggle through the 20ish diff tests. When you get to test 7 press the left button on cluster and it will say lock enter the sum of the last digits of you vin into the cluster with repeated presses of the right button. If you did it right it will unlock all the tests and allow you to read the actual temp of the engine in real time on the cluster display.

more reading on the cluster-
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=16471903#post16471903

-Anson

[jamesdc4]

Yea, never got around to switching my car list yet - just got the 540i on thursday.
Congrats. Post up some pics.:)

[BimmerBreaker]

Does this mean that M5s run at a lower engine temperature than the other engines? Would make a little sense due to the compression of the S62 to prevent pre-detonation, but also make less sense, because of well... the power and etc..

[Scot J]

If you press and hold the right button on the cluster the check control will pop up on the screen keep holding till you can toggle through the 20ish diff tests. When you get to test 7 press the left button on cluster and it will say lock enter the sum of the last digits of you vin into the cluster with repeated presses of the right button. If you did it right it will unlock all the tests and allow you to read the actual temp of the engine in real time on the cluster display.

more reading on the cluster-
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=16471903#post16471903

-Anson
Worked like a charm! But to bad half the pixels in my cluster are dead. I did read the core temp as 350 - is this the norm?


And yea - I'll post pics soon!

[Cyrix2k]

Does this mean that M5s run at a lower engine temperature than the other engines? Would make a little sense due to the compression of the S62 to prevent pre-detonation, but also make less sense, because of well... the power and etc..
Most performance motors run cooler at the expense of efficiency. 350 degrees doesn't make sense.

[adam1979]

The temp gauge on my car has been sitting just to the right (so its just eclipses the side edge of the little icon). The guy who sold me the car said it was like that for ever and he thought it was the cluster screwing up. It seems to stay pretty constant at that temp - Is there a simple way for me to check the true engine temp to see if the gauge is faulty?

Thanks in advance!

I don't think that is normal. Mine points straight up. If the cluster was opened at any point to attempt a repair on those pixels, it's possible to screw up the calibration on the needles. This happens with the temp gauge and fuel gauge, as those needles don't rest on a peg when the value is zero.


Worked like a charm! But to bad half the pixels in my cluster are dead. I did read the core temp as 350 - is this the norm?


And yea - I'll post pics soon!

350 makes no sense for the engine core temp. Mine stabilizes at 104-105 while driving and climbs to 107-108 on hot days if I am idling in traffic.

[Cyrix2k]

I don't think that is normal. Mine points straight up. If the cluster was opened at any point to attempt a repair on those pixels, it's possible to screw up the calibration on the needles. This happens with the temp gauge and fuel gauge, as those needles don't rest on a peg when the value is zero.



350 makes no sense for the engine core temp. Mine stabilizes at 104-105 while driving and climbs to 107-108 on hot days if I am idling in traffic.
^That's really high. The highest I've ever seen mine was 97 degrees and that was when my water pump was going bad. It's usually at 92-93 degrees and will climb to about 95 sitting in traffic on a hot day. I took a picture of mine today while driving into DC (in the 90s today and I had the AC on).

Sorry for the large pic - this is how it should look. The center of the gauge is padded somewhat so while the actual temp will vary, the needle won't move much.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/Cyrix_2k/temp.jpg

[adam1979]

^That's really high. The highest I've ever seen mine was 97 degrees and that was when my water pump was going bad. It's usually at 92-93 degrees and will climb to about 95 sitting in traffic on a hot day. I took a picture of mine today while driving into DC (in the 90s today and I had the AC on).

Sorry for the large pic - this is how it should look. The center of the gauge is padded somewhat so while the actual temp will vary, the needle won't move much.



Interesting. I actually thought I was on the low side - from what I have seen in other threads I had the impression that most cars settle around 108 while driving. I mentioned this to my mechanic and he felt I was in the normal range as well.

Either way, it definitely isn't supposed to be 350...

[BimmerBreaker]

Just curious, are E39 temperature sensors dummy gauges too? In my E36, there was a certain "range" where it would sit in the middle, and when I had overheating problems, it was very annoying because I would be watching this gauge and it would be in the middle... in the middle... then from nowhere it jumped to the 3/4 mark and rising... because really it was heating the whole time but didnt raise the temperature gauge until it was past a threshold temperature. Dumb in my opinion... My M5 has temperatures actually marked out does this mean its not a dummy gauge and in fact registers real-time data?

[Cyrix2k]

Interesting. I actually thought I was on the low side - from what I have seen in other threads I had the impression that most cars settle around 108 while driving. I mentioned this to my mechanic and he felt I was in the normal range as well.

Either way, it definitely isn't supposed to be 350...
You do realize that 108 is above boiling right? The system is pressurized which raises the boiling point somewhat, but that's high. Most cars have their thermostats set to around 195 degrees Fahrenheit which is 90.5 degrees Celsius. The M62(TU) uses an electronic thermostat to regulate temperature so it does not behave in a typical manner. I believe the 540i, at idle, is supposed to sit at 105 degrees Celsius. I only approach those temperatures on very hot days.


Just curious, are E39 temperature sensors dummy gauges too? In my E36, there was a certain "range" where it would sit in the middle, and when I had overheating problems, it was very annoying because I would be watching this gauge and it would be in the middle... in the middle... then from nowhere it jumped to the 3/4 mark and rising... because really it was heating the whole time but didnt raise the temperature gauge until it was past a threshold temperature. Dumb in my opinion... My M5 has temperatures actually marked out does this mean its not a dummy gauge and in fact registers real-time data?
^Yes, mine sits in the center from about 82 degrees Celsius to about 95 degrees Celsius. I noticed it creeping to the right when my water pump was dying.

:edit: I just found a BMW service bulletin that says "- Engine must be at normal operating Temperature (at least 85°C)" This is in reference to the M62(TU).

[adam1979]

You do realize that 108 is above boiling right? The system is pressurized which raises the boiling point somewhat, but that's high. Most cars have their thermostats set to around 195 degrees Fahrenheit which is 90.5 degrees Celsius. The M62(TU) uses an electronic thermostat to regulate temperature so it does not behave in a typical manner. I believe the 540i, at idle, is supposed to sit at 105 degrees Celsius. I only approach those temperatures on very hot days.


108 is above the boiling point for water, not pressurized coolant. Look around these forums, you will find that most members' 540s peak at about 108. Either the temps in your car hadn't peaked when you took that picture, or something is not normal with your car. Congrats on having the only cool-running 540 on this forum though.

[Cyrix2k]

108 is above the boiling point for water, not pressurized coolant. Look around these forums, you will find that most members' 540s peak at about 108. Either the temps in your car hadn't peaked when you took that picture, or something is not normal with your car. Congrats on having the only cool-running 540 on this forum though.
If you read my post, I noted the same thing. 108 is still a bit hot for most 540s but not abnormal.

This thread shows it as normal:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4419868

This one mentions that it is probably a bit high, but normal
http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums//showthread.php?t=114451

There's a few mentions of this on M5board as well. The m5s run cooler, but the few with 540is mentioned that they're running between about 93 and 106. I'm certainly not the only one with a cool running 540i. I've heard that depending on the year the t-stat was manufactured may impact running temperature but anything beyond 85c is considered normal. I can say for a fact that my t-stat is working order as the car heats up very quickly in the winter, even in double digit negative temperatures.

:edit: I should mention that the car was reading 93c earlier to that picture and it had been idling for some time about 10 miles prior. I drove out to the gas station, bought gas, noticed I forgot my nasa badge, drove home, let it idle while I was getting my badge, and hit the road.

[markb121]

I have a 2003 540i 6 sp that just blew an upper radiator hose. I replaced it & refilled coolant, bleeding per the Bently manual. (Just bought that after the warranty & extended service plan ran out last April).
After having to pay the tow back home I'm now skittish about cooling systems... Read the guide for setting the test & reading & see that mine runs a staedy 108 - 111 deg C in about 70 deg F ambient. Gage needle stays rock solid in the middle. Is this too hot? Could I be suffereing collateral damage for the short term overheat (<20 sec to shutdown after MID told of overheat)? Thermostat out of cal? Pump going?
Any sage advice is welcome..
Mark B

[mattmartindrift]

seems about normal

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1291633