Citroen Berlingo 1.9 d - Berlingo temperature gauge

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Sun 29 May 2011 08:29
Citroen Berlingo 1.9 d - Berlingo temperature gauge - bobbyn

I've just bought a Berlingo van and I'm curious about the temperature gauge.

All the vehicles I have owned have always had a stable reading of 90 degrees on the temp gauge regardless of load or traffic conditions.

In normal driving onditions with little stop/starting the gauge seems to be slow moving as it warms up to about 82 degrees it then stabilises for a while then goes to 90 degrees then back down to 82 a second later then back up and it seems to do this numerous times in a journey.

When put under load and in rush hour traffic it goes up to just shy of 100 degrees then falls back to 90 or lower then goes back up etc.

Is this normal for this engine?

Just to say it's not an ultra quick drop or rise indicative of an electrical fault


Any advice is appreciated

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Sun 29 May 2011 10:00
Citroen Berlingo 1.9 d - Berlingo temperature gauge - Peter.N.

I would think you probably have a faulty temperature sensor or possibly a sticking thermostat but if it doesn't go outside the normal temperature range I wouldn't worry about it.

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Sun 29 May 2011 14:18
Citroen Berlingo 1.9 d - Berlingo temperature gauge - unthrottled

I think Citroen might have accidentally fitted an acurate temperature gauge!

The coolant temperature WILL fluctuate due to changing load/RPM. Most vehicles are fitted with a rather insensitive temperature gauge that appears to read spot on 90 all the time because it reassures eagle-eyed drivers like you that everything is fine!

Common sense will tell you that a 300lb engine can't be completely warmed up by driving for a couple of miles from cold-yet the temperature gauge will claim just that.

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Sun 29 May 2011 14:48
Citroen Berlingo 1.9 d - Berlingo temperature gauge - bobbyn

That's very informative

Cheers

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Sun 29 May 2011 15:00
Citroen Berlingo 1.9 d - Berlingo temperature gauge - unthrottled

P.S. A temperature gauge that drops rapidly just after you apply load can be indicative of a leaking head/gasket allowing combustion gas into the coolant. But this doesn't sound likely in your case.

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Sun 29 May 2011 18:41
Citroen Berlingo 1.9 d - Berlingo temperature gauge - bobbyn

You say rapidly dropping just after you apply load, in my case it drops and then goes back up in steady ish driving or I think that's the case with the weeks worth of driving I've done in it. So do you really think a HG issue can be ruled out in my case.

If there is a slight chance, it may be grounds for having them check it out I've only had it a week.

As a matter of interest am I right in thinking that a compression test with possible HG issues is inaccurate and a vacuum fuel pump gauge is the better option?

Cheers

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Sun 29 May 2011 20:35
Citroen Berlingo 1.9 d - Berlingo temperature gauge - unthrottled

A vacuum gauge isn't going to work on a diesel since there is virtually no vacuum in the intake manifold!

Compression test is normally a better test.

When you apply load, make sure, you are in a high gear otherwise the revs will rise too quickly. This will cause the temperature gauge to drop because the water pump will increase the flow with RPM and it will take a couple of seconds for the thermostat to close to compensate.

The gauge should never fall when you apply load. It might drop a little if you've been in overrun going down a hill and you downshift to accelerate away.

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