Temperature and fuel gauges

[hamma]

hello everybody.

I have a problem with my instruments clustre. Actually, my coolant temperature and fuel gauges are acting wierd. they don't go higher than 30% of the way. the temperature gauge didn't show more than 90°, even at very hight temperature. the fuel gauge also is stick at 2/5 of the capacity. i saw somewhere that there is a voltage regulator which might be the cause. i don't think that it is my case because if it was, i should have a non working gauges at all.

what do you think guys?

By the way, my car takes about 20min to reach 70°C which is really ambarrassing when going to work and when coming back home. i have to sit in the car waiting for it to get hot :p while drinking my coffee because i don't have a garage. its an A6 96' 1.9TDI. engine code 1Z. so do other A6 do the same?

[Peter D]

Suspect thernostat is at fault and one of the tank level sensors. Regards Peter

[hamma]

Thermostat changed recently and nothing changed. still need 20 min to reach 70°. for temperature and fuel levels gauges, i don't think they are both faulty and at the same time! if it cant get warm quickly, i ll need to find a way to keep it warm all day.
whats easier to do? am desperate

[Peter D]

The voltage regulator is way insdie the Dash Panel. However if you remove the connector to the temperature sensor and measure the voltage you should find 9.75 to 10.25 volts on one of the pins. This confirms the voltage regulator is alive and well. If you car is really that cold then I suspect either the new stat has failed or is the wrong one. Was this an OEM stat 87 degrees. Regards Peter

[hamma]

i am not sure about it, but the mecano said that he got the right one, means 87°. i have got a document from VAG after sale service and it was describing this kind of engines as low temerature emetting. maybe its designed that way. i ll check the voltage very soon and tell you what i have got
I really apreciate your help Peter. thank you

[Peter D]

Yes the deisel is slow to heat up compared to a petrol, but 20 mins to 70 is really slow. Does it actually get up to 90 degrees. If you have a viscous coupled fan have you checked it turns fairly freely when the engine is cool/cold and off. Regards Peter

[hamma]

yes it gets up to 90°. sometimes it goes down when i drive fairly fast and sometime it still at 90°. thats why i agree with you about the Thermostat. but did it really cause the engine not to heat up? even if the coolant is circulating, the fans are not working so why would it cool down.

i have two electric fans and they didn't engage unless it is at 90°

[Peter D]

The IZ engine does not have a viscous fan just an electric fan for cooling and one for the air con. However fron 06/94 Audi gradually introduced an electrical additional heater matrix to this model that should operate if the coolant is below 70 degrees and the rpm is abouve 800 but the air temp has to be below 5 degrees so it should not cut in normally. PM me your email address and I'll send you some data. Regards Peter

[hamma]

PM sent, thank you

[hamma]

well, i checked the voltage at the sensor connection and the results are :
1-2 : 12.1V
1-3 : 10.0V
i believe that the 12V are for the hight temperature/low coolant level indicator. are these values normal? if yes, the problem should come from another component on the dashboard right?

[Peter D]

PM me your email address I'll send you the whole test procedure, but if you have a 58 ohm resistor and place it across pins 1 and 3 the gauge should indicate 90 degrees. Regards Peter