Common problem ? - the car ( & me ) just not getting warm

[hollo]

Hello ,

I've seem this asked in a few threads , but have not seen a definitive answer. I have a diesel 2.5 TDI , 1997 , C4 , auto A6 , with the engine code AEL .
The problem is even after driving for a couple of hours on a 100 mile trip involving both motorways and sitting in traffic the engine just not get hot or even warm . The guage just sits at about 1/3 of the way up , ( or @ 60 odd ) . as the engine is not hot , the heater hardly kicks out any heat . So I have to keep wrapped up and have invested in a small heater the plugs into the cigarette lighter just to keep warm.
I had the thermostat changed about 6 months ago , as this seems to be the obvious place to start, could I have got a non working new thermostat ? , or could it be something else ?
Thank you for your help.
Mike .

[sbt]

hi mate as i have stated in another post about thermostats never think just because there new that they are working properly in the past i have replaced thermostats only for them to be faulty so now i will not buy a thermostat from anywhere but the audi main dealer as stated before i am not saying audi thermostats cant be faulty what i am saying is that i have never bought one that as been

[hollo]

Well ,
I got a new thermostat fitted and.........
Happiness is a warm car , it solved the problem .
The car now gets warm and stays warm after a couple of miles , so nice warm air out of the heater.
So I must of had a dud thermostat fitted last time.
Thanks for everyones help
Mike .

[rmccomiskie]

It's also possible that the cooling system was not bled properly after installation of the first thermostat. That could result in an air bubble high in the system, i.e. in the heater core. The temp gauge sensor may also be high up resulting in incorrect temp readings (not sure where it is on a diesel). Who installed the second thermostat? Same place or different? They may have finally bled the system correctly.

Just my 2 cents.