1997 VW Jetta temp guage?

E

ebosgramma

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I just bought this car with 152000 miles on it. It runs great but I noticed the temp gauge stays all the way on cold all of the time unless the car idles for over 5 minutes. Then it goes up to half. As soon as I start to drive it drops right back to cold within 1-2 minutes. The car blows plenty of heat inside. Should I be concerned? The radiator is full and the antifreeze is good for -32 degrees.
 
Ah, the joys of older cars. There are several things that could cause this. Since it's intermittent, I'd check the connector to the engine temperature sensor on the motor. Sometimes they corrode causing this type problem.

If you want to get radical and test the temp gauge, remove it from the dash or where you can get to the connector on the back. The two leads on the back of the gauge are your test points. Disconnect the wires, and using two AA batteries, apply 3 volts DC to the terminals. It should read full scale. (Don't use twelve volts, it will fry the gauge). If that checks okay, then replace the engine temperature sensor.
 
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