I took my Loyale on a road trip last Sunday to the Wash coast (101 loop). Out in the boonies, I notice the temp gauge jumped to about 75%. I pulled over and noticed the coolant reserve tank was bone dry. I filled it up and the temp gauge went down to about 30%. Stopped at Ruby Beach on the coast for about 3 hours and when I got ready to leave checked the reserve tank. Bone dry again. I filled it up and started the engine and saw a slow drip underneath. I had no choice but to drive as far as I could get and fill if I could as it was after 10PM on a Sunday.

 

Here's the mystery. I drove over 120 miles with an empty reserve tank and little to no coolant in the engine. It took over a gallon to fill it when I got home so I know it was practically bone dry. The heater didn't work on the drive home. So why did the temp gauge only go up to 30%? Don't get me wrong, I am glad the engine didn't overheat, but I am mystified as to why it did not. Is there some sort of superior design in the EA82 that allows it to limp home on 3 tea spoons of coolant? Maybe once the coolant level got so low, it couldn't circulate through the heater circuit and get lost?

 

This week I discovered the leak was in a heater hose that goes from the engine to the heater. I repaired it and now it runs fine and temp gauge stays near the C.

Edited June 9, 201213 yr by MR_Loyale

if you run a motor with zero coolant the gauge will read zero. the temp sensor needs coolant to be in contact with it to get a reading. also, you said the leak was a heater hose so perhaps the combination of highway speeds, not running coolant thru the heater, and lowish coolant level yielded your gauge reading. keep an eye on your hgs

about why the gauge read the way it did

 

#1 - I'm fairly certain that when there is an incredibly low amount of coolant in your system, your temp guage isn't going to read properly and

 

#2 - (and this one I'm positive about through my own experience) EA82's do not run very hot. I had to run my Loyale without any cooling fans and with a massive coolant leak temporarily (about 2 weeks) and he just never would overheat. Only time he'd even come close to the 75 percent mark on the temp gauge was either sitting at a long traffic light, or parking, but as soon as I got moving again and air started passing, he'd cool right off again.

 

My 2 pennies.

The temp gauge is at the top of the motor, near the intake manifold. The one for the gauge, anyway. If you get more than a little low it will read cold, even when you are running the car around. The coolant will expand some, so just a cup or two low won't show up much on the gauge.

 

You can't run long without coolant, though, unless it's really cold outside. Low coolant in cool temps will "work", but no coolant or too low is really bad. The car will start lugging, chugging, lose power, and the motor will shut down.

And your water pump will not like it.

Here's the mystery. I drove over 120 miles with an empty reserve tank and little to no coolant in the engine.

 

holy crap