Water temperature reading a bit erratic

[Fimbo]

There have been a couple of occasions of late (when parking the beastie in my garage) that my water temp readout has been 95/96 one moment and then 116 the next! I decided to test the fans at the weekend so went for a run, returned home and left the car idling on the drive - when the temp got to about 97 the first fan kicked in; when it got to about 100, second fan kicked in.

I don't know if any of the water temp readings are accurate and whether the fans run off the temp reading on the display because if they do then they are coming on way too late late (I believe the first fan should come on around 92 and the second around 94??). There's no steam from bonnet and I've checked oil to ensure no contamination.

Any ideas?

[jvr]

Hiya
Change the temp switch first,there are two,one at the back of the engine for the fans and one at the front for the dash,probably dash one giving trouble but you may as well change the fans one at the same time.they are not expensive and worth a go first before digging deeper.
Paul

[TIVVA]

I had something similar on my mk1 Tuscan that turned out to be an earthing problem affecting the electrics. The earth strap between the engine and the chassis was loose, and that started to cause all sorts of symptoms. Started with the water temp leaping about, and the following day I had trouble starting it. If the water looks to be changing temp that quickly it cant be a true reading of the temp.

[Fimbo]

cheers. I'll have a look under the bonnet this weekend. Is the temp sender for the pod easy to spot - do I need directions (as I rarely have the bonnet off!)

[so called]

The one on the engine that switches on the second fan at around 97°C is located on the side of cylinder 4 or 5.
You need to unclip the air filter cover. Dont forget the clip un the underside of the filter box.

[T333CAN]

If its any help, when I had my cars temeratures checked by the service programme on the laptop the readings were 5-8 degrees lower than what the dash display showed. I was told this was much more accurate than the display.

[jvr]

so called said:

The one on the engine that switches on the second fan at around 97°C is located on the side of cylinder 4 or 5.
You need to unclip the air filter cover. Dont forget the clip un the underside of the filter box.

and the one for the POD is by cylinder 1 under the themostat