Diesel engine cold?

[mr_fibuli]

I'm new to this diesel thing. Is it normal for the engine bay to be stone cold after a 1/2 hour motorway run in this weather? There wasn't enough heat to melt the frost on the bonnet, or thaw the washer jets today. Under the bonnet, anything more than 6 inches from the block was cold to touch.

Car is a 320d, which BMW helpfully neglected to fit a temperature gauge to!

[stevieturbo]

Chances of the engine thawing the washers is slim. And as for temperature...if your heater works well, then it's warm enough.

If it doesnt, then you may have cause to think there is an issue

For theh washers, use better screenwash to prevent freezing.

[stevesingo]

The E46 320d is known for faulty thermostats, a friend's car I drove last night was running at 61-64 degC. What is your economy like?

There is a hidden menu in the OBC that gives a numerical display of running temp.

nstructions to access the hidden OBC functions:
1. Hold Trip Reset while turning ignition key to on position
2. OBC should show "Test"
3. Use Trip Reset to select function 19.0 that unlocks all the features
3. Wait for display to show "Off"
4. Depress Trip Reset for 1/4 second and release it
5. With no delay press Trip Reset several times to select one of the following function s

====================================

BMW E46 On-Board Computer (OBC) Hidden Codes
nr example description
1 Car Engine and cluster data
1.0 46nnn Chassis nr/VIN serial number (last 5 digits)
1.1 4nnn K-number
1.2 690236 Cluster Part #
1.3 045210 Coding (04)/diagnosis (52)/bus index (10)
1.4 1200 Week (12)/year of manufacture (2000)
1.5 09_160 Hardware (09) and software # (16.0) of cluster
1.6 Not used
1.7 04__44 CAN-version (04) KI-revision index (44)
2 (test) Cluster System Test - Activates the gauge drivers,
indicators and LEDs to confirm function
3 SI Data
3.0 1098 Used fuel in liters since last SI (Service Inspection)
3.1 0231 Periodic inspection days; elapsed days (since last SI)
4 Momentary Consumption
4.0 0145+ Instant fuel consumption - 0145=14.5 liters/100km
4.1 0018 Instant fuel consumption - 0018=1.8 l/Hour
5 Distance Gone Consumption
5.0 082 Average mileage; 082=8.2 liters/100km
5.1 0536 Calc. km to refuel (momentary distance to go)
6 Fuel Level sensor inputs in liters
6.0 109330+ Fuel level averaged; Left half sensor input=10.9 liters; Right sensor input=33.0 liters
6.1 0439+ Total tank level averaged; vlgs 6.0: 10.9+33.0=43.9 liters
6.2 0442+ Indicated value (44.2) and tank phase
7 Temperature and Speed
7.0 021+ Coolant/Engine temperature (2.1C)
7.1 130 Ambient/Outside temperature - chg met 5 pts. 125/130/135
7.2 + Engine speed / Current RPMs 1/min
7.3 + Vehicle speed / Current Speed in km/hour
8 Input value in HEX form
8.0 1d0+ System voltage ADC-Value Hex code
8.1 26C33C+ ADC Values HG left/HG right
8.2 0000 ADC Value brake degradation sensor (000=o.k.)
8.3 18C ADC Value outside temperature
9 Battery
9.0 140 Battery Voltage - 140 = UB 14.0v
9.1 242013+?
9.2 074_78+?
9.3 0011+?
10 Not used
11 Not used
12 Not used
13 GonG Gong Test
14 Not used
15 Status cluster I/O-ports (bit codes) 0=low; 1=high
1st-belt contact, seat belt fastened=0; 2) ignition lock contact, key inserted=0; 3) door contact, door open=0; 4) clock button pressed=0; 5) SI reset=0, for reset=0; 6) EGS transmission failure=0
Status Digital Outputs (bits) 0=inactive, 1=active
1) Gong output; 2) Brake warning lamp; 3) Low fuel warning lamp; 4) EGA lamp; 5) seat belt lamp; 6) manipulation dot
16 Not used
17 Not used
18 Not used
19 Lock Status; unlocks functions in range 3-18
19.0 L-On/L-Off Unlock: press button when "L-Off"
20 Not used
21 Software Reset; reset OBC settings
00 End of test

[mr_fibuli]

Thanks for that, I'll see what temp it gets to on the way home. Heater works okay, but takes about twice the distance to get up to temperature compared to my old 3-litre petrol - guess that is normal.

Economy seems down a bit over the last few months - from about 46 down to 42. Not sure if that is just my right foot getting heavier though.

[mr_fibuli]

Temperature got up to around 78 degrees on the way home. It should be 90, so looks like a new thermostat might win me back some MPG.