E36 318 overheating (indicated) advise needed

[Andy_sx]

Afternoon All,

dont post in here as I dont own a BM myself, but a colleauge does and he has a bit of an issue.

Car is as above, and each day the temp guage will rise into the red. As soon as the heater is switched on (not the fans though) the temp dial drops to normal (within seconds)

This to me would seem like a sensor issue to me, but having had a quick poke around under the bonnet I cant see anything like a thermostat etc from the rad - block

Any ideas what it could be, or how it could be resolved. Performance isnt affected when temp rises, but obviously its a little disconcerting, especially in this recent warm weather

[sniff diesel]

Does the car overheat when driving along normally? On my track car(s) I take the fans off and they dont overheat.

[Andy_sx]

Yep, when driving normally.

How would you disconnect the fan, as from a quick poke around the same belt runs the alt aswell I thought.

I cant imagine he would be too confident with doing it, but can always put it to him

[Distorshion wave]

My 318 used to sit at halfway all the time.
It did jump about once, but a new thermostat solved that.

Question has to be, is it really getting that hot, i.e does it smell hot ?
If it isnt, that goes along with your sensor theory.

The thermostat isnt expensive £10 i paid for mine, and just 2 bolts to change, that was on a e36 though.